Scottish Referendum / Independence - Vol 7
Discussion
Axionknight said:
I doubt they will ever be able to implement such rules and if they did folk would be queuing out of the doors at the ECHR to appeal them.
Didnt Greece do something similar years ago and reclaim land back owned by 'foreigners', despite being sold the land?(though think it was more about something about being displaced in WW2 and the greek families not returning or some s
t)Land ownership is a contentious topic north of the border and has been for generations. The rules on crofters being able to buy their land have long been in place but the rhetoric continues to ratchet up.
When a friend went looking for a large shooting estate, the only place he wouldn't countenance was Scotland - too much baggage and risk. He invested his millions in Northumberland instead. He has single-handedly lifted the local economy by pouring money into the estate.
If you want investment, make things clear. If you want to score cheap political points, make lots of noise and threats around dog-whistle issues.
When a friend went looking for a large shooting estate, the only place he wouldn't countenance was Scotland - too much baggage and risk. He invested his millions in Northumberland instead. He has single-handedly lifted the local economy by pouring money into the estate.
If you want investment, make things clear. If you want to score cheap political points, make lots of noise and threats around dog-whistle issues.
bad company said:
The nationalist debate is becoming increasingly divisive. I know many English people who would now love to be able to vote yes.
I was a big fan of Union but now I generally wish the Scots would sod off. Maybe create an enclave around Edinburgh that stays in the UK...Actually, in all seriousness, the debate has been very useful in thinking about wider constitutional issues and I'm firmly convinced that the real answer is moving to a fully Federalised system. Maybe once we've become more comfortable with more modern styles of government we'll be more comfortable with becoming part of a federal europe. The fear we'll lose our identity will be shown to be irrational.
bad company said:
The nationalist debate is becoming increasingly divisive.
In Scotland the SNP have driven a huge wedge between the Nats and everyone else. It's become a defining characteristic like the East Coast/West coast thing (to those who know about that) or the sectarian football stuff.Well done SNP, hope you're proud of your legacy of hatred and division.
AstonZagato said:
If you want to score cheap political points, make lots of noise and threats around dog-whistle issues.
This is what the SNP have been doing since day 1 in power..."Dog-whistle issues" list of SNP showboating policies/failed legislation..
- minimum alcohol pricing - currently bogged down in the European Court of Justice following an appeal by whisky industry giants (aka shooting your own economy in the foot)
- The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 - legislation criticised by the police, the Law Society of Scotland and the Lord Advocate for being badly written and unworkable, and has led to fewer public incidents of sectarianism being successfully prosecuted than were under common law breach-of-the peace.
- The Scottish Futures Trust - Scotland's replacement for PFI which the SNP heavily criticised, but is effectively the same thing with the debts hidden from the public balance sheet, so all of the same problems with none of the accountability.
- The expensive education reform 'Curriculum for Excellence' - a re-branded 'outcome based education' system using a model dis-credited and abandoned in every other territory it has been tried in. Proposed by the previous incumbent Labour/Liberal coalition in Scotland, the SNP had the opportunity to shelve it at no cost but plowed on, leading to a 5% drop in literacy and numeracy standards and a fifth fewer exam passes, not to mention a huge overspend at the SQA exam board and local authority education budgets falling massively into the red because of training requirements for the new 'trendy leftie' courses and the cost of throwing away tried-and-tested teaching resources and replacing them with new ones.
- The SNP threatening to vote on NHS decisions in Westminster despite health being a wholly devolved issue, claiming that 'cuts' to NHS budgets in England would have knock-on effects in Scotland. This against a backdrop of a 4.4% increase in NHS spending in England over the last five years compared to a 1.2% drop in spending in Scotland.
Edited by r11co on Friday 22 May 10:19
Scotland spent a couple of years campaigning and, when it finally went to ballot, the people of Scotland voted no to independence. Not a UK decision, no input from the rest of the UK, a pure Scottish decision.
So Scotland remains in the UK, it matters not one iota what other votes come out as, they would need another vote where people as asked, once again, yes or no. Until that happens and the vote is to leave the UK then Scotland remains part of it.
So Scotland remains in the UK, it matters not one iota what other votes come out as, they would need another vote where people as asked, once again, yes or no. Until that happens and the vote is to leave the UK then Scotland remains part of it.
r11co said:
The SNP's record as a government in Scotland is frankly shocking - wasting huge amounts of parliamentary time on contentious legislation that achieves nothing or contradicts EU rules, cutting spending in health and overseeing a drop in education standards yet they are hailed by their thick and clueless knuckledragging support as saviours.
The Welsh 'Government' are similar, they've made a total fEdited by r11co on Friday 22 May 10:19
king mess of running the Welsh NHS and education systems, yet the hugely disorganised cockup they've made of everything can't be their fault, no it's the evil English Tory Govt's fault. AC43 said:
In Scotland the SNP have driven a huge wedge between the Nats and everyone else. It's become a defining characteristic like the East Coast/West coast thing (to those who know about that) or the sectarian football stuff.
Well done SNP, hope you're proud of your legacy of hatred and division.
They're driving around with saltires flying from their cars now. They've effectively commandeered the flag for their own ends.Well done SNP, hope you're proud of your legacy of hatred and division.
Strocky said:
Mone is far from successful.
Her (old) house.
Let's see yours. I can't wait.
Timmy40 said:
The Welsh 'Government' are similar, they've made a total fking mess of running the Welsh NHS and education systems, yet the hugely disorganised cockup they've made of everything can't be their fault, no it's the evil English Tory Govt's fault.
The SNP as a government stinks, but what stinks even more is the failure of the opposition parties to capitalise on their record of failure. The SNP have no-one to blame but themselves for the falling education standards in Scotland as they went entirely their own way on that one and spent a sking mess of running the Welsh NHS and education systems, yet the hugely disorganised cockup they've made of everything can't be their fault, no it's the evil English Tory Govt's fault. tload of their budget on it.Having said that, the SNP have a very strong line in bare-faced lies when confronted with their misdeeds - their former Education minister Mike Russell called a cut in university and college funding "an increase in real terms", Alex Salmond claimed he had legal backing for his assertion that an independent Scotland would automatically continue as an EU member when he didn't (not to mention the £300,000 of public money the party spent in legal moves to cover up that particular lie), and Salmond stated he did not try to influence News International's takeover of Sky even after emails and letters between him and Rupert Murdoch proving that he did emerged.
Edited by r11co on Friday 22 May 11:40
bad company said:
The nationalist debate is becoming increasingly divisive. I know many English people who would now love to be able to vote yes and then buy a super-cheap holiday home north of the border on a lovely Loch when the face-painted nesbits are desperate for some English Pounds due to the uncontrollable hyperinflation of the Scottish Groat.
A wee edit for ya.OpulentBob said:
bad company said:
The nationalist debate is becoming increasingly divisive. I know many English people who would now love to be able to vote yes and then buy a super-cheap holiday home north of the border on a lovely Loch when the face-painted nesbits are desperate for some English Pounds due to the uncontrollable hyperinflation of the Scottish Groat.
A wee edit for ya.
OpulentBob said:
bad company said:
The nationalist debate is becoming increasingly divisive. I know many English people who would now love to be able to vote yes and then buy a super-cheap holiday home north of the border on a lovely Loch when the face-painted nesbits are desperate for some English Pounds due to the uncontrollable hyperinflation of the Scottish Groat.
A wee edit for ya.RandomTask said:
Strocky said:
By-election beckons
fluffnik said:
Gecko1978 said:
Could be but I suspect not given he can't be forced out
His lies caused an enquiry costing £1.4m of our money, I reckon that deserves enough jail time to cost his job...Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff