It's all a load of Cannonballs in here! This is the virtual Arsenal pub where you can chat about anything except football. Be warned though, like any pub, the content may not always be suitable for everyone.
I'm bored and was reading the news and noticed that the SNP and Boris Johnson are trying to use the Olympics to start a ruck over this issue.
Personally, I say give the scots a referendum and do it quickly, no need for lengthy campaigns just ask them what they think. Likewise, have a referendum for English independence at the same time so we can bury both of these issues once & for all.
For the most part i find this issue boring but this quote caught my attention:
But Angus MacNeil, an SNP MP, tweeted: “If you can be Scottish and British in the Union, so you can too be with independence. Sharing a Prime Minister does not make people British.”
For the SNP this is fuck all to do with the lives of average scotts or even about their identity, this is a bunch of politicians looking for more power over their fiefdom. Salmond is just another wanker looking to give himself a title, some pomp and more authority to meddle in peoples lives where he's not wanted and I hope the jocks see through it.
Devolution and independence are issues that should be put to a referendum, and in the case of Scottish independence it should be sooner rather than later. Independence benefits nobody economically, despite some people grumbling about subsidising Scotland (particularly on issues like higher education and prescription fees) the hassle of sorting issues like splitting national debt, North Sea oil, national defence/security, border control is colossal.
Voting for the SNP doesn't equal a vote for independence. I was in Edinburgh recently and spoke to quite a lot of people about the matter, and not one person was considering voting for it. I imagine that loads of Scots hold independence as a desirable ideal, but when it comes to the crunch of passing it will bottle it.
Either way I just hope that the whole fuss will be over sooner rather than later. Salmond is the most arrogant self-serving wanker and will drag out the issue as long as possible because: a) he has no chance of succeeding at the moment, and b) he'll do anything to keep him in the public eye.
I'm in favour of independence for ANY group of people who wish to be independent.
It would be nice for Kurds to have their own self-governing territory. Likewise Basques. These are just two examples of distinct ethnic groups who inhabit areas governed by more than one country.
No such argument is valid for the Scots. They have been part of the UK for many years. They are not under-represented in government (the opposite is true). Devolution has provided preferential treatment at the expense of English taxpayers. Free university education. Free prescriptions. Etc. It verges on racism.
Scots, Welsh, Northern Irish, Channel Islanders and people from the Isle of Man have their own governing bodies. The English do not.
So. Let's all cut free of each other. Work independently. And see how it all pans out.
BTW.....North Sea oil and gas does NOT belong to the Scots.
Trouble is, it behooves the politicians to start working on a North Sea Oil/Gas treaty right away, otherwise things could get very nasty.
These natural resources have got to be the crux of the matter?
I think the Scots have such a degree of independence anyway that there is very little to kick up a fuss about.
I think we will as good as leave the EU within the next five years anyway, so the Scots had better think very hard if they want to be an independent country within the EU or without it.
They may just be better off without it, but within NATO.
It's a thorny issue for lots of reasons, the Scots are so pissed off with having conservative administrations over the years despite only 12 people (in Scotland) voting for them that Scotland's seen support for the SNP skyrocket. This is despite a lot of Scots not actually wanting to devolve from the union.
A hell of a lot of low land Scots have English genes and the differences between England and Scotland are very small truth be told, 300 years of Unionism have inextricably linked us.
The SNP are as opportunistic as any bunch of politco's and it makes me cringe when they wheel out such 'Bravehearts' as Sean Connery and Alan Cumming to beat the drum for independence despite said being tax exiles who don't even live in the country they profess to care so much about.
National debt is another minefiled, armed forces too as is Sterling and the Euro but the major contention is North Sea oil. The SNP would like to draw the sea border in a straight line but in reality, it would follow the land border meaning the English would de facto have access to an awful lot of the oil/gas.
By all means have a vote, however I'd like to think the Scots would vote on all the issues and reject Salmonds crass, tub-thumping agenda.
