Scottish Independence

[nocutstoRAF]

Thanks d88 - you get idiots everywhere, I will admit to being embarrassed to call myself English at times.

I was surprised that people today in Scotland feel angry over the attitude of the UK government in the 70's re:

That's an interesting point and not one I've thought about but I suppose from a Scottish perspective it's not that we might or might not be subsidising any other part of the UK, it's the annoyance that for decades we were told by successive Westminster governments the Scottish economy was nothing more than an economic basket case when the reality is somewhat different

I cannot talk about other English people, but I do get a little bit annoyed that Alex Salmond paints the picture of independence being an easy and cheap undertaking for Scotland, and while I suspect he genuinely believes it, I think he analysis lacks rigour (for example he is convinced that a large section of the financial services industry in London will relocate to Edinburgh, I believe he said in one interview he thought about half of it would relocate) and that while the UK might still be thought of as a good place to live, dissolving the Union will in the long run harm all the countries in the union – I think financially each member of the union would be worse off, that our global geo-political power will wain and that twenty years from a yes on the referendum in Scotland we will all be reminiscing about the good old days of the UK.

Not that I live in Scotland anymore (and I am not sure how he would stop English people living in Scotland voting in the referendum), but if I did vote I would need a much more detailed plan than the one currently floating around to convince me that Scottish independence was a viable long term plan for Scotland – rather than a short term sticking plaster to address perceptions of inherent unfairness with Scotland’s relationship with Westminster.