Scottish Referendum / Independence - Vol 5

[toppstuff]

Edinburger said:

toppstuff said:

Edinburger said:

Public sector jobs will definitely not be moved south.

Why? How on earth do you come to that conclusion?

Because on the basis of a No vote, there is no way that the UK Gov will find the millions and millions of pounds to move those jobs south "just in case" there's another referendum in the future.

Don't be such a numpty.

We are going through a period of public sector reform. Senior civil servants are constantly looking at their operations, consolidating workforces, putting teams together so that they need less office space, releasing property to sell to raise cash, etc etc etc. It would not be hard for civil servants to include a "Scotland factor" in their thinking. Given an opportunity to consolidate a government function or HMRC capability into a single office, for example, could easily be tipped toward a city in the North of England ( improving jobs there ) while a building in Scotland gets closed and sold to developers.

This is happening all over the Uk right now. If the SNP continues with its belligerence, it seems perfectly reasonable that the civil service will start to add a "scottish factor". To suggest otherwise is naive in the extreme.

Its not just the public sector either. Private sector would do the same thing. If I ran a company with offices in Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol, for example, and I needed to shut one of them to save costs, I know for sure that the Glasgow office would be under a spotlight. I would want a damn good reason to keep it going if it was apparent I could still service my customers from outside Scotland. This is just common sense given the belligerence and lies from the SNP and all the brain damage they have created.

[andymadmak]

simoid said:

Edinburger said:

Because on the basis of a No vote, there is no way that the UK Gov will find the millions and millions of pounds to move those jobs south "just in case" there's another referendum in the future.

I'm sure a Tory government with no prospect of much popularity in Scotland, but marginal seats down south, could manage.

Yes, indeed, Over the course of 20 years or so, stuff wears out, has to be replaced, upgraded, changed etc. The marginal costs of making those replacements, changes and upgrades down south rather than in Scotland is something rUK Governments would swallow quite easily over that time.

[Borghetto]

Of course many companies with operations in Scotland will already have looked at their viability, whether admitted or not. That's the trouble with disruption, it makes people examine other options and they sometimes prove compelling.

[simoid]

Edinburger said:

Really?

Then why are so many companies bringing offshore call centres back to this country because they failed in India, and often setting them up in err... Scotland?

Offshoring works for many jobs but not call centres.

A factor will be the marketing advantage of having "UK call centres", as described in this article:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysi...

Language factors are also cited, with apparent customer dissatisfaction at lack of understanding.

An important reason appeared to be that UK customers wanted call centres to be in the UK - hence my worry about Scottish call centre jobs when we are a foreign country.

[kingofdbrits]

Edinburger said:

Then why are so many companies bringing offshore call centres back to this country because they failed in India, and often setting them up in err... Scotland?

I'd have thought Scotland being in the UK has something to do with it. Would an Independant Scotland attract this returning business? I don't know.

[Siscar]

kingofdbrits said:

Edinburger said:

Then why are so many companies bringing offshore call centres back to this country because they failed in India, and often setting them up in err... Scotland?

I'd have thought Scotland being in the UK has something to do with it. Would an Independant Scotland attract this returning business? I don't know.

It's one of those things that is hard to measure, would you put your call centre in a foreign Scotland as readily as a UK Scotland? Well it's not going to encourage many and may put people off, but there's no way of knowing how significant it would be.

[Neonblau]

Siscar said:

It's one of those things that is hard to measure, would you put your call centre in a foreign Scotland as readily as a UK Scotland? Well it's not going to encourage many and may put people off, but there's no way of knowing how significant it would be.

If the tax and regulatory burden is significantly higher, or even just different in an independent Scotland why would any UK company bother? It's unlikely that independent Scotland will be a low tax, regulatory simple haven for business.

[Ayahuasca]

HSBC started as a Hong Kong bank set up by Scotsmen and was run by Scots for most of its history. Regarding call centres, research showed that the public associated Scottish accents with trustworthiness and financial probity. This is probably why so many Scottish call centres and so few Scouse call centres. Nothing to do with reality, but with public perception. The Scots brand is strong in the financial industry, but I suspect it will be devalued fairly quickly in an independent Scotland with shaky finances.

[toppstuff]

Neonblau said:

If the tax and regulatory burden is significantly higher, or even just different in an independent Scotland why would any UK company bother? It's unlikely that independent Scotland will be a low tax, regulatory simple haven for business.

This is the simple truth of things.

The SNP want some kind of socialist-democracy. They have in mind a country with high taxes and high welfare. They wish they lived in Norway or Denmark.

The obvious outcome of this if Scotland is independent, would be a de-coupling between Scotland the rUK. Currency will be different. Prices will be different. There WILL be jobs migration. There WILL be substantial disruption.

If the SNP were more honest and open about the realities, I am sure people would be more sympathetic to the idea. The SNP are fools led by an egotistical, chippy bully. If Scotland really is to be independent, then they need and deserve to have much better quality people than the SNP can offer making out the case.

Making an independent Scotland work out successfully , will be really, really difficult. It will fail if the Scots entrust the process to the clowns on offer at the moment.

[mcdjl]

Siscar said:

It's one of those things that is hard to measure, would you put your call centre in a foreign Scotland as readily as a UK Scotland? Well it's not going to encourage many and may put people off, but there's no way of knowing how significant it would be.

At the moment they'll set up where its cheaper to, or 'at home' if they feel they can make money from selling it. There might be some percived advantage to the friendly accent of the scots or what ever, but i wouldn't say its easy to understand. Plus, it'll also make it easy to mark out the call centre as 'being abroad' in the case of independence happening.
What i actually want from a call centre is a)not to have to call it in the first place, b) spend as little time as possible calling it while getting what i want from it. So long as they can understand me and vice versa, i don't really care where it is.

[nikaiyo2]

Edinburger said:

Offshoring works for many jobs but not call centres.

The most sensible point raised by a NAT, of course offshoring does not work for call centers. Hence post independence all those big English banks will no longer offshore their call centers to Scotland.

Do you honestly think the banks etc moved to central Scotland because of the accent, or because its cheapest option to have UK only call centers?

[andymadmak]

nikaiyo2 said:

The most sensible point raised by a NAT, of course offshoring does not work for call centers. Hence post independence all those big English banks will no longer offshore their call centers to Scotland.

Do you honestly think the banks etc moved to central Scotland because of the accent, or because its cheapest option to have UK only call centers?

All together now.......


S C A R E M O N G E R I N G !

[Sway]

Yep, I've been involved in bringing back a few call centres from India to Scotland. The reason for Scotland over the rest of the UK wasn't a soft central belt accent...

It was highish levels of unemployment. High levels of single mothers, high student populations. Essentially, a large workforce willing to work for minimum wage and happy with flexible/reduced hours.

Equally, I've also notices a fairly high volume of call centres in Essex...

On a separate note, my biggest worry now isn't a yes vote - it's the potential consequences of a no vote. The SNP have stirred the victim/bully aspect to an ardent fervour. We're already seeing independence as a matter of faith (incidentally, has anyone seen a breakdown of voting intentions by religion - fairly sure that would be enlightening). I really am starting to worry that in the event of a no vote, the blame will lie with basturt English living in Scotland (hasn't there already been claims of this in some polls?). A Northern Ireland/Basque situation would be fking horrid, and put us back twenty years across the whole country. A combined NI/Nat group would be even worse, and would really harm everyone's standing internationally.

[Big Rod]

Sway said:

It was highish levels of unemployment. High levels of single mothers, high student populations. Essentially, a large workforce willing to work for minimum wage and happy with flexible/reduced hours.

Yup! Ever been in Dearne Valley in Yorkshire? Never seen so many contact centres in one place and also pretty much ex-mining and steel community.

[Rollin]

Sway said:

Yep, I've been involved in bringing back a few call centres from India to Scotland. The reason for Scotland over the rest of the UK wasn't a soft central belt accent...

It was highish levels of unemployment. High levels of single mothers, high student populations. Essentially, a large workforce willing to work for minimum wage and happy with flexible/reduced hours.

Equally, I've also notices a fairly high volume of call centres in Essex...

On a separate note, my biggest worry now isn't a yes vote - it's the potential consequences of a no vote. The SNP have stirred the victim/bully aspect to an ardent fervour. We're already seeing independence as a matter of faith (incidentally, has anyone seen a breakdown of voting intentions by religion - fairly sure that would be enlightening). I really am starting to worry that in the event of a no vote, the blame will lie with basturt English living in Scotland (hasn't there already been claims of this in some polls?). A Northern Ireland/Basque situation would be fking horrid, and put us back twenty years across the whole country. A combined NI/Nat group would be even worse, and would really harm everyone's standing internationally.

A country split along unionist and nationalist lines spiralling into civil disorder?

It obviously happened not far away but the nationalists laugh at the notion.

Perhaps they think they are better than the Irish or maybe they're not as passionate about the cause.

[toppstuff]

Big Rod said:

Sway said:

It was highish levels of unemployment. High levels of single mothers, high student populations. Essentially, a large workforce willing to work for minimum wage and happy with flexible/reduced hours.

Yup! Ever been in Dearne Valley in Yorkshire? Never seen so many contact centres in one place and also pretty much ex-mining and steel community.

Same thing in Wales as well. Plenty of call centres there.

And Ireland too..

[Siscar]

Yes bit in Scotland things have to be because everyone has to love them, nothing to do with simply being cheap.

[simoid]

"Have you any Scottish beer? Everything's better in Scotland."

/Harry and Paul(?)

[McWigglebum4th]

Sway said:

Yep, I've been involved in bringing back a few call centres from India to Scotland. The reason for Scotland over the rest of the UK wasn't a soft central belt accent...

It was highish levels of unemployment. High levels of single mothers, high student populations. Essentially, a large workforce willing to work for minimum wage and happy with flexible/reduced hours.

Equally, I've also notices a fairly high volume of call centres in Essex...

On a separate note, my biggest worry now isn't a yes vote - it's the potential consequences of a no vote. The SNP have stirred the victim/bully aspect to an ardent fervour. We're already seeing independence as a matter of faith (incidentally, has anyone seen a breakdown of voting intentions by religion - fairly sure that would be enlightening). I really am starting to worry that in the event of a no vote, the blame will lie with basturt English living in Scotland (hasn't there already been claims of this in some polls?). A Northern Ireland/Basque situation would be fking horrid, and put us back twenty years across the whole country. A combined NI/Nat group would be even worse, and would really harm everyone's standing internationally.

Not too hard to find Nats who believe they should take up arms against our oppressors

[barryrs]

McWigglebum4th said:

Not too hard to find Nats who believe they should take up arms against our oppressors

The SNP was left £136k by one of them.