Alex Salmond

[azda]

The BBC's Nick Robinson asked some very uncomfortable questions in front of the media. Mr Robinson got it handed straight back on a plate. It would seem someone in the cabinet has been informing the BBC about RBS. This had an effect on the bank's share issue prior to its 7am release this morning. The BBC as the first minister rightly pointed out this morning will need to investigate who leaked it. This was of course all on the BBC News and in front of the international media to see. Let's see the unbiased opinion of the BBC come to light now.

[azda]

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/science-technology/independent-scotland-will-not-be-allowed-to-use-british-oxygen-2014021283498

[bagerap]

So, RBS stays open in Scotland but pays tax in London?

[DaveG38]

So, RBS stays open in Scotland but pays tax in London?

I believe its slightly more complicated than that. At the moment RBS is a national UK bank regulated by the FSA, BOE etc. and all tax revenues (not much at present due to losses sustained over the past few years) are paid to HMRC. Come independence, the HQ moves to London, which means that the tax take for the UK and Scotland will then be proportional to the business in each country. Given 5 Million Scots and 55-60 million UK citizens,even though they don't all have RBS bank accounts, it is obvious that the majority of business will be in the UK and hence the tax take will be much greater than in Scotland. That's my understanding.

However, there's a couple of much more significant points. Firstly, over time, senior managers will migrate to London, followed by lesser staff, until at some point the decision will be made to close the HQ in Scotland (not the branches though). It doesn't have to happen, but all my experience in business shows that this is the usual way that companies act. The second, more serious issue is the message that the re-location sends concerning confidence in Scotland. The action in itself is simply about the banks reassuring its customers that their money will be safe, with the BOE backing them, but of course the opposite view then gets taken that investment in Scottish banks could not be trusted, and that may be very damaging to business in general.

[Peckris]

Do these *&%£$%s even pay tax?

Probably not as much as they should but I doubt if they get off scot free.

Anyway Salmon will just up the oil output to make up any shortfall...wait a minute he doesn't own any oil it's owner by the comanies that extract it. All that he gets, and the UK government for that matter, is the tax on the oil companies. And the production level is set by international agreement anyway. Also if production was increased the price would go down, set by the spot market, and the gross tax would likely not change.

He keeps banging on about oil revenues - but do we know how much of the stuff is actually in Scotland's territorial waters, rather than out in the North Sea or actually off the English coast? Of course, then there's the gas, but Scotland has ALL of that ... it's travelling around campaigning hard for a Yes vote so it can be Prime Minister, President, Chief Willy of the Clans, Wholly Rude, or whatever takes its fancy.

[azda]

Biased BBC caught out and slapped down by Salmond

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rHmLb-RIbrM

Edited September 12, 2014 by azda

[Gary1000]

The No campain have lost this by trying to talk sense to the voter.You can talk as much sense as you like but it won't make a jot of difference. This vote is going to be won by hearts not heads.

[Peckris]

The No campain have lost this by trying to talk sense to the voter.You can talk as much sense as you like but it won't make a jot of difference. This vote is going to be won by hearts not heads.

Yeah, but those hearts might be the same hearts that - having invaded as far as Derby under Bonnie Prince Charlie - muttered something about needing to get back to their families and harvest before turning around and stomping home.

[scottishmoney]

The English want the Scots to stay so much, anyone hear the signing at the England game? As for Milliband, the man is a complete bell end, he has the attitude of "its my ball so you can't play" some Scots care for the Union and as we're now seeing when push comes to shove, Westminster and quite a lot of the ENGLISH population don't want us in the Union anyway.

There was a video yesterday where a guy went to an money exchange in London and asked to change £100 Scots pounds to English, they were going to give him £94, but why, our pound is also still Sterling is it not? Things like this stick in the throats of Scots, Englamd deem us natives and not worth shit, but now that the natives are restless and the shit is starting to hit the fan things are suddenly coming to the surface of what Englamd REALLY thinks of Scotland, and this is why attitudes in Scotland towards independence are changing and last night will help that along no end.

We're now seeing the dislike directed towards us by Westminster with their small threats of this and that, since when did Milliband become PM and has a say if there should be soliders posted at the border? These idiots are the people that are leading you, i've never once heard derogatory remarks from Irish or Welsh citizens, so why are the English so pissed off?

Oh and btw, the exchange rate from Scottish to English pounds was 1.062, a fricking joke, yet we take English notes but you won't take ours, and we're all equal, yeah right ok.

Rather interesting, but whence I was in Paris just before the intro to the Euro the money changers were actually giving more favourable exchange rates for Scottish notes than BoE notes - because the Scots banks cleared the funds a day quicker than BoE. Northern Ireland banks were given a less favourable rate of exchange vs. English and Scottish notes.

Back in history Scottish banknotes were much more reliable than their English counterparts. Banks being stabilised by the joint stock banking system were a help, bank failures in Scotland were the exception rather than the rule. It was not Scottish banks that necessitated the Banking Act 0f 1844, but rather English banks. Bank failures in England were rife, even in the late 19th century. Scotland had a mere one catastrophic bank failure - City of Glasgow Bank in 1878.

Ordinarily when a bank in Scotland was on the skids another bank stepped in and bought them out or merged. When Renfrewshire Bank was sequestered in the early 1840s it's notes were slowly and surely paid out - I owned one that had dividend stamps over a period of a couple of years. Which is why you find so few 19th century Scottish banknotes in collections now - they were paid out and destroyed, rather unlike English provincial banks - the number of which you can find for a pittance still.

[azda]

Welcome back scottishmoney, i've been Holding the fort until the cavalry arrived

[scottishmoney]

[azda]

Seems about right

http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.com.es/2014/08/scotland-heavy-price-referendum.html?m=1

[Gary1000]

Seems about right

http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.com.es/2014/08/scotland-heavy-price-referendum.html?m=1

Someone advocating an independent Yorkshire is not exactly going to give a balanced view.

Anyway it will all be revealed tomorrow. Personally I would prefer either a yes vote or a landslide no vote. If Salmon was to lose by only a knats we will never hear the end of it.

[TomGoodheart]

Anyway it will all be revealed tomorrow. Personally I would prefer either a yes vote or a landslide no vote. If Salmon was to lose by only a knats we will never hear the end of it.

Feels like the damage is already done. Whichever way it goes, there will be a significant number of people who wanted something different.

It'll take a skilled set of politicians to deal with the disappointed and hurt 'losers' so we can all move on from this and figure out where we're going now ... anyone know of any?

[azda]

I wonder if Cameron will resign tomorrow. I'm watching a live chatroom and listening to people saying NO or Undecided are changing their minds in the Polling queue to YES and a friend of mine today said she had done the same.

Whatever happens it has been messy and i believe that only Westminster is to blame, the 3 amigos sign a pact to give more powers in the Event of a NO vote only for their backbenchers to come out and say the exact opposite and that they'll be trying to Tale 4 Billion back from Scotland a year, well, i don't think that really helps a "better together" campaign and the NOs now see how Westminster really is (as of they needed more evidence)

[azda]

Seems about righthttp://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.com.es/2014/08/scotland-heavy-price-referendum.html?m=1

Someone advocating an independent Yorkshire is not exactly going to give a balanced view.

Lol, the BBC have been quite balanced in their reporting?

[Rob]

Anyway it will all be revealed tomorrow. Personally I would prefer either a yes vote or a landslide no vote. If Salmon was to lose by only a knats we will never hear the end of it.

Feels like the damage is already done. Whichever way it goes, there will be a significant number of people who wanted something different.

It'll take a skilled set of politicians to deal with the disappointed and hurt 'losers' so we can all move on from this and figure out where we're going now ... anyone know of any?

I concur.

I thought it was stupid to break up the union in the first place, but now there is so much animosity it would probably be better with a yes vote. If Westminster doesn't hit the ground running on the 19th and start playing hardball from the outset, the real beneficiaries are going to be UKIP as the only people who can justifiably claim to be working for the citizens of what remains of the UK. The financial costs to both sides will be great in the short term, but the recriminations will last a lot longer because there are a lot of Scots (roughly half) who won't be happy with the outcome.

What is important in the event of a yes vote is that Scotland gets its proportionately fair share but no more. Westminster must work, and be seen to be working, for the benefit of the approximately 90% of the population that didn't have a say.

Golden parachutes are for those you want to get rid of. The rest of the UK has never demanded that.

Edited September 18, 2014 by Rob

[Gary1000]

Seems about righthttp://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.com.es/2014/08/scotland-heavy-price-referendum.html?m=1

Someone advocating an independent Yorkshire is not exactly going to give a balanced view.

Lol, the BBC have been quite balanced in their reporting?

As the rest of the Union get no vote in their future I think the BBC should have stayed completely out of it and ignored the whole thing instead of acting like a swam of fly's around a fresh turd.

[TomGoodheart]

As the rest of the Union get no vote in their future I think the BBC should have stayed completely out of it and ignored the whole thing instead of acting like a swam of fly's around a fresh turd.

But as one of the biggest stories around (and certainly the biggest affecting the UK at present) surely the BBC is obliged to report on it?

As for balance and impartiality, well, for an issue that stirs the emotions they are never going to steer clear of accusations of bias, whatever they do.

[Gary1000]

But as one of the biggest stories around (and certainly the biggest affecting the UK at present) surely the BBC is obliged to report on it?

As for balance and impartiality, well, for an issue that stirs the emotions they are never going to steer clear of accusations of bias, whatever they do.

Agreed, but they are ramming it don't own throats and treating it as a great big circus. I'll be glad when it's all over and we can get back to the Pistorius trial.

[Peckris]

But as one of the biggest stories around (and certainly the biggest affecting the UK at present) surely the BBC is obliged to report on it?

As for balance and impartiality, well, for an issue that stirs the emotions they are never going to steer clear of accusations of bias, whatever they do.

Agreed, but they are ramming it don't own throats and treating it as a great big circus. I'll be glad when it's all over and we can get back to the Pistorius trial.

You're a bit late aren't you? Verdict already handed down...

[Gary1000]

But as one of the biggest stories around (and certainly the biggest affecting the UK at present) surely the BBC is obliged to report on it?

As for balance and impartiality, well, for an issue that stirs the emotions they are never going to steer clear of accusations of bias, whatever they do.

Agreed, but they are ramming it don't own throats and treating it as a great big circus. I'll be glad when it's all over and we can get back to the Pistorius trial.

You're a bit late aren't you? Verdict already handed down...

The verdict maybe but still awaiting his conviction

[azda]

I'll be glad when its over and we can get back to coins

Edited September 18, 2014 by azda

[Rob]

I'll be glad when its over and we can get back to coins

Yes, but that's a politician for you. They only have a maximum 5 year horizon looking forward until they can be re-elected, and anything a year or two in the past is conveniently forgotten. Nothing a politician does is remembered unless someone applauds it later. That's why they are perceived as remote and with double standards.

35 years ago, Salmond was espousing the abolition of the monarchy as part of the ideals of the 79 group. As I understand it today, he would welcome the Queen as head of the country - yeh, ok. Vive la difference.

[azda]

I believe there will be a vote on the monarchy should we gain independence, but as Ametrica did'nt retain them i'm sure Scotland won't, but we'll see what happens from tomorrow onwards, nothing is a forgone conclusion either way

Edited September 18, 2014 by azda