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Does loosing part of the Kingdom constitute a resigning issue?

(47 Posts)
whitewave Sun 07-Sep-14 19:28:56

I get the distinct impression that Cameron has somehow sleepwalked into loosing Scotland on his watch. If he does I think he should resign,

suzied Sun 07-Sep-14 19:32:03

Conservatives would always be in government if Scotland go independent, as most Scottish mps are labour, I am surprised they aren't supporting the yes vote.

nigglynellie Sun 07-Sep-14 20:55:31

They probably are (secretly!!) but can't appear to do so, hence their lack of urgency. I think the Labour party have been very slow off the mark, and are now running round like mad trying to shore up the NO vote suddenly realising that YES could condemn them to the political wilderness. I should think Ed Milliband should resign as his complacency could have well lost labour any chance of power for years. David Cameron will probably be well chuffed with no thought of resignation! (although he'll pretend not to be!!)

Eloethan Sun 07-Sep-14 21:50:24

I would like to think that, whatever the outcome, the Scottish people have listened to the arguments and made up their own minds. I do think the "Better Together" campaign has been unnecessarily alarmist about Scotland's ability to manage its own affairs and that a less doom laden approach would have been better.

At the outset I hoped that Scotland would say no to independence because I think it is a valuable part of Britain. However, if I were Scottish I would be feeling very annoyed that all the "big guns", including countries that have no business to interfere, have come out to try and undermine the case for an independent Scotland.

Making David Cameron responsible for either a yes or a no vote seems to me to overstate his importance in the grand scheme of things.

HollyDaze Sun 07-Sep-14 22:00:00

Good post Eloethan

I was watching the debates and one Scottish chap said 'if it's better together, why isn't it better already' - I can relate to that.

The Scottish people will have to decide what's best for them and their country and whichever way it goes, I wish them well.

durhamjen Mon 08-Sep-14 11:10:02

It was Cameron who gave them the vote.

What's worrying me is that the Tories are saying that if the Scots vote yes, they might have such a constitutional problem that they will have to cancel next year's election for the rest of us. That would be a problem!

Anniebach Mon 08-Sep-14 13:50:18

Selfish I know, but I dread Scotland voting yes, Wales needs Scotland

Ana Mon 08-Sep-14 14:00:00

It's not just the Tories who are suggesting the election may have to be postponed, durhamjen - MPs of various parties are saying the same.

Aka Mon 08-Sep-14 14:33:25

Anniebach why not extend and deepen Offa's Dyke and sail Wales up to join Scotland in a United Celtic Republic.

durhamjen Mon 08-Sep-14 15:10:36

Ana, that's because they all want a no vote. And because they are all various shades of the same party now.

rosequartz Mon 08-Sep-14 15:49:21

Aka Anniebach why not extend and deepen Offa's Dyke and sail Wales up to join Scotland in a United Celtic Republic.

Help, no! Some children here live in Wales and go to school just down the road in England (and vice-versa).
And how would I get to do my food shopping!

To quote:

To lose one thing is unfortunate, to lose two is careless

Nelliemoser Mon 08-Sep-14 16:14:02

Its not really up to Cameron now though is it. There is B*** all he can do about it if they do vote yes.

The financial markets seem to have taken a very bad hit over these poll results.

whitewave Mon 08-Sep-14 17:29:16

Ah! but the point is if Scotland went it would be on Cameron's watch, and he would go down in history as the Prime Minister who lost Scotland. There will be countless investigations into the way the campaign was conducted and the importance that Cameron put on it etc etc.

No-one would write about the opposition - well only to the extent of them being in opposition, the power lies with the Government, and their conduct in this exercise is paramount.

milkflake Mon 08-Sep-14 18:01:31

Living in Scotland just now is a nightmare. Everything I have read shows Scotland can't support itself independently , and yet almost half the population are saying they are going to vote yes. all politicians lie but the SNP can't even give reasonable answers. Their stock phrases are "we just want what is best for Scotland" and "look at Norway"
I hope the NO voters use their vote on the 18th.

I don't know if this article written by a Norwegian living in Scotland will copy over here, but its scary.

www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/letters/hardship-alert-1-3438203?fid=12994&isc=1&did=27c713f2ab5ff515a02e357bd17e1b7893758111&ctp=article

Eloethan Mon 08-Sep-14 18:58:25

The person who wrote the article is the Managing Director of a London Financial Services company and may well have his own agenda. Personally, I'm wary of high flyers in the finance sector since they're the ones that caused the economic mess in the first place.

Elegran Mon 08-Sep-14 19:08:57

On the contrary, I am not finding it a nightmare. Everything seems to be going on as normal, apart from the frequent phone calls from people doing pre-election predictions who want to ask how we intend to vote. There are so many of them that I suspect it is only the most committed who can be bothered taking the time to answer. As a result, the headlines probably don't represent the vast majority.

I never pay any attention to these "swingometer" predictions. People will vote as they vote. I just hope that they will turn out and vote. The largest number of votes are usually "don't knows" because of the apathy of those who stay at home and wait for someone else to make the decisions.

Sometimes I wonder what those who fought for universal suffrage would think of the attitude of those who don't value their efforts.

Agus Mon 08-Sep-14 19:43:01

I don't know where you live milkflake but I am not finding it a nightmare living in Scotland. Everyone is calmly going about their business.

rosesarered Mon 08-Sep-14 20:24:55

If Scotland opt to go their own way, we will not have lost them[they are still there!] They were given the opportunity to decide on their own fate, and since the SNP have been campaigning for that very thing, now at last they can decide.If it's a YES then good luck to them, and if it's a NO vote then hopefully we will not have to hear Alex Salmond and his crew whinging on in the future.I fail to see why anybody should resign, at some point there was always going to be a vote on it.I expect they will manage as a small country, and so will England without them.

Wheniwasyourage Mon 08-Sep-14 22:23:50

Well said, rosequartz. You can't change geography, nor can you change history, so the argument "my dad fought in the Second World War" as a reason for voting No becomes pointless. So did mine, and I'm intending to vote Yes.

If we become independent, we will have to stand by our own decisions, and will not be able to blame anyone else; it's interesting that at least since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament there has been a lot of complaining about Westminster governments, but much less blaming of "the English" in general than there once was. Wouldn't it be better for England to have a friendly neighbour than what has been described as a surly lodger?

durhamjen Mon 08-Sep-14 22:37:28

Nellie, it's Cameron's fault that it's just a yes/no vote. Salmond wanted devomax on the ballot paper but Cameron said no.
Now there is not even going to be a no vote. It's yes or devomax, if you believe what everyone's promising.

HollyDaze Tue 09-Sep-14 08:05:32

It should only ever be a yes/no vote - if people want independence, then they vote yes and they become independent; if they want the safety net of the UK then they vote no.

The advantage to the yes vote, as is being aired in England, is that it will benefit England as no Scottish MPs will be permitted to vote on matters pertaining purely to England.

Anniebach Tue 09-Sep-14 10:10:30

Aka, great idea . No one seems concerned about the most important issue in all this, will it affect the Six Nations Rugby , will Scotland be banned

Elegran Tue 09-Sep-14 10:31:05

The six nations are more than the four British nations. The Scottish team would still be the Scottish team. Why should they be banned?

Aka Tue 09-Sep-14 10:45:26

That did occur to me too Anniebach but I was thinking more that you Welsh could provide some much needed coaching for the Scottish rugby team. Perhaps a free I dependant Scotland will inspire a better team?

rosequartz Tue 09-Sep-14 11:01:25

It had to be a yes/no vote.

Devomax is something that would be on the agenda to be discussed at a future date if the vote is 'No'.

No reason whatsoever for Scotland to be banned from the rugby any more than France, Italy or Ireland. Anyway, it is sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland isn't it!
Two Nations Rugby sounds a bit sad.

I agree it is of prime consideration, Anniebach grin