I may move in the wrong circles but I have yet to meet anybody who thinks Scotland will be better off independent. There is banter between me as a "white settler" and native Scots such as my in laws about how England supports the Scots but most Scots I know who have voted SNP have done for their own personal reasons, such as free Uni education, rather than the independence issue. They admit they won't vote for independence.
Salmond is a crafty politician who is using every means to stir up an English/Scots divide but he won't hold a referendum now as he knows he will lose it.
A recent UK report on Scottish finance indicates that the extra public finance Scotland gets isn't covered by the revenue from oil. The Scottish budget has run a deficit of £41 billion over the past 30 yrs. This is derived from the £197 billion spent in scotland over the total tax raised - minus the £141 billion that was raised in oil revenue.
I know that statistics are massaged by both sides but this is a serious issue and I hope that the majority of Scots do not think that independence will just mean that everything will just stay the same. the following questions will have to answered in detail:-
1. Will the state pension remain the same - there is no pot to share so from independence day the scottish taxpayer will have to pay some public sector pensions plus all of the state pension.
2. Will the Scottish NHS be fully funded and give the same care as the present UK NHS. I presume Scotland will inherit the infrastructure but what about specialist treatment currently taken in England?
3. Will tax rates be the same - income, car, petrol duty etc?
Plus many more.
For those of you who know about the Edinburgh financial disasters - Parliament budget £40 million cost actually £400+ million - Tram budget £375 million no tram has yet run on a much reduced route yet cost is already £500million + with extra borrowing of £231 Million needed - a shambles! These are the people who will run Scotland!
I will fight to remain part of the UK as will alot of Scots I know so all is not yet lost.
HF