My motivation is because I think things work as they are right now. I really can't see how it will benefit Scotland to be independent. None of the other major parties apart from SNP support this either. If this referendum fails, then the SNP will have to completely rethink their whole agenda or risk losing power.
I guess it's just that I don't see the current UK situation as particularly beneficial to someone like myself. Economically, the UK isn't performing well on paper, though I understand that some people are not really suffering by what is happening at the moment. I personally am in quite a precarious position and I only see that being harmed by the (lack of) action by the UK Government. I really have lost faith in UK Labour to fundamentally change anything in the long run too. They effectively have a guaranteed Scottish vote, but to get elected must pander to sections of the electorate whose beliefs are completely contrary to what Labour probably should stand for. The rising status on UKIP hasn't exactly quashed these concerns. I do agree with you, that if the referendum receives a "no" vote then the SNP should concentrate on the 2016 election. They've said the vote is likely a generational thing, as devolution was, so I don't expect them to do anything other than accept the outcome of that particular ballot. However, they would also have every right to call out the other parties if they fail to act on their assertions of a changed devolution settlement. I should have mentioned that I was also really asking for the views of people outside of Scotland and their motivation for maintaining the union.
I don't know how I feel about Scottish independence. In theory it's a valid idea. The current system in the UK is not really democratic - allowing Scottish (or Northern Irish) MP's to vote on issues which affect England but not Scotland is dreadful (irrespective of whether it means perpetual Tory rule - that's more an issue surrounding the crappy electoral system in Britain). And the House of Lords is an undemocratic anachronism that either needs to be abolished or replaced with an elected upper house - irrespective of whether Scotland stays or leaves. Issues like EU membership; currency; head of state (would Scotland remain part of the Commonwealth with the Queen as the head of state, or would it be a republic) are issues that are inevitable but only in the short term. In the long run these would be resolved. In the long run would independence be better for Scotland, I don't know. It's not really comparable to Ireland getting independence in 1922 either as Ireland was far poorer than Scotland, and suffered far worse than Scotland did under British rule at the time. If you take Ireland as an example, it took about 65 years after independence for Ireland to be truly able to say that independence was a good idea. Would England be better off without Scotland - quite possibly. The Scottish oil is running out and Scotland consumes vast quantities of tax money. That would be a big saving.
I am Scottish but don't have a vote. I would vote YES to independence at this stage, as I would find it incredibly audacious and interesting to see what happened. I don't think it would make a substantial difference to those living in the rest of the UK.
Quite an unexpected set of votes so far. Scots living outside Scotland voting yes, Scots living inside Scotland voting no and the only Brit voting yes is one of our most right wing members.
Are you one of the people that is annoyed about that or are you one of the people that accepts it? Is that the only reason? To be honest, Broomhelga's vote makes complete sense. Why would a right-winger want to keep a hold of Scotland?
I just applied for a renewal of my Irish pp thanks very much. I should say go raibh maith agat of course. And I'm Ulster and proud. Just not Northern Irish or British.
Oops, I voted wrong. I am British, I'm just not entirely non-Scottish. I still don't have much of an opinion either way though.
One year now. This is going to be massive news for the next year. Questions - would the Union Jack change and would they still get the BBC?
I'm very concerned that he's going to die of a heart attack shortly before the referendum and influence the vote. I'm fascinated by the width of his neck.
Flag - who cares? The blue in the Union Jack is a different shade to the saltire. It's really a non issue. And any change would be made by the new union. BBC - I guess we'd be best place to look at RTE - who buy in most popular shows. Scotland would set up its own public broadcaster, which would then be able to make more local programming, that is relevant to Scottish people. Right now, Scotland pays 300million in licence fees but only gets back about a third of that to invest in Scottish programming. So this is a entirely affordable solution. Octy - This campaign is not an election. If you hate Salmond you can chuck him and the SNP out of government after Independence Day in 2016. I'd question anyone basing their decision on this and not look at the bigger picture which is about democracy - who do you fe is best placed to make decisions for the people of Scotland? It's either those living here or taking a toss of a coin and potentially end up with Tory governments we overwhelmingly reject each and every election.
In the event of a yes vote will Scottish households have to pay the same licence fee as those in the UK, or will there be an initial agreement with the BBC to carry on providing services until there's a handover?
Perhaps the rest of us care. You know the ones who'll you'll be begging for £££ when it all inevitably goes tits up.
Kept. She'll become the Queen of Scotland (assuming she agrees - I wonder if it's her personal choice)
This is BS. Perhaps this is how it is reported in a quite frankly ill informed and biased media but this is just not the case. It's exactly what the Better Together campaign want to focus on. It's scaremongering and presents a connotation that being a yea voter is somehow racist. Independence is our opportunity to design a country that tackles the injustices that Scotland has faced under Westminster rule. The Scottish Parliament has proven to me that Scotland absolutely is making better decisions in devolved issues (and balancing a budget) over Westminster. Like the NHS. Thats why I want Scotland to make all of her decisions.
The referendum is in 2014 with independence in 2016 which gives an initial period to negotiate things like the above.
Since the inception of the NHS in 1948 the Scottish NHS has been a separate entity. It is fully devolved to the Scottish parliament. Independence would make no difference to the running of the Scottish, or indeed the English (or what is left of it) NHS.
But if people are voting for or against it, and things aren't clear, concise answers needed for people to make an informed choice? I know it's not the most important thing but if I wanted to be informed, I would expect a clear "this is what will happen if you vote yes or no" list. At the moment it all seems very wishy washy.
Respected pollster, John Curtis, has analysed the polls and in a forced Yes/No vote puts it roughly 40/60 in favour of No.
The problem is that Westminster have outright said they will NOT engage with constructive discussions with Scotland before the polls. I think you really have to question why. The White Paper is being published by the Scottish Government in November which is a comprehensive guide answering the questions people are asking. It is also not an election. The SNP will set out their principle for independence but it is also up to the rest of the Scottish parties to set out what their vision to.
That average includes one that's way, way out of whack with the rest - Panelbase. Averaging the rest it's pretty much 66/33.
I didn't realise the UK Government were being that arsey about it. I does seem like the Scottish people genuinely care about it and I hope there's a high turnout.. When there was the second referendum in Wales about increasing powers for the Assembly, just over a third bothered to vote. I voted no, as the calibre of politician here is appalling.
That is just where the figures lie generally. Each poll is different and can vary wildly: Link: http://www.whatscotlandthinks.org
