Poll - Does Scotland really want to go it alone?

[morag]

Just got this link and like what I read. Is anyone familiar with this group?
http://www.scottishdemocraticalliance.com/our-vision

[willie thompson]

Try this site,

newsnetscotland.com.

[Richard]

Aye Morag, I'm aware of them. Good link.

Willie, I've added this link here properly for you. THE most reliable Scottish news source IMO.
http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

[tapnagol]

I am not yet convinced that it is for the present,a good idea. I think that the union is strong, but what really Ps me off are those who claim that Scotland could not go it alone. For heavens sake, the world is populated by Scots ex pats, who have made a fantastic difference. Of course we could do very well independently, but whether we should is another matter. I am still to be convinced. The jury is still out.

[exile]

Richard, your point about wanting to know voters' private reasons is well made. That's not democracy, but the corresponding obligation - that voters have first thought it through - IS expected in a democracy, and is an obligation not to be shirked.
I really do believe that this vote calls on us all to do our homework in a way that's never been required before, and any voter who's not prepared to think very hard about their reasons - for, or against - is a liability.

[margaret gemmell]

My vote is for No, we shouldn't go it alone. I also feel the same about Australia and its ties to Britain.

[John Donnelly]

Hi Margaret,

WHY?

JD.

[morag]

I think some people just hate to break tradition, John, I'm a wee bit that way myself, pomp and circumstance, land of hope and glory, hearts of oak etc., but honestly think the time has come to stop it all. I read in a British online paper the Queen had tried to use the poor fund to heat Buckingham palace...it was advised as very bad pr and wasn't followed through. I've nothing against the royals per se, but think they should pay their own way.

[Bob Bryden]

I think a key question to be considered is whether Scotland going it alone would ease the financial burden on the Scottish taxpayer. At the moment there seems to be excessive costs in supporting or paying for two lots of M.P.'s - Members of the Scottish Parliament & Members of the Westminster Parliament. According to what I read in the Sunday Post a while back some M.S.P's seem to be claiming excessive expenses just like some of their Westminster counterparts.

An Independent Scotland wouldn't have anything like the size of the taxpayer base of the rest of the U.K. to finance things like Defence or the N.H.S. or the Welfare State for instance unless Westminster was willing to hand over to Scotland the revenue from the North Sea oil fields & I can't see them being willing to do that. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Britain's main shore base for those fields in Aberdeen & aren't they nearer to Scotland than England?

Overall, I'm not convinced that it would be in Scotland's best interests to break off from the rest of the U.K. The present set up isn't perfect but is perhaps the lesser of two evils - at least from the perspective of cost to the taxpayer.

I'm no fan of Britain's Torie Govt. They're effectively the equivalent to New Zealand's current National Party Govt. & they're developing the same low reputation as previous Governments of their Party such as broken promises & being beneficiary bashers & giving the biggest tax cuts to their rich cronies - our present P.M. is a multi-millionaire who made his fortune manipulating other people's money as a money or financial trader. One thing for sure, if I was still back in Scotland I'd never vote Conservative. Mind you I'm not sure whether Labour would be much better if it got its hands on the reigns of power in an Independent Scotland.

Bob

[Richard]

Exile:
Considering the enormity of what sits before us, yes, we all have a obligation to find out & learn as much
as possible about the whole situation past, present and the options ahead of us.
A lot of the answers are already out there but when the LibLabCons will not come out and state what they
are offering UNTIL we reject Independence, then we cannot be expected to form a balanced decision.
The unionist's are playing a dirty & dangerous game and it WILL backfire on them.
I think most of us know that quite a lot of people are not going to do their homework on this, due to just
as many reasons. Reasons such as politics bores the sh!t out of most people, "traditional voting", fear and
the worst excuse of all...Apathy. We have politicians to blame for just about every reason.
Your post "sounds" suspiciuosly similar to JD',
Thing is, I agree with both of you on the obligation to learn but like I said, people can't make a balanced &
informed choice if the LibLabCons are refusing to "inform".
Do they really think we are thick enough to fall for their lies & deceit AGAIN.
The LibLabCons are running scared, with nothing to say, because they have no saleable case to sell,
And they know it.
Maybe that will change ?????

BOB: Hope all has gone as well as can be expected at your recent visits to the hospital.

[chriso]

Here's another point of view.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... alone.html

We read so many convincing things for and against, but how do we know the facts we read are true?.

I have just finished a book by David Baldacci called "The whole truth" which brought to my attention some thing called perception management. ( look it up on google)

One part of the authors notes at the end of the book describing perception management says
P.M's are not spin doctors because they don't spin facts, they create facts and sell them to the world as a truth.

I for one do not have a clue how to find out with a stone wall certainty if what we read is true.

"Scotland is a rich nation, both in human talent and natural resources." is an extract from Morags link.

What natural resources have we actually got that is worth a lot of money? Oil? Tourism? (I'm sure some of you will maybe think of some more)

We used to have a coal industry which has now gone.
The same for the steel industry.
Shipbuilding, which is going. (No way can we compete with foreign countries such as Korea)


The only thing that is certain whatever the outcome, is the fact that our elected M.P's will have a good standard of living unlike the majority of the people.

[ellenyoung31]

I would like Scotland to be independent. but it won't be easy
for a while. Ellen