Scotland YES or NO

All this speculation tells us nothing. Only the actual vote results will do that.

I just wonder what makes anyone think that the Scots are going to come out the winners in any negotiation if they vote to go independent. Why would the rest-of-the-UK government not drag their feet (for many years) and ultimately get their own way. In the meantime the oil taxes would all go where they go now, businesses that are based in Scotland would either be wasting their time frantically lobbying (while keeping their powder dry and not taking risks) or upping sticks and getting the hell out of there.
Nobody is going to want to start a business there because they would not know what they were buying into.
So I would anticipate a sharp decline in the success of Scottish business during that period.
The only cards the Scottish government would have in the negotiation would be "we've got your submarine base and we're not giving it back" - oh but on the other hand they don't want it do they... and "we won the referendum, so there". It would rely on thousands of London civil servants to progress the negotiations and on Westminster to enact a mountain of legislation to make it all happen.
I would also predict there would be civil unrest in Scotland eventually, as a result of the delays and poor performance of economy.
One thing is for sure. Who ever won the next UK general election after a vote for independence, (in which the scots will still get a vote, no matter what they vote in the referendum) would inherit a poisoned chalice. Just as Cameron did when he "won" last time - in the wake of the economic disaster caused by the banks.

Got it spot on Jess.

And people believe they will get that money?????
I confess to voting with my heart, and it is a no, incase anyone new hasn't read my previous comments.
Everything is speculation and it is a horrible time.

I wonder if the "YES" camp have considered the feelings of the English tourists who visit Scotland each year? Perhaps if/when we realise that the Scottish dislike us so much that they have voted to break away from us, then we might reconsider where we take our English pounds to spend.

I still hope that the vote is "NO".

I quite like Scotland and I really like all of the lovely Scottish gransnetters

Gillybob. There will always be English who don't like Scots and Scots who don't like English. Nothing can change that and this is not the first thread on which I have explained this. What the Yes voters do not like however is Westminster, who , when we read all the political,threads on here and in the media realise they are not doing a great job of running the UK and want to run Scotland themselves. Nothing at all to do with not liking anyone English.

There are many English people happily living in Scotland and Scots who will vote No. Would you want to turn against them too? I hope not.

I don't think that really answers my question about tourism though Agus.

Also you say that "there will always be English who dislike Scots and Scots who don't like English" but I don't see how anyone could dislike anyone simply because they are English or Scottish.

It worries me that this vote is nothing more than a hate mongering campaign brought about by the giant Ego of one Alex Salmond and what concerns me is where it will all end.

I should point out that my post made not reference to "turning against" anyone.

There's plenty room for any business who wants to "up sticks" here to the North East of England JessM

If the vote is yes I will be living in a different country to my daughters instead of a different region in the UK. I will be foreign. The reason I mentioned a certain Lord yesterday which seemed to upset some people which was certainly not my intention, was he reckons that some will win some will lose no matter which way the vote goes which will result in bitterness and a divided country. The politics of the whole of the UK seems to of gone a bit wrong, for the want of better words, would it not be better for us All together sorting it out rather than splitting up. I am so annoyed that this is causing worry to so many people, just basic things which are essential to everyday life like pensions, NHS, schools, defense and lots more.
Scotland is not very big and the people in some areas are few and far between. I think perhaps naively, there is not enough people in Scotland to pay the taxes to keep all of the services that we have now.

Re the tourism Gilly I meant that if you didn't want to spend money here that would also have an affect on those, English people living here and the No voters. My post wasn't meant to cause any upset and perhaps my choice of 'turning against' was wrong. I read it that you would want any Scot, if they became an Independent Nation, to suffer financially.

Neither do I see how anyone could not like someone simply because of their Nationality, it's completely absurd but it is a sad fact that I have heard repeated on both sides of the border. The same as I have heard other nationalities in the UK express their dislike of another UK nation.

It saddened me to read your first post and the fact that you feel those who want an Independent Scotland do so because of a dislike of English people.

My (limited) experience in speaking to those Scots who intend to vote "YES" seems to be based on an intense dislike of all things English and a sort feeling of resentment??? (not sure if thats the right word) towards us that we "enjoy the revenue" from Scottish Oil, Scottish Whisky etc. I would hate to see a situation like Northern Ireland where neighbours stop speaking to neighbours and a lot worse. Surely the very fact that the Scottish want to be independant spells the end of amicable relationships between the two countries as neither will be willing to "support" the other if/when the need arises.

Of course I would not want any Scott to suffer financially. Where did I say that? I simply said that the English may realise that we "are no longer wanted" and might decide to spend our English tourist pound elsewhere.

I really don't think that the yes vote will win the day, but supposing it did gilly it may have the bizarre effect that Scottish people like English people MORE and not less. There would be no resentment, because they would be ruling themselves, and have chosen to do so themselves.
newist you have some valid concerns, and I hope it won't happen, we are better together as we are only a small island.

I must say that I have never come across any English people 'resenting or rubbishing' the Scots, but have several personal experiences of 'the other way round'. It's just a fact of life.Same with Eire and with Wales.it's because the English subjugated these countries in the past[in the case of Wales, the 1400's I believe] but they ain't forgotten it.Doesn't bother me.

I've said quite a lot already on this subject but it does occur to me that there is more than one nonsense in this project of Salmond's apart from the fact that only one part of the Union gets to vote on its dissolution. One is that anyone resident in Scotland can vote and no-one outside can. We should all have a vote!

Lilygran

We should all have a vote!

That's just made me wonder what will happen about the Scottish MPs that currently sit at Westminster and vote on matters concerning England - will that change if independence (which doesn't seem to be very independent to me from how it has been described) receives a 'yes'?

My family and friends have mixed feelings about Independence but those who will be voting yes will do,so not because of a dislike of English people but because of politics.

Also, let's hope we don't come to any ridiculous scenario whereby English people feel they will no longer have a warm welcome when they come here for a holiday. It's not something that has ever crossed my mind.

My post was in reply to Gilly

JessM, some people who start businesses in Scotland are actually people (from wherever) who live here, and so here is the obvious place to start one.

newist, you currently live in a different country from your daughters. The UK is not like, for example Italy, which is made up of lots of formerly separate countries. It is made up of 3 countries (and Northern ireland, a province) which are still separate countries but combined for many purposes.

If, as I hope, we become independent it will be Westminster government which we will be rejecting, not geography or history. Those cannot be changed, as would seem obvious.

I wish everyone would stop going on about Alex Salmond. He will not become king or president, and will have to face a general election before long. Whatever his merits or otherwise as a politician, the Yes campaign is not a one-man band.

Believe it or not, there are lots of businesses that will not accept Scottish banknotes in this country, as they consider they are not legal tender. I was always asked if I took Scottish notes when the guests came from Edinburgh, and was told that lots of places wouldn't.
I banked with RBS then.
I know lots of people who live near the border who wished they lived over the border. If you get independence, can we join you?

They aren't "legal tender" but, as it happens, that doesn't matter because they are legal in the sense of legally usable as money in the UK. The term "legal tender" has a very specific, and mostly irrelevant, meaning.

I regard it as a courtesy to make sure I have English notes when I go to England. Any time I get one in change (usually a £5 note, for obvious reasons) I put it away for the holiday fund, which makes the holiday spending money seem much cheaper! Also, shops are usually happy to get £5 notes rather than £20 ones, so everyone is happy.

I have never had any trouble using Scottish notes when I come back over the Border, but I do make sure that I have an English one for the taxi home from the station.

They aren't "legal tender" but, as it happens, that doesn't matter because they are legal in the sense of legally usable as money in the UK. The term "legal tender" has a very specific, and mostly irrelevant, meaning.

Our money is legal tender but they won't accept Manx notes in the UK, it has to be changed into English first before visiting.

Hilarious exchange between Billy Bragg and Peter Hitchens on Newsnight -Billy Bragg claiming that if Scotland gained independence it could force 'reform' in the EU...

Is that right, Thatbags? What does legal tender mean?
The government is running scare stories about Scotland not having any currency, and not being able to use the pound. I did not think the Bank of England had the right to use the pound to the exclusion of all other countries or banks.
Oh, and RBS will move from Scotland to London. How ridiculous is that!