[POLL] Should Scotland be an independent country?

[Andrew_C]

Not read whole thread warning...

 

Let's have an English Assembly.

 

Shall we base it somewhere like Derby / Nottingham to get people moving back towards the north, so we can stop the house builders covering the little remaining green-belts in the south with houses?

 

Or should we have it in the ancient capital of England (Winchester) so the value of MY house rockets?

[pcstru]

I know you were very much a 'Yes' voter but the truth is the guy never had a clue what was going on. He had no grasp of the facts and when confronted with the truth resorted to shouting 'liar liar pants on fire'

 

yea, just the sort of politician we need more of

Well, Salmond is a politician of 35 years standing who rose to lead the SNP, became Scotland's first minister and bought the United Kingdom within a whisker of dissolving the 300 year old Act of Union, something TPTB thought was so unlikely that they almost didn't bother to attend the race and then, when they did pitch up had to promise to devolve a huge amount of power to the country in a desperate attempt to stem the tide.

 

I'm sure the opinion of an anonymous internet poster that he doesn't know what he is talking about is, in comparison to his achievements, worthy of far more respect.

 

Pppfffft.

[localzuk]

Well, Salmond is a politician of 35 years standing who rose to lead the SNP, became Scotland's first minister and bought the United Kingdom within a whisker of dissolving the 300 year old Act of Union, something TPTB thought was so unlikely that they almost didn't bother to attend the race and then, when they did pitch up had to promise to devolve a huge amount of power to the country in a desperate attempt to stem the tide.

 

I'm sure the opinion of an anonymous internet poster that he doesn't know what he is talking about is, in comparison to his achievements, worthy of far more respect.

 

Pppfffft.

 

When it comes to this, I agree with @Hefferzzzz - Salmond spent the campaign going "lah lah lah" and failing to answer very important questions, and denouncing any potential negative issues as bullying or victimisation etc... 35 years or not, he failed to make his case properly! His career ended with a fizzle and not a bang like it would have had he done his job properly here.

[elsiegee40]

I think Alex Salmond has taken a tactical decision actually. He can be far more powerful being a noisy, awkward backbencher in future negotiations than he could as the "failed" leader of an independence movement.

[Roberto]

When it comes to this, I agree with @Hefferzzzz - Salmond spent the campaign going "lah lah lah" and failing to answer very important questions, and denouncing any potential negative issues as bullying or victimisation etc... 35 years or not, he failed to make his case properly! His career ended with a fizzle and not a bang like it would have had he done his job properly here.

 

He certainly had all the faults you mention above and probably some more too, but given the way he held the feet of the (using his phrases, which I don't agree with) "Westminster Establishment" to the fire, I think he's done a fine job of enhancing the stereotype of us Scots as canny. I'm not a fan of his by any means but I think he did much better than most people anticipated.

 

As for not making his case - he didn't. But equally, a lot of the No campaign was negative too. I don't think either 'side' covered themselves in glory here.

 

I'm glad the vote was "No" though. Very glad.

[6Foot2]

Groundskeeper Willie laments the referendum result:

 

http://i.snag.gy/TCVO8.jpg

 

The Simpsons Facebook page 13 hours ago:

 

Link: https://www.facebook.com/TheSimpsons

[pcstru]

His career ended with a fizzle and not a bang like it would have had he done his job properly here.

First minister for Scotland. Fizzle. Right. These are dizzying lows compared to a few handfulls of 65 million or perhaps thousands of 7 billion.

 

I do love how we British can brand someone like (say) Gordon Brown, a man who became PM, as a sort of failure. And I can understand passionate disagreement with Salmond's views in the heat of the debate but I don't really get the vilification when the man has acted with honour and resigned.

[localzuk]

Oh, I'm not vilifying him now. I held the same views long before now. Sure, he's a good salesman but hits lies are just like those others at the top of the political establishment.

 

His yes campaign was built on ignoring facts and vilifying anyone who dared disagree. I'd have a completely different view of him had he answered those questions properly and treated his opposition with respect enough not to vilify everything they said as bullying...

[ZeroHour]

His yes campaign was built on ignoring facts and vilifying anyone who dared disagree. I'd have a completely different view of him had he answered those questions properly and treated his opposition with respect enough not to vilify everything they said as bullying...

 

Really you need to know all he has done thats positive too which you won't generally hear about down the road (it hits scottish news programs but not national) before you write him off.

[localzuk]

Really you need to know all he has done thats positive too which you won't generally hear about down the road (it hits scottish news programs but not national) before you write him off.

 

Maybe. But then, if I don't know about them and he's only really appeared on my radar related to this issue, I can't be blamed for judging him based on the behaviour I have seen...

 

I have to say, one of the most hilarious things of all of this is that Gordon Brown is now being treated as some kind of messiah by the media for keeping us all together. I don't think I've laughed as much as I did when I heard he'd been brought in to support the No cause.

[spacebar]

Salmond has said Scotland could declare independence still even with the No result. (according to the DM)

 

See how far he gets with that if its true.

[pcstru]

Salmond has said Scotland could declare independence still even with the No result. (according to the DM)

See how far he gets with that if its true.

I'm not sure what would be more shocking, the revolution by the Scots or something in the Daily Mail being true.

[ZeroHour]

Sigh it looks like the vow is being torn up because too many dont understand why we get the extra cash and dont care that it breaks a vow given to a whole country.

In one breath they say even though London gets nearly as much as Scotland thats okay because of pay costs but ignore the whole rural costs of ferry infrastructure etc in Scotland. We pay more tax per head than the uk as well and every breakdown shows what is sent down balances with what is sent up to Scotland, its just people perceive it to be unfair.

[localzuk]

Sigh it looks like the vow is being torn up because too many dont understand why we get the extra cash and dont care that it breaks a vow given to a whole country.

In one breath they say even though London gets nearly as much as Scotland thats okay because of pay costs but ignore the whole rural costs of ferry infrastructure etc in Scotland. We pay more tax per head than the uk as well and every breakdown shows what is sent down balances with what is sent up to Scotland, its just people perceive it to be unfair.

 

The increased amount of tax paid per head is entirely down to the oil. So, do we get to determine how funds are spent based on localised energy production? In which case, we should be building the barrage across the Severn, then the South West and South Wales would be getting a heck of a lot more...

[CAM]

It's down to votes and as far as the Tories care, Scotland holds no value to them. They are dominant in the south and that is where their voters will be in the 2015 election. Scotland is SNP/Lib Dem/Lab country, shafting them won't have much reprisal against the Tories in the ballot box (and Lib Dems have been getting shafted by their own government for this entire term anyway).