(Independent) Scotland and the pound?

[adidan]

Indeed, I think sometimes Salmond forgets the UK has other countries in it.

[Saracen]

....

But then, its far more likely the Yes voters arent voting for Salmond, theyre voting because they wont vote No.

Oh, I sure hope so. And if Scots vote yes, then good luck. A lot SEEM to be be saying it's to keep the Tories out. Fair enough. On that basis, I'm all for Scottish independence, since it'll also help keep Labour out down here. It'll hit LD seats, too. Strikes me as a good thing, in that regard.

If Scots want independence, that's their right. But a proper, honest discussion of the implucation would've been nice, and it didn't happen.

Given the utter, categoric rejection of any chance of a currency union, Salmond should, if he was honest, have accepted that that was a possibility, and moreover, absolutely out of his control and in the hands of Westminster poluticians who'd publicly, repeatedly, categorically and utterly rejected any chance. And then explained what iScotland would do if that happened. There are alternatives, but he won't specify which one he favours, and that, in my view, treats voters with contempt.

But still, knowing the uncertainties, if Scots STILL vote to leave, that's their choice. Bye, and don't worry about leaving your keys, we'll be changing the locks.

[adidan]

Guff on the news about how England would shift to the right without Scottish Labour MPs.

Historically, discounting Scottish votes, it would have made pretty much no difference to the political make up at Westminster, something the 'News' is ignoring. True in the last election the Tories would have had a majority but it's hardly like the LibDems have done anything to stop a Tory Government while in a coalition.

[Apex]

But still, knowing the uncertainties, if Scots STILL vote to leave, that's their choice. Bye, and don't worry about leaving your keys, we'll be changing the locks.

I think we have a wall that is in need of some repair someplace that should do the trick.....

[Saracen]

Guff on the news about how England would shift to the right without Scottish Labour MPs.

Historically, discounting Scottish votes, it would have made pretty much no difference to the political make up at Westminster, something the 'News' is ignoring. True in the last election the Tories would have had a majority but it's hardly like the LibDems have done anything to stop a Tory Government while in a coalition.

Oh, I suspect the LDs have done a lot to change things. For a start, boundary changes would have mitigated the built-in Labour bias in the current FPTP system. The LDs killed that in a fit of pique over losing the AV vote. Secondly, we very likely would already have had a referendum on the EU, which very likely would have meant FAR less support for UKIP. I'm sure I could come up with all sorts of other things the LDs have affected .... some I would support (like raising Income Tax PAs to £10k as a priority), others not.

[Saracen]

I think we have a wall that is in need of some repair someplace that should do the trick.....

It'll be interesting to see what happens on borders if the vote does go 'yes'.

[The Hand]

The three musketeers have ventured north of the border today:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...itics-29136699

Surely this will help the "Yes" vote though? lol

[adidan]

Yup.

Good luck Scotland, Salmond sounds inept, he's claimed business concerns are just 'scaremongering' - he's basically ignoring anybody who wants some issues addressed by saying they're just being negative.

Seriously, good luck.

Edit: Sir Ian Wood (Scottish BTW) currently on the news, not in either camp but has got involved due to wild talk about oil. He says the estimates of oil by the 'yes' camp is at least 33% out. He aslo say by 2050 there will be zero significant contribution to the Scottish budget from the oil industry and that the '99 new fields' that have been claimed by Prof Alex Kemp are already being counted in the figures, they are not additional to the mis-quoted ones being bandied around by the 'yes' camp.

Good luck!

[Saracen]

...

Surely this will help the "Yes" vote though? lol

That, in my view, is a serious risk, yeah. I mean a posh, Eton-educated English Tory PM .... you could hardly puck a profile more calculated to rub many Scots the wrong way. And Miliband isn't much more popular. And then .... Clegg. Hmmm, nuff said.

BUT .... there's a portion of the Scottish population for whom absolutely nothing would entice them to vote No. God could come down from the Heavens with a horde of Archangels and he'd be ignored. And if he adked Salmond what currency, he'd be told "Sterling, in a currency union" even if HE said it wasn't on offer.

But they're not the ones the three Stooges are aiming at.

Whether they can get through to wavering voters and either switch them back to no, or convince undecideds to decide "no", may well depend on what they say, and quite how they say it.

The idea, I'm sure, is a Canadian-style love-in, but how it'll go down is hard to call. And it does strike me as a hell of a gamble that it'll be counter-productive.

[Saracen]

Yup.

Good luck Scotland, Salmond sounds inept, he's claimed business concerns are just 'scaremongering' - he's basically ignoring anybody who wants some issues addressed by saying they're just being negative.

Seriously, good luck.

Edit: Sir Ian Wood (Scottish BTW) currently on the news, not in either camp but has got involved due to wild talk about oil. He says the estimates of oil by the 'yes' camp is at least 33% out. He aslo say by 2050 there will be zero significant contribution to the Scottish budget from the oil industry and that the '99 new fields' that have been claimed by Prof Alex Kemp are already being counted in the figures, they are not additional to the mis-quoted ones being bandied around by the 'yes' camp.

Good luck!

Exactly. The Chief Exec of Standard Life has said they're making contingency plans to shift parts of their business south of the border, including pensions, in the event of a Yes vote. The SNP dismissed that as scaremongering.

Exactly what happens to financial institutions is one of those big questions .... including major banks.

After all, the UK FSCS that protects bank balances (up to £85k) is a UK. guarantee, backed by the UK government. In iScotland, as things stand, several major high street banks would be headquartered outside the UK, so .... are they still covered by the FSCS?

Personally, I have accounts with Lloyds (business bank), NatWest (personal), and investments with several, including bonds maturing shortly, with Halifax, etc. If Scotland votes yes, I'll be moving all those south, unless those institutions relocate, and relocate very promptly. In fact, the majority of funds already has moved, though the accounts are currently still open. For now.

[SeriousSam]

On the day that Scotland becomes independent any bank that operates in the UK but has headquarters in Scotland will become a foreign company. Consequently any deposits etc. with them will not be covered by the FSCS. The grey area is the time between the vote and actual independence. We did have a statement by the Governor of the bank of England which talks about loans to banks to prevent issues such as collapse, however that does not necessarily mean individuals investments will be covered.

As an aside I have decided that from today onwards I shall refer to Labour and the Lib Dems as the Skaffer and Faffer parties... seeing as even the BBC can't be bothered to say Conservative.

[mynameissi]

I'm not very clever with these things but what if Scotland goes independent and you are a Scottish citizen, who travels across the border to England to go to work. Don't you become a foreign citizen? So what's the deal with that

[ik9000]

I'm not very clever with these things but what if Scotland goes independent and you are a Scottish citizen, who travels across the border to England to go to work. Don't you become a foreign citizen? So what's the deal with that

or what if they are currently living, working and paying tax in England?

[Saracen]

I'm not very clever with these things but what if Scotland goes independent and you are a Scottish citizen, who travels across the border to England to go to work. Don't you become a foreign citizen? So what's the deal with that

As I understand it, until such time as Scotland becomes an EU member in it's own right, yes. But I doubt how stringent any moves to stop that will be.

[Saracen]

Oh, and RBS and Lloyds Bank have now also both said they have contingency plans to shift south in various ways. RBS apparently are planning to move HQ and legal location to the UK, and Lloyds plan to move legal location to their existing London HQ.

And so it starts.

[ik9000]

Oh, and RBS and Lloyds Bank have now also both said they have contingency plans to shift south in various ways. RBS apparently are planning to move HQ and legal location to the UK, and Lloyds plan to move legal location to their existing London HQ.

And so it starts.

indeed! Businesses actually have to deal with reality. And the reality is Salmond's flannel isn't good enough to make decisions on, so they have to stick with what they know: the UK