My view on sharing is "darlings, if you want to keep living in the house with the expensive furniture and desirable post-code, then we're staying married. If you want to go off with your fancy man every other weekend, I'm changing the locks"
I'm not sure the world is heading back to city states, inspite of the success of those. They already existed...
EU membership WON'T be automatic. They'd have to apply, and it's unlikely they'd be refused - whether they would be "fast tracked" is a different matter and having to get around the Euro requirement is very tricky. The EU have said that they'd treat Scotland the same as any other country applying for EU membership and just because they were part of the UK who have EU membership makes no difference.
I'm pretty sure there's no plans to share a military in the current plans. I'm not entirely sure what your latter remark is actually referring to. What aspect of the plan for independence involves being supported by down south? Earlier, when I mentioned cultural and social union, I was referring to more organic ways of life, as opposed to any government processes? I am also the FIRST person to point out that an independent Scotland does not mean perpetual rule by the SNP either. Obviously, they have their own aspirations for what they would do in an independent Scotland. The other parties can't even suggest the possibility that they may end up in charge as it undermines attacks focused on the SNP. I maintain that this is a tiny minority of very vocal pricks. None of my English friends who have lived in Scotland for the past four years see it this way at all.
2005 would have been a pretty slender Labour majority as well, which would've possibly become a minority government because of by-elections in the meantime. That said, if Heath had won in 1974 Thatcher probably wouldn't have become leader.
Not now, anyway. But in the future, who knows? Demographically, metropolises like London and New York are so different to their surroundings that it's not inconceivable that at some point cultural differences will pull the two apart. There are seeds of it already in the way Londoners view immigration vs. the rest of England, for instance.
The leaked Swinney memo is also QUITE interesting in terms of SNP claims that Scottish people would be better off post-independence, basically saying either taxes would have to go up or services/pensions would need cutting given how volatile the oil market is. http://b.3cdn.net/better/c1d14076ee08022eec_u9m6vd74f.pdf
It's not hard to imagine when the UK breaks up, it will shatter into more pieces than they expected. Things are already messy at the moment re: immigration. You just got to look at Yugoslavia as a warning from recent history. They were perfectly civilised pre the break-up... I'm not saying we're heading for civil war, but history has dealt odder blows...
I find this whole thing really interesting. I agree with kate in as much that for a lot of people, its just a way of sticking two fingers up to the English. I don't really think England or the rest of the UK would suffer without Scotland, and I'd love to see for experiments sake what would happen. I was reading the complexities of the currency situation. There's been nothing like this before so it would be interesting to watch. On the other hand, the majority of people who seem in favour appear to be the sort of people I wouldn't want to get their own way, so fuck them.
There would be a degree of schadenfreude on my part if the Scots petulantly strop off to prove how they're better off without England (who really isn't all that bothered) only for it all to go tits up.
If it does go tits up in Scotland, I can only see them getting an Irish-style BRAIN DRAIN where anyone who CAN moves to places like Canada to find jobs.
Independence followed by a catalogue of disasters, hopefully with smoke and casualties would be beautiful.
What would happen if it went tits up? Would they have to try and re-enter the United Kingdom? Imagine that went to a public vote, they'd have 0 chance.
Darling, it's already happened! The hot, rich Scots are all elsewhere! It's a country of heart-disease and students!
Imagine a Big Brother style "Do you want Scotland back?" vote "Scotland, this is Davina. The results have been counted and verified..."
Any idea what Scotlands burden in terms of health and welfare is in comparison to England, must be higher surely? They'd have to tackle that head on.
All of the economic analyses I've seen have been centred on the impact of independence on Scotland. What about the impact on the rest of the UK? Maybe our deficit would go down
Nope. The SNP arrogantly claimed otherwise, but a few politicians in Scotland have no right to alter the power of 28 sovereign nations without their say so.
Imagine dealing with the alcohol problems in Scotland? There'll be no Newcastle or Essex to dilute the horror. HILARIOUS.
You wouldn't have the oil though, but I'm not sure how much that actually would be worth. And also I think the English may contest the oil issue too.
Darling we have the beating financial heart of the world. We don't need something that's going to run out in 10 years!
I wonder if this will ever become a reality. A mate of mine has never voted because he's too lazy to go to a polling station and he can't vote online.
I'm interested to hear the opinions of the people who think that would flunk following independence and yet support a no vote? In that case, what is the motivation for maintaining the union in the rest of the UK?
Does any other country have a digital vote? Trundling down to the OUTHOUSE next to the library in Plumstead every couple of years with your polling card, which is never looked at by the staff, before going into the ever-so-slightly-post-war booths to stick a cross in a box with a blunt pencil feels like it should have gone out with JUST WILLIAM.
With regards to my question above, apparently Estonia have an electronic voting system. However, they also have a national ID card that contains a PIN and so it's linked to that. We'd need a robust way of making sure there's no electoral fraud.
I love having a vote... I hope it doesn't change too radically. It's the only time you get to see the local Quakers Meeting House/ School Hall/ Community Library/ British Gas Social Club.
And of course there's all the schoolchildren just waiting for that seemingly random day off that they don't particularly understand...
