Alex Salmond

[bagerap 706]

Sorry Dave, it was too good to resist.

[Peckris 579]

Sorry Dave, it was too good to resist.

[Rob 2,998]

brilliant

[azda 973]

3 names for those who laugh. David Cameron,Ian Duncan Smith and Alistair Darling. All liars, Salmomd is a decent politician, unlike the numpties i've just mentioned.

[ozjohn 552]

He ain't no scot and has little grasp of the truth.

[azda 973]

He ain't no scot and has little grasp of the truth.

Do Tell John from Oz

[Paulus 1,942]

He ain't no scot and has little grasp of the truth.

Do Tell John from Oz

I'm standing well back .....

[azda 973]

I think ozjohn might be referring to the Australian PM, oh wait, he's actually English and also Stück his nose in where it was'nt wanted or needed with his little remarks. I've never understood other Nations commenting on something that has clearly nothing to do with them.

As Salmond who also told Obama, if you think English rule is so bloody awesome, Disolve your Parliment and hand Control back to Westminster

[ozjohn 552]

Not at all I was referring to Salmond Having been born in the UK I think I have every right to comment on the self destructive actions of a few who exploit many for their political ego. This madness was started by Blair who setup the separate governments for Scotland etc. with no regard to the English who only have the Westminster government. At least I think we have got it right here in Australia with the State Governments whose activities are regulated by our Constitution. The irony of it all is our Constitution was a bill of the House of Commons where they managed to get it right for Australia but fail to do so for the UK. For example if Queensland wanted to leave the Commonwealth of Australia it would require a referendum with a 2/3 majority and also be carried by a majority of the States. A union is the sum of its parts and all should get their say not just the Scots in this case. Given the ill will that has been generated by this exercise and the unequal distribution of powers like for example free Universities in Scotland I get the feeling that many English would now vote for Scotland to leave the union if they had the chance as they are by and large financing this.

[Peckris 579]

I keep hearing Salmon say that "Scotland will keep the pound £". Erm, how will that happen if the remaining UK decides they can't? What will they tie the Scottish Pound to, when all's said and done - the Euro?

And when Westminster decides that Faslane will close and Trident moved to Teesside instead, how will that improve the Scottish economy? Not to mention all the RN warships that get built on Clydeside? Oh, that's right, I forgot - the infinite supply of North Sea Oil...

[azda 973]

Peck you may have missed a few things here. 1 we don't want trident anyway. 2, they're closing another shipyard on the Clyde, and 3 Scotland does Have its own Pound

Scotland also has its own foodbanks amd considering that Scotland should look like Dubai and not beruit i find it disgusting in the 21st Century that people have to beg to eat in the Western World

I don't see Bank Of England on this Note and as English Shops more often than not refuse too take Scottish notes not having am English pound is really nothing new

Edited August 26, 2014 by azda

[Peckris 579]

Yeah, but Dave - the Scottish pound (as it exists currently) is actually just the £ Sterling rebadged, as it is - and always has been - tied to the value of the BoE pound. If the BoE refused to make any such correlation between the Scottish and UK £, the Scottish £ would 'float free'. That could result in it going either up or down relatively, either scenario bringing potential problems.

As for Trident, *I* don't want it either; I see it as a colossal waste of money compared to the much smaller amount of money that would be needed to counter terrorism, which is the modern menace, not Soviet SAM missiles. But it does exist and the British Government isn't going to remove it. Meanwhile it's providing a lot of jobs for Scots as do Naval contracts on Clydeside.

I agree with you 100% about foodbanks BTW.

[Gary1000 41]

Yeah, but Dave - the Scottish pound (as it exists currently) is actually just the £ Sterling rebadged, as it is - and always has been - tied to the value of the BoE pound. If the BoE refused to make any such correlation between the Scottish and UK £, the Scottish £ would 'float free'. That could result in it going either up or down relatively, either scenario bringing potential problems.

As for Trident, *I* don't want it either; I see it as a colossal waste of money compared to the much smaller amount of money that would be needed to counter terrorism, which is the modern menace, not Soviet SAM missiles. But it does exist and the British Government isn't going to remove it. Meanwhile it's providing a lot of jobs for Scots as do Naval contracts on Clydeside.

I agree with you 100% about foodbanks BTW.

Apparrently the new Scottish navy will move in and more than compensate for the lost jobs. Also all the new navy ships will be built on the Clide so there will be more jobs not less.

[Peckris 579]

Yeah, but Dave - the Scottish pound (as it exists currently) is actually just the £ Sterling rebadged, as it is - and always has been - tied to the value of the BoE pound. If the BoE refused to make any such correlation between the Scottish and UK £, the Scottish £ would 'float free'. That could result in it going either up or down relatively, either scenario bringing potential problems.

As for Trident, *I* don't want it either; I see it as a colossal waste of money compared to the much smaller amount of money that would be needed to counter terrorism, which is the modern menace, not Soviet SAM missiles. But it does exist and the British Government isn't going to remove it. Meanwhile it's providing a lot of jobs for Scots as do Naval contracts on Clydeside.

I agree with you 100% about foodbanks BTW.

Apparrently the new Scottish navy will move in and more than compensate for the lost jobs. Also all the new navy ships will be built on the Clide so there will be more jobs not less.

Aye, that'll come in handy to repulse the imminent invasion from the massed fleets of the Orkneys, Shetlands, Faeroes and Iceland

[bagerap 706]

They've left it too late for the training course.

http://www.coraclesociety.org.uk/events/180-coracle-making-course-scottish-traditional-boat-festival

[Peckris 579]

They've left it too late for the training course.

http://www.coraclesociety.org.uk/events/180-coracle-making-course-scottish-traditional-boat-festival

"Cost: £265 per boat inclusive of free, introductory membership of The Coracle Society"

Only the Scots could make "free" and "£265" work in the same sentence

[Gary1000 41]

They've left it too late for the training course.

http://www.coraclesociety.org.uk/events/180-coracle-making-course-scottish-traditional-boat-festival

"Cost: £265 per boat inclusive of free, introductory membership of The Coracle Society"

Only the Scots could make "free" and "£265" work in the same sentence

I wonder how many members they have with no boat. I'll justa hav the free membership sunny.

[copper123 1,352]

I love the way he thinks he can default on the scotch part of the national debt then think that the new country will be regarded as a good credit risk by the international credit sharks out there.

Salmon for tea ,more like sardines

[azda 973]

I love the way he thinks he can default on the scotch part of the national debt then think that the new country will be regarded as a good credit risk by the international credit sharks out there.

Salmon for tea ,more like sardines

I know you ladies will be interested to read that an Independent Scotland can use the pound, contrary to what all the scaremongers/liars in Westminster keep telling us all, thus we'll be paying our share of your debt

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/opinion/columnists/jennifer-dempsie/battle-to-save-the-union-was-based-on-false-claim-1.546581

Edited August 30, 2014 by azda

[Nick 325]

I love the way he thinks he can default on the scotch part of the national debt then think that the new country will be regarded as a good credit risk by the international credit sharks out there.

Salmon for tea ,more like sardines

I know you ladies will be interested to read that an Independent Scotland can use the pound, contrary to what all the scaremongers/liars in Westminster keep telling us all, thus we'll be paying our share of your debt

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/opinion/columnists/jennifer-dempsie/battle-to-save-the-union-was-based-on-false-claim-1.546581

I thought that Salmond said they would only pay their share of the debt if they got a currency union?

In any case, an independent Scotland could continue to use the pound, but it would have no central bank supporting it - leaving Scotland exposed to currency speculators and runs on banks.

[DaveG38 385]

I don't think any of the serious politicians involved in this debate/campaign have ever claimed outright that 'Scotland can't keep the pound'. What George Osborne, Danny Alexander and Ed Balls all vetoed was use of the pound 'within a currency union'. There's a huge difference between the two positions. Without a currency union, as has been said many times, Scotland would have no lender of last resort, no access the BOE funding, no control over interest rates etc. plus there would be knock-on effects on certain of it's industries, notably banking, insurance etc.

The reasons why the UK politicians have said no to a currency union are three fold:

Firstly, the issue of transaction costs that AS is fond of quoting cuts both ways. Yes, it would increase costs for goods crossing the border from England to Scotland, but that increase in terms of UK GDP is small and workable. However, it is much more important to Scotland, since much of its exports are to England and here transactions costs could hurt. Thus the gaianing of a currency union is much more in Scotland's interests than it is the UK's. In fact, it could be that those costs upset the balance of value in taking Scottish goods, to the point that UK companies find it cheaper even with Euro to Pound costs to source elsewhere. The UK politicians know all this and judge that plan B for AS will be to use the pound anyway. The idea that he would go for a Scottish pound or the Euro isn't on the horizon in the short term. In these circumstances, they see no need to offer a union with all the risks that entails when they don't need to, and so they are saying 'no.'

The second reason is the one of risk. They've looked across to Europe and seen the mess in the Eurozone and they have learned lessons accordingly. In the Eurozone it's quite clear that fiscal and monetary policy will only work within a closer political framework, getting ever closer to a union. In short, what we currently have in the UK, between the four countries. Scotland, if it became independent, would be moving in the exact opposite direction i.e. less integration, no political union etc. So, it's crystal clear why even the most idiotic UK politician wouldn't go for a currency union. Apart from all this, there's also the small matter of how you administer this union. It means government departments, endless meetings and politics/arguments with a foreign government, all a major distraction from running the UK, and is something that can be avoided by simply having nothing to do with it. It's rather like companies that sell off small subsidiaries even though they may be profitable. It's just that the main board simply doesn't want to have to deal with non-core businesses. That is how the UK would perceive Scotland.

Thirdly, the most obvious one, which is that the UK population would object very strongly to a divorce where the leaving party still wants access to the bank account. Not only that, but the chances of any government getting a bill with currency union in it passed trhough parliament would almost certainly fail.

That's it. For me the logic is clear and unambiguous. I rest my case.

[Rob 2,998]

If they vote to leave, how soon do the Scottish MPs get kicked out of Parliament? Anyone know?

It would certainly be unacceptable for them to have any say in this country's politics forthwith if they effectively represent a foreign entity. i.e. they should be as welcome as a politician from Brussels, but with absolutely no influence.

Maybe the best thing is to float Scotland adrift, after all, we already have relatively little say on what goes on in Scotland, yet spend money regardless (despite Scottish MPs being allowed to vote on matters affecting England only).

[DaveG38 385]

If they vote to leave, how soon do the Scottish MPs get kicked out of Parliament? Anyone know?

It would certainly be unacceptable for them to have any say in this country's politics forthwith if they effectively represent a foreign entity. i.e. they should be as welcome as a politician from Brussels, but with absolutely no influence.

Maybe the best thing is to float Scotland adrift, after all, we already have relatively little say on what goes on in Scotland, yet spend money regardless (despite Scottish MPs being allowed to vote on matters affecting England only).

My understanding is that they would be elected to the 59 seats at the 2015 general election and would then cease to be MPs at the date of Scottish independence. This could bring an interesting situation if Labour won with a very small majority, since they would suddenly have to contend with the loss of a large block of seats. I've always though that independence for Scotland would bring all kinds of unintended consequences of which this is one.

[Rob 2,998]

They certainly shouldn't have any say in matters relating to the separation if the vote is in favour as that is akin to someone writing the terms of their own redundancy i.e a golden handshake. You only give these when you want to be rid of someone - something that Parliament has never demanded.

[Nick 325]

My understanding is that the Scottish MPs would be able to stay until such time as independence was official (timetabled to be March 2016).