Is Scottish independence a 'good or bad' thing?

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Why pay off the debt? It inflates away. The UK has been in debt for the past 300+ years, In the last century a surplus has been run for less than one in 10 years. In that time there hasn't been a period of more than a decade where the debt has ended up being less than it was. There is no requirement to 'pay off' the debt.

In any case both charges you can say of the wider UK.

This is something I never understand. I always look at charts like this and wonder why the coalition is so obsessed with cutting debt. The narrative that Labour got the country into debt really doesn't stand up considering a major spike only occurred after the greatest financial crisis in 80 years.

Reply 4981

Alex_Aits

I just find it somewhat puzzling how you can answer "Is Scottish independence a 'good or bad' thing?" with "Yes" or "No", since when was it a closed question? And if it interpreted as a closed question, the options should be "Good" or "Bad" surely...

Reply 4982

Sarah13579

Hi everyone!

Slight tangent to this but I'm currently working on my EPQ and for part of it I've made a survey :smile:

It's on shipbuilding in the UK. Originally I wanted to do it on the impact of the Scottish referendum but my teacher told me it was too broad a subject... (So many variables ect)

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WHG9Z5H

Thanks! P.S it's just 5 simple yes/no questions in case you were wondering! :biggrin:

Reply 4983

stev43219

The UK has been split into 12 regions by the EU map makers. Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland are all regions and 9 others planned for England. If Scotland leaves the UK it will be directly answerable to Brussels and being outside the UK will have very little power. Divide and conquer.

I do believe the world will one day be as one. However that will take time and not the EU dictatorship plot.

I really think the union after all the wars is best kept now Getting independence is really calling a Scotish EU region a country when it wont be.

Reply 4984

FredOrJohn

ITs difficult to find anglo-celtic examples from around the world... But one stands out: Tasmania is better off economically as part of Australia compared to New Zealand that is separate. Even the Nordic lands that Salmond goes on about do have a "Nordic Council" as do the "Benelux" states.... so his idea of total seperation would appear, on paper, to be wrong.

Reply 4985

Gordon1985

Original post by stev43219

In what way would Scotland be "directly answerable" to Brussels in a way that we're not at the moment, as part of the UK?

Reply 4986

Gordon1985

Original post by FredOrJohn

Nobody is talking about "total seperation". Where are you getting this crap from?

Reply 4987

FredOrJohn

Original post by Gordon1985

Nobody is talking about "total seperation". Where are you getting this crap from?

Hi Gordon: From SNP message boards - some want there own currency etc. My family are from renfrewshire but most of us live in and around the London or New York so do not have a vote, but if the seperation goes ahead we will be eligable to get the new passport .....I'm a capitalist so I am theorectically in favour of multiple parliaments I just think the German and Australia federal model looks the best bet for the UK... I guess Scotland being the German equivalent of Bavaria (who also have an indendent movement and would be the 5th richest nation on earth if they seperated from the rest of germany (they are the Catholic bit))....but by and large, like the Scots, the Bavarians are happy the way it is - although they have BMW whereas all Renfrewshire had was the Hillman Imp!

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 4988

Psyk

Original post by stev43219

The English regions were not imposed by the EU. Member states can decide for themselves how to organise elections for the EU parliament. Those regions already existed for statistical purposes (and other purposes at times) from before the EU even existed. The UK government decided to use them as EU parliament constituencies.

Stop making things up.

Reply 4989

stev43219

Original post by Gordon1985

In what way would Scotland be "directly answerable" to Brussels in a way that we're not at the moment, as part of the UK?

The SNP's constitution has its allegiance to Brussels But that aside Scotland would clearly have to get further into bed with the EU in the deals Salmond would make under the guise of they have to rejoin and so the benefits and concessions like for example the euro could be passed through as well as much closer integration that would have a knock on effect through the whole of the UK. We are stronger together but Im sure many nationilists would rather be in bed with the EU than the UK because of ancient history that has no bearing on reality. Many of us including me have Scottish blood and I couldn't give a fig for history and the flag is a way the politicians control us when they want a war But that aside I do think as a people we are all stronger together.

Reply 4990

stev43219

Original post by Psyk

How am I making things up when you just proved I wasn't? John Prescott famously ried to get an EU assembly elected in the UK and failed miserably

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_assembly_(England)
Structure and powers of the proposed assemblies[edit]

The Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott presented a Draft Regional Assemblies Bill to Parliament in July 2004.[3] The bill outlined the structure of the proposed assemblies and defined their powers.[4]

The draft bill proposed the following structure:
The assembly would be a body corporate with a distinct legal identity.
Each assembly would be composed of between 25 and 35 assembly members elected by the additional member system.
The assembly would select one member as the Chairman and another as Deputy Chairman to preside over its debates.
The assembly would have an Executive (cabinet) composed of a Leader and between two and six Executive Members.

Reply 4991

Psyk

Original post by stev43219

You're making things up because that has nothing to do with the EU at all. It's just for convenience that the UK government decided to use those regions as EU constituencies. The EU did not make them do that, nor did the EU have anything to do with the attempt to create regional assemblies.

Reply 4992

stev43219

Original post by Psyk

Our great politicins have been taking backhanders an doing the EU's will for many years now Indeed the EU could never have done anything without our backstabbing politicians

Reply 4993

Midlander

Original post by FredOrJohn

Our equivalent of Bavaria is the SE of England-more to the point Germany has a federal structure which allows its constituent states a lot more autonomy than is afforded to the ones here. Saying that, Germany is run far better than the UK is at this present point. They don't need a Windsor to tell them what to do either, but that is a very different debate.

Reply 4994

Midlander

Original post by Gordon1985

In what way would Scotland be "directly answerable" to Brussels in a way that we're not at the moment, as part of the UK?

You'd have to let those pesky RUK students have a free university education or charge your own, for a start.

Reply 4995

Midlander

Original post by stev43219

Our great politicins have been taking backhanders an doing the EU's will for many years now Indeed the EU could never have done anything without our backstabbing politicians

Who's been taking backhanders? Care to substantiate?

Reply 4996

stev43219

Original post by Midlander

Who's been taking backhanders? Care to substantiate?

hEH HEH where to start. The whole of the EU commissioners resigned a few years back headed by Leon Brittain Should Imention the name mandelson Oh dear it just goes on and on and on

Reply 4997

Midlander

Original post by stev43219

hEH HEH where to start. The whole of the EU commissioners resigned a few years back headed by Leon Brittain Should Imention the name mandelson Oh dear it just goes on and on and on