Scottish Independence... What are your thoughts?

[PetBazaar]

gut thoughts really.And i do think Scotland better with the rest of The UK.
cheers Tony

Just under 12 hours till the first head to head debate. Consensus is that if Alistair Darling still has a pulse at the end, that it will be reported as a massive victory for him.

Going to watch and see how tomorrow's headlines compare to reality.

[suesjools]

Do keep us informed, I find the whole subject fascinating, much more so than the idiocy that passes for news around these parts...

Best wishes for many sales to all,

[PetBazaar]

Well, after all the hype, the debate was a bit... meh. Perhaps referendum fatigue is setting in.

Disappointing performance, I thought, from Salmond. Rather shouty performance from Darling. Very little light shed on anything.

Darling scored his points when he concentrated on currency and currency union and, annoyingly, Salmond is still not being clear about Plan B. He's giving the answer but you really have to know what you're listening out for and that's never going to win any public debate.

Salmond scored points twice. Once with Darling unable two name any two new powers that are "guaranteed" if we vote no. And also apparently unable to bring himself to agree with David Cameron that Scotland could be prosperous of we vote yes.

All in all. Salmond sounded like he was at First Ministers Questions, Darling sounded like he was reading Better Together press releases, and the audience were, regularly, idiots.

I'm calling it a draw but saying that tomorrow's headlines will be a variant of "Salmond on the ropes over currency".

[tonyreddevil]

Anymore debates in the future?

[PetBazaar]

Anymore debates in the future?

Dates haven't been finalised yet, but it will be on, or around, August 25th on the BBC.

I can only hope that it is of a higher standard than last night.

[tonyreddevil]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27655496

[HobbyHabitat]

Hi Pets, as someone that has no interest or vote in your referendum, I think that perhaps I may be the wrong person to comment or give my opinion, however, I understand patriotism and think it is very commendable, but, if I had a vote I would let my head rule my heart. to any one who votes yes I would ask these questions..........Mark Carney, head of the bank of England has stated that Scotland will have no say in interest rates etc and would not be able to use the pound as its own currency. this from a Canadian who is just doing his job to the best of his ability, he has no patriotic links to Scotland or England.
barosso, head of the eu (or was) stated it would be very hard for Scotland to join the eu as a new country. it would need agreement from ALL members to join, this is very unlikely for a number of reasons.
these two people alone have no vested interest in the vote, yes or no, they are outsiders looking in.
Alex salmond has stated publicly that they are both wrong and that he is right. patriotism must be very strong in the people who are blindly following him.
good luck in your referendum, if its yes I,m pretty sure in a few years time the English will get the blame for it going wrong, if however its no I,m sure the English will get the blame for the dirty tricks that have been played.......but as they say "everyone hates the English"
good luck

[astral276]

....but as they say "everyone hates the English"

Not true. Some English don't mind the English.

[PetBazaar]

Hi Pets, as someone that has no interest or vote in your referendum, I think that perhaps I may be the wrong person to comment or give my opinion, however, I understand patriotism and think it is very commendable, but, if I had a vote I would let my head rule my heart. to any one who votes yes I would ask these questions..........Mark Carney, head of the bank of England has stated that Scotland will have no say in interest rates etc and would not be able to use the pound as its own currency. this from a Canadian who is just doing his job to the best of his ability, he has no patriotic links to Scotland or England.
barosso, head of the eu (or was) stated it would be very hard for Scotland to join the eu as a new country. it would need agreement from ALL members to join, this is very unlikely for a number of reasons.
these two people alone have no vested interest in the vote, yes or no, they are outsiders looking in.
Alex salmond has stated publicly that they are both wrong and that he is right. patriotism must be very strong in the people who are blindly following him.
good luck in your referendum, if its yes I,m pretty sure in a few years time the English will get the blame for it going wrong, if however its no I,m sure the English will get the blame for the dirty tricks that have been played.......but as they say "everyone hates the English"
good luck

All comments are most welcome, particularly those from outside Scotland as those comments tend to be a little less partisan.

I agree with you partly on Mark Carneys position. He's entirely right on the interest rates and loss of control, in fact it's one of the reasons that I'd rather NOT see a currency union in the event of a Yes. I don't however believe that he's ever said that we couldn't use the pound. If, of course, you have a source for that then I'm happy to be corrected.

In his speech in January he said:

"Any arrangement to retain sterling in an independent Scotland would need to be negotiated between the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments."

"The Bank of England would implement whatever monetary arrangements were put in place."

On the Barosso comments I agree with Alex Salmon's entirely. In his case I believe that he's playing politics and it seems that senior EU figures have also rejected his views

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...itics-26278237

In the event of a yes vote, I don't believe that it will go wrong. In the event of a no vote, I think that Scots are more likely to turn on the labour party than the English if it goes wrong.

[astral276]

I agree with you partly on Mark Carneys position. He's entirely right on the interest rates and loss of control, in fact it's one of the reasons that I'd rather NOT see a currency union in the event of a Yes. I don't however believe that he's ever said that we couldn't use the pound. If, of course, you have a source for that then I'm happy to be corrected.

In his speech in January he said:

"Any arrangement to retain sterling in an independent Scotland would need to be negotiated between the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments."

"The Bank of England would implement whatever monetary arrangements were put in place."

You just answered your own question. He has never said it because it is not his (or the BoE's) decision to make. It is a decision for Westminster. All major parties have stated they would not support entering into a currency union with an independent Scotland. You can choose to believe or disbelieve that stance, but you would be foolish to base any part of your voting decision on the belief that currency union will happen.