England Frightened Of Scottish Indepemdence

[Gary1000]

I hear that they will now not be able to keep using the Pound. I guess the Scots will now have to divy up that hoard they found recently.

[scottishmoney]

I could rather see it like the Scots pound of old, ie 12:1 - the Scots pound was a unit of account until the 1760s or so and was valued at 12 Scots to 1 British/English. When the Brent crude dries up the Scots pound will trade like toilet paper.

[Gary1000]

I could rather see it like the Scots pound of old, ie 12:1 - the Scots pound was a unit of account until the 1760s or so and was valued at 12 Scots to 1 British/English. When the Brent crude dries up the Scots pound will trade like toilet paper.

A bit like the Irish punt, was worth about 90p but you only ever got 1:1 if you spent an English pound over there.

[scottishmoney]

I could rather see it like the Scots pound of old, ie 12:1 - the Scots pound was a unit of account until the 1760s or so and was valued at 12 Scots to 1 British/English. When the Brent crude dries up the Scots pound will trade like toilet paper.

A bit like the Irish punt, was worth about 90p but you only ever got 1:1 if you spent an English pound over there.

There was a brief stint ca. 1975-7 when the Irish currency was actually worth a bit more than a British quid. It was so unusual that it made the news in all rounds.

[azda]

Love it. The scare tatics don't seem to be working much

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/scottish-independence-salmond-gives-debt-warning-1-3305302

[Accumulator]

I'm neutral and really don't mind, but as I read it, Salmon now finds himself between an irresistible force and an immovable object. The outcome of which cannot be in his favour.

[Gary D]

Where does Salmon get the idea that he matters, he's just got delusions of grandure. If you work out the nation debt by head of population Scotland accounts for about 8%.

[Nick]

Suggesting that an independent Scotland walks away from their share of the UK debt would do wonders for their credit rating as a fledgling nation.

[azda]

You can't pay a national debt when you don't use the currency. As for Salmond, he's just a staunch Nationalist and i think he's getting pretty pissed off with all the scaremongering by Westminster.

I shall be gutted if we lose, having to go cap in Hand to those Tory *******s who are already licking the cream from the bowl and greasing their friends Palms makes me sick to the stomach

[josie]

Pound,Dollar,Euro.. Just like decimalisation in seventies..how they will cut it and who is the Authority and have more power in currecy,laws and agreement in history till now?Just wondering.both may have expert who will have a final say?

Commonwealth currecny union?

Edited February 15, 2014 by josie

[Peckris]

You can't pay a national debt when you don't use the currency. As for Salmond, he's just a staunch Nationalist and i think he's getting pretty pissed off with all the scaremongering by Westminster.

I shall be gutted if we lose, having to go cap in Hand to those Tory *******s who are already licking the cream from the bowl and greasing their friends Palms makes me sick to the stomach

I'm with you there Dave, but for me it's the Tory b******s in the Home Counties who should declare independence and leave the rest of the UK to everyone else including the Scots.

[Accumulator]

You can't pay a national debt when you don't use the currency. As for Salmond, he's just a staunch Nationalist and i think he's getting pretty pissed off with all the scaremongering by Westminster.

I shall be gutted if we lose, having to go cap in Hand to those Tory *******s who are already licking the cream from the bowl and greasing their friends Palms makes me sick to the stomach

'We'? Surely you don't get a vote Dave?

[Nick]

You can't pay a national debt when you don't use the currency. As for Salmond, he's just a staunch Nationalist and i think he's getting pretty pissed off with all the scaremongering by Westminster.

I shall be gutted if we lose, having to go cap in Hand to those Tory *******s who are already licking the cream from the bowl and greasing their friends Palms makes me sick to the stomach

I'm with you there Dave, but for me it's the Tory b******s in the Home Counties who should declare independence and leave the rest of the UK to everyone else including the Scots.

Your part of the UK would be a bit short of income if they did. Elmbridge in Surrey (£1.18bn) alone pays more income tax than Glasgow (£898m), Sheffield (£812m), Aberdeen (£728m), Cardiff (£589m) and Newcastle (£443m).

[Peckris]

You can't pay a national debt when you don't use the currency. As for Salmond, he's just a staunch Nationalist and i think he's getting pretty pissed off with all the scaremongering by Westminster.

I shall be gutted if we lose, having to go cap in Hand to those Tory *******s who are already licking the cream from the bowl and greasing their friends Palms makes me sick to the stomach

I'm with you there Dave, but for me it's the Tory b******s in the Home Counties who should declare independence and leave the rest of the UK to everyone else including the Scots.

Your part of the UK would be a bit short of income if they did. Elmbridge in Surrey (£1.18bn) alone pays more income tax than Glasgow (£898m), Sheffield (£812m), Aberdeen (£728m), Cardiff (£589m) and Newcastle (£443m).

Income tax payers are the poor little pampered darlings who've all had it very very easy since the 1990s. Meanwhile the rest of us, as ever, pay VAT on nearly everything we buy, crippling fuel duty on our transport, Council Tax, insurance tax, and anything else the Government can think up to scorch us for. I have absolutely no sympathy with or pity for income tax payers in the slightest, or in the good citizens of Elmbridge in Surrey...

[Nick]

You can't pay a national debt when you don't use the currency. As for Salmond, he's just a staunch Nationalist and i think he's getting pretty pissed off with all the scaremongering by Westminster.

I shall be gutted if we lose, having to go cap in Hand to those Tory *******s who are already licking the cream from the bowl and greasing their friends Palms makes me sick to the stomach

I'm with you there Dave, but for me it's the Tory b******s in the Home Counties who should declare independence and leave the rest of the UK to everyone else including the Scots.

Your part of the UK would be a bit short of income if they did. Elmbridge in Surrey (£1.18bn) alone pays more income tax than Glasgow (£898m), Sheffield (£812m), Aberdeen (£728m), Cardiff (£589m) and Newcastle (£443m).

Income tax payers are the poor little pampered darlings who've all had it very very easy since the 1990s. Meanwhile the rest of us, as ever, pay VAT on nearly everything we buy, crippling fuel duty on our transport, Council Tax, insurance tax, and anything else the Government can think up to scorch us for. I have absolutely no sympathy with or pity for income tax payers in the slightest, or in the good citizens of Elmbridge in Surrey...

Income tax is still the largest source of income for the government of the day and income tax payers also pay VAT, fuel duty, council tax, etc etc, so without the tax payers of Elmbridge there would be £1.18bn less for the government to spend, which no doubt you would also moan about.

I notice you didn't answer how your part of the UK would deal with the shortfall of income once the home counties had been floated offshore.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Nick

[Gary D]

You can't pay a national debt when you don't use the currency. As for Salmond, he's just a staunch Nationalist and i think he's getting pretty pissed off with all the scaremongering by Westminster.

I shall be gutted if we lose, having to go cap in Hand to those Tory *******s who are already licking the cream from the bowl and greasing their friends Palms makes me sick to the stomach

I'm with you there Dave, but for me it's the Tory b******s in the Home Counties who should declare independence and leave the rest of the UK to everyone else including the Scots.

If you were to widen that to southern England or where all us southern softies live that would represent 50% of the population in 1/3 of the country. Perhaps we should and leave the rest for the sheep.

[Red Riley]

Income tax payers are the poor little pampered darlings who've all had it very very easy since the 1990s. Meanwhile the rest of us, as ever, pay VAT on nearly everything we buy, crippling fuel duty on our transport, Council Tax, insurance tax, and anything else the Government can think up to scorch us for. I have absolutely no sympathy with or pity for income tax payers in the slightest, or in the good citizens of Elmbridge in Surrey...

I do take your point Peck. To reduce the gap between rich and poor, which has been ever widening since the seventies, income tax would need to be increased and indirect taxes such as VAT need to reduce. The problem with income tax though is that the higher rates don't actually raise much and to make any kind of difference, the basic rate would need to be increased and you can imagine the howls of anguish this would produce from the dogs in the manger. As a result raising it is probably politically impossible.

Despite it being a maximum of 50 miles from me, I have never heard of Elmbridge!

[Nick]

Income tax payers are the poor little pampered darlings who've all had it very very easy since the 1990s. Meanwhile the rest of us, as ever, pay VAT on nearly everything we buy, crippling fuel duty on our transport, Council Tax, insurance tax, and anything else the Government can think up to scorch us for. I have absolutely no sympathy with or pity for income tax payers in the slightest, or in the good citizens of Elmbridge in Surrey...

I do take your point Peck. To reduce the gap between rich and poor, which has been ever widening since the seventies, income tax would need to be increased and indirect taxes such as VAT need to reduce. The problem with income tax though is that the higher rates don't actually raise much and to make any kind of difference, the basic rate would need to be increased and you can imagine the howls of anguish this would produce from the dogs in the manger. As a result raising it is probably politically impossible.

Despite it being a maximum of 50 miles from me, I have never heard of Elmbridge!

It's just the name of a borough. People would more readily recognise the places it contains: Esher, Weybridge, Walton-on-Thames.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Nick

[Rob]

With all that money taken in tax down south, it is little wonder that us oop north can't afford proper coins. Always having to make do with other people's cast-offs.

[Peckris]

With all that money taken in tax down south, it is little wonder that us oop north can't afford proper coins. Always having to make do with other people's cast-offs.

...good point, well made. It's just so typical of SE arrogance that they think they are funding the rest of Britain. And where WEREN'T the manufacturies and foundries during the Industrial Revolution? Yeah, you guessed it - in the SE...

[Nick]

With all that money taken in tax down south, it is little wonder that us oop north can't afford proper coins. Always having to make do with other people's cast-offs.

...good point, well made. It's just so typical of SE arrogance that they think they are funding the rest of Britain. And where WEREN'T the manufacturies and foundries during the Industrial Revolution? Yeah, you guessed it - in the SE...

You can ignore the facts if you like, but you can't change them. At the present time, London and the south-east do subsidise the rest of the UK and during the Industrial Revolution it was probably the other way around.

[Accumulator]

Jokes aside, I have to say there's some breathtaking opinions being expressed here against those, who purely by dint of geography and birth, happen to be from the south-east of this country.

[DaveG38]

Mr Barosso seems to have put his two-pennorth into the independence debate in his answers to Andrew Marr. The thing I find most compelling about what he said is that as he's a politician, he will have been very clear in advance on what he should say about the question of Scottish Independence and the EU. From my perspective, I'm sure he will have taken that guidance before coming to the UK, and I'm of the view that what he said is very much the official position of the EU. I very much doubt that he said what he said off the top of his head.

[Rob]

Unfortunately I was unable to find many ex members of the BNS living in Elmbridge. It appears that most of my cast-offs have come from Kensington and Mayfair .............................or Yorkshire.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Rob

[azda]

You can't pay a national debt when you don't use the currency. As for Salmond, he's just a staunch Nationalist and i think he's getting pretty pissed off with all the scaremongering by Westminster.

I shall be gutted if we lose, having to go cap in Hand to those Tory *******s who are already licking the cream from the bowl and greasing their friends Palms makes me sick to the stomach

I'm with you there Dave, but for me it's the Tory b******s in the Home Counties who should declare independence and leave the rest of the UK to everyone else including the Scots.

Your part of the UK would be a bit short of income if they did. Elmbridge in Surrey (£1.18bn) alone pays more income tax than Glasgow (£898m), Sheffield (£812m), Aberdeen (£728m), Cardiff (£589m) and Newcastle (£443m).

Elmbridge in Surrey may have more population, Scotland has a mere 5 million population. The same said elmbridge may have many rich residents compared to the millionaires that reside in Scotland. Bear in mind how much Scotland pays in oil tax. If this was taken into account and it did'nt head into the Westminster coffers then we'd probably be paying more than the UK put together.

AC, i mean we as i'm Scottish, whether i can or cannot vote. Being able to vote or not does not determine who i am. oOh and if we combined Aberdeen and Glasgow the combined tax would be more than Elmbridge. 1.6 Billion or so. Wonder how mamy people live in Elmbridge Surrey who work as Stockbrokers or Play Professional Football or who own 1 million pound plus houses. Lets keep it into perspective

Edited February 16, 2014 by azda