General Chat

I was happy to read this morning, that common sense had prevailed, and Scotland had decided to remain part of the United Kingdom, that said, I think the result could have gone the other way, due to the complacency of those at Westminster - up until a few weeks ago when a poll put the Yes Campaign ahead of the No Campaign.

The Prime Minister David Cameron may have won the battle to keep Scotland in the UK, however, he will now have to fight several other battles.

I think the independence referendum revealed once again, that a large number of people do not trust Westminster politicians, the outcome of the referendum has started tremors in some area, and these will spread throughout the UK, because the promises made by the 3 comedians, to devolve more powers to the Scottish Parliament, will result in a political earthquake at Westminster, and could see the way the UK is governed - change for ever.

I have always considered David Cameron to be a bit of a namby-pamby prime minister, it will be interesting to see how he will deal with the way the four nations that make up the UK will be governed in the future - personally I don't think he is capable of resolving the issue without fudging it.

A Big Thank You to my fellow Scots who voted NO <3

DC has set a difficult timetable to resolve the English question in parallel with giving Scotland the promised changes.

Farage seems to be steering UKIP to be EIP.

The Silent Have Spoken
:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

The overall margin of 10% is far higher than that predicted by the opinion polls, in many areas it was actually far greater.

Only Dundee City together with Glasgow and it surrounding area had an overall yes majority.

So it's no then.

I could have told them that a year ago and saved the country a lot of money. ;-)

at the moment the NOs are winning
but a long way to go yet
good luck what ever you decide Scotland :-D :-D

LOL :-D :-D :-D :-D
CNN has just announced the result of their opinion poll on the referendum
52%-No
58%-Yes


:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D Plonkers!

I too cast my vote this evening .
It was very busy at the polling station and we were informed that it had been like that all day.
As OH is off on business trip today, he was at the polling station for them opening at 7.00am and joined a large awaiting crowd!

It looks like a huge turnout.

As GG says, we will have to live with the outcome, regardless.

JoyBoroAngel - if they vote Yes for independence, I am afraid that you will probably have, all the Scottish MPs in Westminster until the date in 2016 that Scotland becomes an independent sovereign nation - so be happy in the knowledge of that :-D :-D :-D

if the Scots say yes
I am hoping they will take all the Scottish MPs with them
and maybe Cameron to ;-) ;-)

OFITG

Thank you-I was interested and stand corrected :-)

I agree with Denis. Alex Salmond did not start this - Salmond only really became a force to be reckoned with in 1990 and it has taken a long muddy road to get to where we are today.

For those that are interested, the call for independence started long before Alex Salmond was even born, as there have been many leader of the SNP, many were formidable individuals, people such as, Sir Alexander MacEwen, Andrew Dewar Gibb, William Power, Douglas Young, Bruce Watson, Robert McIntyre, James Halliday, Arthur Donaldson, William Wolfe, Gordon Wilson, John Swinney - some were in favour of independence. some favoured devolution.

The SNP actually came into being in 1932 as a result of a merger of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party. The National Party of Scotland was always in favour of an independent Scotland whereas the Scottish Party were in favour of devolution.

From 1932 until the 1960's, the SNP never had much influence on the political landscape of Scotland, during that period there were many divisions as to which direction, independence or devolution, that the party should follow - these division in the party saw many senior figures breakaway and form other political parties.

From the early 1960's they began to make inroads into the political map of Scotland by gaining seats in local elections, however it was not until the General Election in October 1974, when they had 11 MPs elected to sit at Westminster, that they began to play a significant part, at a national level on the political landscape of Scotland.

Apart from those in the SNP who sought an independent Scotland, the Labour Party in 1998. played their part in what is happening today. Following the Scotland Referendum of 1997, the Labour Party brought in the Scotland Act 1998, it was this Act that laid the foundation stones for a Scottish Parliament.

When the Scottish Parliament came into being, it was given control over certain issues, then they were given control of even more issues, they were sill not satisfied so (it was always on the cards from the day the SNP took control of the Scottish Parliament) the SNP decided they wanted control over all issues and made the decision to go the whole hog and seek independence :-(

Here endeth the history lesson :-D

Any Government which relies solely on force to rule its citizens would soon fall.

This does not currently apply In the UK where we enjoy a general patriotic loyalty to & pride of the land of our birth/residence despite the occasional mumble & grumble as to how its run. I don’t expect anything but a shrug of the shoulders no matter which way the referendum result pans out.

Life & living goes on as usual.

I have made my vote and it's now in the hands
of the Gods.
It is what it is, whatever the outcome we Scots will
have to live with it, like it or not.

Emma

After the civil war in Ireland 1922 de Valera ensured that relationships with England remained terrible right into modern times. He also initiated the dreadful policy of borrowing the £ sterling which gave Ireland 50 years of poverty. Now Salmond wants the same for Scotland. There is no particular reason why members of a union need to be the same size. Canada , USA, Oz all manage perfectly well with large and small members. The EU, which has the same problem, manages it fine with the formula Deutscheland Uber Alles. If the result is yes Scotland a member of the independent UK is going to need more luck than Paddy McGintie's goat. Even with a no vote there is going to be a fearsome row about west lothian and Barnett in London. Salmond and his cronies may be able to con Cameron while Clegg & Brown will be delighted at another shedload of money for Scotland where Lab & LibDems have key seats. Salmond will have a lot more trouble neg devomax south of the border.

" I am still wondering what Alex Salmond's position will be if it is a "NO" vote-sfter all he started all this !"

No he didn't. He is a relative latecomer. The disparity in population sizes of the component parts of the UK started "all this". The UK is a great concept but very lop sided. In a few hours I will be voting NO but I fully understand why many close friends and even my daughter will be voting YES. It 's all to do with what's the best way forward and nothing to do with disliking anyone, apart from the usual nutters. If YES prevails then common sense suggests a close association between the nations of the British Isles should be the objective. Seems to work well in our relationship with Ireland and that divorce was a lot more fractious than this is proving to be.

Re 'No' posters

If the media is to be believed in some areas of Scotland they are being torn down or defaced. Home owners are worried about repercussions if they display them.

If that is the case, what happened to free speech?

As for Scottish MPs in Westminster, I've no objection them being involved in debates but don't think they should vote if the topic doesn't affect an Independent Scotland.
Neither should Cameron resign.

InspectorGreenPen - at this precise moment in time, the 2015 general election would take place as normal, the reason being, that until the actual date in 2016 that Scotland becomes an independent sovereign nation, constitutionally the people of Scotland must be represented at Westminster. so in the 2015 general election. Scotland will elect MPs to Westminster and they will represent Scotland until the date of independence.

Having said that, there are various reports doing the rounds, some think the 2015 general election could be delayed until the date in 2016 that Scotland becomes an independent sovereign nation, others predict if the general election in May 2015 goes ahead, this could cause a constitutional crisis, because many MP's are threatening to revolt over whether Scottish MPs, representing a country that would soon be an independent sovereign nation, should still be able to vote on reserved matters, following a Yes Vote.

During the last Quebec campaign the public face of the "oui" campaign suggested a runaway win for independence. The nons won. In Scotland as well many many people intending to vote no will have declared dk and chosen not to display signs. The polling has been 100% phone/online which will skew against older people. Given the high turn out expected and the one off nature of the vote means that the range of polling statistical error is far greater than most people realise.
The yes campaign looks increasingly like the vast enthusiasm for Scottish rugby and football teams which always comes to naught.

I noticed something over the last few days in my area of Lanarkshire

Many people are showing their voting intentions visually.
They are displaying car and window stickers, wearing slogan T shirts and are flying flags and banners from their cars, homes and gardens

It's all Saltires and YES/AYE stuff.
To be honest, I have only seen one "No Thanks" sticker, and that was weeks ago, on a car.
Even the electoral posters produced by the Better Together Campaign which are attached to lamp posts etc, seem much smaller than the YES ones!