Scotland YES or NO

Well I sincerely hope he was wearing some Whitewave

Serious can also be fun - I didn't mind the swimmers - not that we saw them!!!

I do wish the BBC would present serious programmes without obviously feeling they have to have 'entertainment value'.
I like Robert Peston and found the programme interesting, but did we really have to see him in his swimmers, emerging from a leisure pool in the Shetlands
I agree with your assessment Whitewave.
I was impressed with the Trust the Shetland Islanders had set up with the oil revenues which meant they have spent only the dividends from their investments, but that has been enough to provide lots of facilities which benefit the community. Would that our government been so prudent.
I felt sorry for the biomedical scientists in Dundee, world-class in their field, who have no idea what will happen to their funding revenues if there is a Yes vote.
The uncertainty over the future of North Sea Oil (whether future technology will make further exploration viable) means that anyone basing their vote on financial security from this source, as many seem to be doing, is making a blind leap of faith.

whitewave you are more of an intellectual than me, because 20 mins into this programme I fell fast asleep on the sofa.

Well, having watched Peston's programme last night it really all boils down it a load of imponderables such as to how much Scotland will be able to borrow money for on the open market, the suggestion is that it will be about as much as 1% more than the current UK government is borrowing for at the moment, which doesn't sound a lot until you think that this will be 1% on a few billion, and given that Scotland at the moment spends about £1200 per person p.a. more than Westminster does on the rest of the UK the money will have to come from somewhere assuming that the income from 90% of the oil revenue which will be (maybe) Scotland's share will be taken up with current spend and deficit payment. The idea of an oil trust along the lines of Norway seems somewhat optimistic. There is also the question of how much Westminster will charge for the deficit that is Scotland's share, how long will the oil last and what will replace it. There is also the question of what currency Scotland will attach itself to, and the problem here as I see it is that if it decides on sterling it really hasn't gained much independence as presumably there will be rules with regard to budget etc in order to protect the British taxpayer from having to bail Scotland out etc. Personally I favour the "Unicorn" sounds so romantic if somewhat unrealistic!

What someone did suggest after all this is that most individuals would not find much, if any, difference if the vote was yes, but this of course is relating to economics - now whether the decision should be based on economics or something like culture, or other societal imponderables such as defence is only something the Scots can decide.

yes, it should make interesting watching tonight.

Just read the Hewitt article - which was from an industrialist's viewpoint, and certainly adds to the debate. He is wrong about the VAT issue though these goods are not exempt but zero-rated and therefore could be subject to a 1% rate if a positive rate is the rule. Although I think that we have argued successfully in the past that a 0% rate is a rate!

I have good friends who will vote "yes" and with them I can have a constructive discussion. However, the Independence argument is based on emotion "Scotland can make its own decisions" etc rather than facts. And I fear that those who are pro independence are not so much pro Scotland as anti Westminster and I expect much of England feels the same! But this is not a time for protest voting. It is not a general election. There is no turning it round in 5 years if you don't like the outcome. Being left to make your own decisions against the constraints of a monetary union, EU legislation and a global economy is not independence. It is great dependence, only without the backing of the clout of the UK. A poor choice, methinks. I shall see what Robert Peston has to say this evening as all views need to be heard. I just hope he sticks to facts, as did Gavin Hewitt in the Scotsman last month: www.scotsman.com/news/independence-essay-important-issues-not-addressed-1-3439841

did that work as a link? How do you paste links on here please?

I have read one of Robert Peston's books - he makes the subject matter very easy and simple to follow.

jollyg, I imagine you were being deliberately provocative. Very unpleasant, even so.

A stammer is outside an individual's personality, and can be temporary. What is said is more important than the speech impediment in which it is said, and what Robert Peston says usually seems OK to me, a long way from idiocy, anyway.

Putting the two in one sentence does make having an imperfection like a stammer into a character failing.

I like Robert Peston. He's a very bright bean and was sadly widowed 18 months ago so I am sad for him too. I shall be watching with interest. I too will be voting a very definite NO.

Pollaidh I agree with everything you have said in your excellent post

Robert Peston has had to struggle hard to overcome his stammer. Stuttering idiot is a mean and small-minded description.

Because the English might have voted to get rid of the Scots?

Why oh why did they not give the entire UK a vote? As has been said this affects every 'man jack' of us!

Robert Peston is certainly difficult to listen to at times but I don't think stutterers are idiots.

Thank you -

Oh dear! Are you having a bad day, jollyg

Good post, Pollaidh

I live in Scotland and I will be voting "no". There is no point in being independent within a currency union with the rest of the UK with no say in fiscal policy; the EU will not automatically grant membership - it will take a deal of negotiating and the terms will be disadvantageous, for example we will be forced into the Euro, just like every new entrant; the removal of around 36 Scottish labour MPs from Westminster will ensure that the rest of the UK becomes increasingly right wing and not well disposed to help its new neighbour; independence will give rise to currently suppressed and ugly sectarianism in Scotland; differences in immigration policies will make management of the border very difficult indeed.

I don't listen to politicians, I do my research and make my own mind up. This is a serious matter for everyone, not just those North of the border. Remaining in the union will, I believe, be the best way forward for Scotland. It is a vote that must be made with the head, not the heart.

Peston the stuttering idiot who the BEEB employs no doubt at a vast salary.

I used to turn him off on 4 @ 6am, with Tu'mphreys et all getting all their facts/ lines wrong.

Robert Peston is presenting a programme on BBC2 at 9 o'clock tonight - Scotland - for richer or poorer? - should make interesting viewing.

The Weirs have had a bit of flack for their contribution as well, gillybob. They have also used their money in other ways, setting up a charity, for example.

Today the Commonwealth Games baton was in the North East. I find it interesting that England is considered to be part of the international relay, not the domestic relay. Scotland is a separate country in the Commonwealth.

Why the bl**dy hell should she (JK Rowling) not publish her (it would appear to be) drop in the ocean £1 million donation durhamjen ? The (unearned) lottery winners (the Weirs) have revelled in their multi million £ donation to the "yes" campaign, so where is the difference?

TBH I used to care but recent events have made me wonder??!!! I only hope that our (more) Northern friends get what they wish/hope for ????

Why shouldn't she publicise it durhamjen - as Marmight says, the press would have been on to it and she is a public figure I suppose.