If you were Scottish....

It's being very closely watched in Northern Ireland - that will be next if Scotland go.

 

I don't believe they would...it depends how the line is drawn but what normally happens is that the line is drawn in the direction of the border which would take it north east (and not just east)...I believe that gives Scotland the bulk of oil but leaves the bulk of gas with England

 

Sorry to disappoint you mate, but George Osborne's Chancellor of the Exchequer, NOT Alistair Darling. Read below.

George Osborne has rejected Alex Salmond’s plan for an independent Scotland sharing the pound by likening it to a divorced couple continuing to share the same bank account or credit card.

The Chancellor told the Commons Scottish affairs select committee a eurozone-style currency union was not in the best interests of the English, Welsh and Northern Irish given the size of Scotland’s banking sector.

A currency union between two countries of such different sizes would be “one-sided”, he argued, with taxpayers in the remainder of the UK forced to provide a “safety net” to a separate Scotland during future economic crises.

However, Mr Osborne also argued it would not be in the interests of a separate Scotland as it would have to cede control over interest rates, tax and spending to a larger country’s parliament where it no longer enjoyed any representation.

 

Sounds like you should support Scottish independence then, it'll get rid of all these freeloaders and give the rest of the UK more money!

 

One question I've not seen mentioned throughout this debate (perhaps it has and I've missed it) probably because it doesn't actually affect the vote - There is a UK General Election next May, if Scotland votes for independence there is a period of consultation and they won't actually be independent until March 2016, so would Scotland still vote for MP's to Westminster for 10 months? Scottish MP's could be voting on defence issues etc that they will be removing themselves from 10 months later. What if removing those MP's in 2016 then changes the majority in Westminster? Should there then be another UK General Election in 2016?

 

No-one wants an independent Northern Ireland though, half want to be Britsih and half part of Ireland.

It's all bald men fighting over a comb anyway, if you want independence you have to leave the EU, they're the ones steering the ship.

 

It still doesn't mean that Scotland can't use the pound...they can still use it as legal tender. What would completely change is that any Scots visiting England would have to make sure they have English notes as England would straight up refuse any Scottish issued notes.

Ecuador uses the US dollar as it's legal tender.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollarization

 

I think there would have to be.

Cameron would also have to resign of course so Boris would likely be the Conservative candidate which will be much more fun for everyone I think.

 

It may be called the pound but he didn’t say that it would be the same pound you’re using now, the one linked to the Bank of England. I found him to be very evasive about this point, continually referring to the ‘mandate’ but he still had no answer if he doesn’t get his mandate. No plan B.

All he said was that you could call it the pound but he also said that you could call it the rupee, etc. I have no axe to grind here but I just don’t trust Salmond on this issue.

I wasn’t convinced by anything he said. As I’ve said I have no axe to grind here, I have no view either way but as a neutral observer I just was not convinced by the ‘Yes’ campaign. If I was a Scottish undecided then after last night I would be voting ‘No’.

I get that Salmond is not guaranteed to be elected however I am again basing my opinion on commentary I have read in the papers and online. It looks from this that Salmond would be a very good bet to be elected. I could be wrong but to be honest the remark I made about him was tongue-in-cheek anyway. I don’t particularly like him but as a sensible voter I vote for policy and not the personality.

No hard feelings, you’re not a bad lad either Ian. Ya jock fecker

 

It is being watched very closely....I didn't mention an independent Northern Ireland.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-28756531

 

Finally something we agree on. Although probably for different reasons...

 

Not the word I'd use when talking about Boris...

 

Yes and no. Living standards here even for the average bloke on the street have risen here unimaginably since Soviet times. This is due to a combination of opening up the economy to the rest of the world, and record oil and gas revenues. However, the infrastructure is still by and large crap, decent quality things are still by and large way too expensive in the shops, and the education and heath care systems are shameful, despite an abundance of excellent but horrendously underpaid doctors. But anyway, things are much better. Food is readily available, and it is not beyond anybody but the most deprived to have a mobile phone, internet access, and a simple car or computer. Most urban professionals can easily aspire to a smartphone, an ok foreign car, some pretty decent white goods in their flat, eating in a restaurant once a month, and having a foreign jolly once a year. These were things which were unimaginable only a generation ago for most people in Russia - even getting a Lada for the richest in society meant saving for years, and then another three years waiting for delivery. Oil revenues are directly responsible for much of this (as it certainly isn't due to Putin's economic genius). However, whether things have improved as much as they should have done is another matter. Managed properly and Russia would now be as prosperous and modern as any European country, with an infrastructure to match - except much of the oil revenues have been frittered away on useless populist social projects, supporting bloated failing businesses with state connections, or spirited off into the pockets of Putin's mates. It's easy to convince people that they're getting a good deal when they started from absolute zero. Anything better than zero is a bonus. On the other hand, we can look at how Norway's relatively modest oil revenues have been put to extremely good use. On the other end of the scale we have the oil-rich basket case that is Nigeria. Personally, I would expect Scotland's government to use any potential oil windfalls far more responsibly that the governments of Russia or Nigeria.

 

It'll not happen anyway.....polls suggest "NO" as the favourite.

Which means Scotland will remain as is.......a beautiful scenic country with some great salmon and trout fishing, sh!te football, even sh!ter climate, blokes in skirts, Rod Stewart, Trainspotting and a big bridge that they never finish painting.

 

if i were scottish i would say 'auch aye the noo', go for a wee dram and have a deep fried mars bar on mi way home and say 'see you jimmy' a lot.

auch this helps

 

You forgot the Irn Bru.

 

And wearing a skirt!:tongue:

 

Probably the best thing to do with it!

 

Not at all. We really must share one together. Friends and all that.

http://youtu.be/9UprxM_aBWk