Gransnet forums

News & politics

Scotland YES or NO

(999 Posts)
annodomini Mon 05-May-14 22:43:27

Here's an interesting blog by Jon Snow. He says what I have been saying - that Westminster politicians just don't understand the Scots and that the NO campaign is focusing almost entirely on negatives.

durhamjen Mon 15-Sept-14 18:48:54

Interesting idea, Granjura.
Switzerland is not much bigger than Scotland, although you have a much greater population density.
The North East and Yorkshire combined have the same population as Switzerland, so if you can do it, why not us?
I do not often buy the local paper, but I did today. The main article is about austerity hitting the North the hardest. It's a report published by Public Health England. The article is headlined "The North 'is like a different country.'"
Sorry, this is probably the wrong thread for this, but your post reminded me of it, Granjura.

durhamjen Mon 15-Sept-14 19:04:02

https://fullfact.org/referendum-live-q-and-a/

This answers a lot of questions.

papaoscar Mon 15-Sept-14 20:31:49

I heard of this idea today. If Scotland parachutes out they'll be a vacancy in the new UK, so why don't we just advertise it? DUE TO EARLY DEPARTURE OF PREVIOUS OCCUPANT, DESIRABLE SPACE NOW AVAILABLE IN GRAND OLD KINGDOM. RENT REASONABLE. GENEROUS TERMS. I'm sure that there would be many interested parties, especially in view of the international interest in the Royal family. I wouldn't mind an alliance with Switzerland or some nice warm place in the Caribbean. And what about Norway, that would solve the oil requirement. They'd have to stop whaling, though. Perhaps we could buy a nice bit of real estate somewhere else and set up New Scotland. I'm sure Disney could construct something along the lines of Las Vegas. Another idea is Boris's airport island. Why not make it a much bigger one with huge Centre-park style climate-controlled, tax-free pleasure domes, say off the Isle of Wight. We wouldn't have to go to Spain or Greece, then. Think of the money we'd all save.

Galen Mon 15-Sept-14 21:25:27

NO!

durhamjen Tue 16-Sept-14 00:06:28

Go on then, papaoscar. You go first and let us know what it's like.
People talk as if Scotland is going to dig a ditch and float off into the Atlantic. It might happen eventually with climate change, but not for a few millennia.

durhamjen Tue 16-Sept-14 00:09:26

I remember seeing the Isle of Wight thing a few years ago, setting up its own parliament or something. Can't remember if it was just political or some disaster series. Anyone else remember?

dodiegale1 Tue 16-Sept-14 10:15:30

Sorry, durhamjen, can't help you there.

Back from Lanark and virtually no stickers at all there, for yes or no. That surprised me. When I mentioned it to the taxi driver he agreed and said they tended to be in more rural locations. He went on to say that virtually everyone he took in his taxi seemed to be planning to vote no.

Does anyone else feel that Alex is planning a dignified exit policy just in case the unthinkable happens and there is a no victory? He will just be able to blame any defeat on the unfair bias of the BBC and the political meddling from Westminster...

annodomini Tue 16-Sept-14 11:07:25

There was a devolution referendum in North East England in 2004. The assembly proposal was defeated by 77.9% on a postal vote of 49%. After this result, a similar proposal for NW England and Yorkshire to have ballots was quietly dropped.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_England_devolution_referendums,_2004

I wonder how such a proposal would be received now, especially if Scotland says 'yes' on Thursday.

Gracesgran Tue 16-Sept-14 12:37:32

I am sure it will come to the surface again annodomini. People seem more able to put their figure on the problem than they were in 2004.

The politicians who are London Centric (and often cannot see just how much they are) are hanging on to powers while saying they are decentralising. I see there is a quest by some of these politicians for an English Parliament but hearing the description of it on the Daily Politics it sounds like a London parliament yet again to me.

Yesterday they were talking about the recalling of MPs by their voters. Most countries allow a number of voters to bring this forward but our parliament does not want to do that. Just in case we try and throw out MPs out over things they don't agree with we will only be give a vote on this if Parliament says we may. They really are a dying bread of Downton Abbey types except Downton Abbey is placed in history and these politician are an anachronism, hanging on whether we like it or not.

NfkDumpling Tue 16-Sept-14 12:54:39

Interesting piece by Chris Bishop in the Eastern Daily Press today suggesting Norfolk goes it alone. (Although we nearly have a complete dual carriage way out of the county so communications are improving)
We don't have oil, but we do have gas and most of the wind farms and if we joined with Suffolk we'd have a nuclear power station too. We grow most of the UKs spuds and carrots, a lot of wheat, rape and sugar beet. There's plenty of pheasants, Cromer crabs, herring too so we'd not go hungry. (We even have English Whisky and a few vineyards.)
We've got RAF Marham and the army at Swanton Morley.
We're the original East Angles. I vote for independence!

rosequartz Tue 16-Sept-14 12:58:41

anno There was a devolution referendum in North East England in 2004

I think I put that link on earlier, or perhaps it was on another thread confused! wondering if it was the start of regional government answerable to Brussels

Gracesgran Tue 16-Sept-14 13:24:01

I must read more carefully NfkDumpling but I am glad to see there are plenty of pheasants in Norfolk. smile It is a lovely county and it sounds to me as if you might well be able to manage on your own.

Is that the way it will go do you think rosequartz I shall have to try and imagine what that will be like.

janerowena Tue 16-Sept-14 14:49:18

I wondered if I was one of the peasants, too! grin

East Angulars, Unite!

Venison, too. Yum.

Off to design our flag, now!

Pig d'ore rampant on field of turkeys argent, perhaps? On a discreet background of azure windfarm.

rosequartz Tue 16-Sept-14 17:01:24

There was a campaign for an independent Monmouthshire at one time. Perhaps led by someone who was fed up of being swapped around from England to Wales and back again repeatedly.

thatbags Tue 16-Sept-14 17:05:00

It won't be climate change that sets Scotland, or any other lump of land, adrift. That's down to plate tectonics.

Actually Scotland isn't one lump anyway in tectonic terms.

Marmight Tue 16-Sept-14 17:13:23

I am just about to seek out and iron my Union Jack ready for action; I do have a Saltire which I might fly in solidarity come The Day wink. Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tuvalu as well as what is left of the un-UK would have to renew their country's flags as they contain the Union Jack. I was also, a propos of nothing, wondering where Scotland's drivers would get their driving licences and car tax renewed?

rosequartz Tue 16-Sept-14 17:18:50

So, in the event of a yes vote, can the Rest Of The United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tuvalu etc send their invoices to the Scottish Treasury for payment for all the new flags which will have to be made?
www.aforceforgood.org.uk/games/bcw3

Galen Tue 16-Sept-14 17:25:01

nfk didn't someone called Hereward the Wake try to organise something like that?

durhamjen Tue 16-Sept-14 17:28:13

There is no car tax any more, Marmight.

Ana Tue 16-Sept-14 17:32:25

Of course there is, durhamjen. Just because you don't have to display a paper tax disc after October doesn't mean you don't pay!

rosequartz Tue 16-Sept-14 17:33:23

Not a paper tax disc, certainly, but they have not done away with car tax. Although, of course, an independent Scotland might consider it to go with all the other freebies promised.

durhamjen Tue 16-Sept-14 17:33:31

Sorry, there is car tax, but no disc to put on your car, from 1st October.
Don't we get it now from Wales if we do it online?

NfkDumpling Tue 16-Sept-14 18:11:05

Sort of Galen, Hereward was a bit further west - Isle of Ely and the Fens. We'd need to annex a bit of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire and get back to the old East Anglian borders.

Boudicca, Cromwell, Kett all hailed from the East. We're a rebellious Dew Diffrent lot.

rosequartz Tue 16-Sept-14 18:13:51

Yes, from the DVLA in Swansea.
Presumably they will still administer it for the ROTUK and it will be registered digitally only.

annodomini Tue 16-Sept-14 19:26:05

Hereward - that reminds me of the carol service in our village club in Norfolk. A lesson was being read by a local farmer in the broadest Norfolk accent. When he came to the massacre of the innocents he attributed it to Hereward the king.