Thread: Scottish independence

Originally Posted by Marcurix

I’m curious to people’s opinions on this, i know its been an issue for the last few years, especially with the SNP minority government.

So should Scotland separate?

Personally I’ve always been pro-union, I’ve never seen a reason (i mean a real reason not just "oh because Scotland deserves its independence" crap) for the Union to be broken and honestly i keep finding holes with the SNP's plan for separation.

a major one as an example would be North sea oil supposedly forming the cornerstone of the Scottish budget, yes as far as that goes the oil (and gas) is almost gone, i believe reserves were down to somewhere around 30% when it was last checked in 2000.

So yes argue away and real reasons please.

I don't believe there is a genuine feeling for independence in Scotland. Autonomy yes, and they have achieved this, but independence would be an extreme step, and I really think most people in Scotland don't want it.

I think Scottish indepndence would signal the end of the UK and cause severe problems for everyone.

Originally Posted by Marcurix

a major one as an example would be North sea oil supposedly forming the cornerstone of the Scottish budget, yes as far as that goes the oil (and gas) is almost gone, i believe reserves were down to somewhere around 30% when it was last checked in 2000.

So where does the money for the higher spending per person (if I am correct) come from currently? Higher taxes, English money?

Also if they separated when the oil/gas is gone where would they get the money to continue current spending from?

Another thing, what would happen to the military if they separated, they would get the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Scots Guards, presumably minus titles. They would probably try and get their hands on some of the Fusiliers as well.
The division of the RN and RAF however isn't as clear.

As an American I don't see what they have to gain from independence. They already have significant autonomy from London ... which leads to another question what if any control does London still retain over internal affairs in Scotland?

Here in the US even the most ardent Puerto Rican independence activists and Indian/Native American/American Indian nationalist figures (ex. Russell Means of the Oglala Sioux) realize that at the end of the day independence will bring nothing but further problems as these insular areas rely almost totally on the federal government for everything.

As a matter of fact, the independence option got only 2% of the vote the last time Puerto Rico held a status referendum in 1998, it was pretty much evenly split between the other 2 options of remaining a territory and becoming the 51st state.

Even though the Scottish Nationalists are in power in the Scottish Parliament, they only JUST beat Labour in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary Elections.

Most Scots who voted in the election voted for other parties, so only a minority of Scots voted for the Nationalists. So support for independence in Scotland mustn't be so high.

Though if Scotland gains its independence, England would become richer because English taxpayers wouldn't have to subsidise the Scots anymore.