58% and rising

[BCram]

Islay. It isn't all about economics for those who think independence is essential. There are cultural and moral issues which are very important to some supporters. I think that the economic argument is more important but even the numbers that I think are relevant are hotly disputed by independence supporters. Telling people what to think is a mistake IMO. Asking for their reasons for thinking we will be better off financially as an independent country might help us to understand why they have the views that they do.

[islaydarkblue]

Islay. It isn't all about economics for those who think independence is essential. There are cultural and moral issues which are very important to some supporters. I think that the economic argument is more important but even the numbers that I think are relevant are hotly disputed by independence supporters. Telling people what to think is a mistake IMO. Asking for their reasons for thinking we will be better off financially as an independent country might help us to understand why they have the views that they do.

Last Thursday I was sitting in the waiting room at Glenford in Forfar where my car was undergoing a very minor repair.
Also sitting there was a young lad aged about 20 who was also waiting for his car.
We had a discussion and he admitted that he was not sure about whether Scotland becoming an independent country was a good idea or not.
I explained that an independent Scotland would no longer receive there annual grant from the Westminster Government and all the perks that people throughout Scptland enjoy compared to people in England under the rules of the Barnett Formula could end.
He told me that he had never heard of the Barnett Formula. I told him that an independent Scotland would not be like living in Brigadoon and he replied that he had never heard of Brigadoon.
This is the problem.
People like this person do not have a clue about the perils of Scptland becoming an independent country and they will be the ones who will have to pick up the pieces if it all goes wrong.

[Deeranged]

Last Thursday I was sitting in the waiting room at Glenford in Forfar where my car was undergoing a very minor repair.
Also sitting there was a young lad aged about 20 who was also waiting for his car.
We had a discussion and he admitted that he was not sure about whether Scotland becoming an independent country was a good idea or not.
I explained that an independent Scotland would no longer receive there annual grant from the Westminster Government and all the perks that people throughout Scptland enjoy compared to people in England under the rules of the Barnett Formula could end.
He told me that he had never heard of the Barnett Formula. I told him that an independent Scotland would not be like living in Brigadoon and he replied that he had never heard of Brigadoon.
This is the problem.
People like this person do not have a clue about the perils of Scptland becoming an independent country and they will be the ones who will have to pick up the pieces if it all goes wrong.

Scotland would receive nothing from Westminster under the Barnett Formula or any other grant because it would be independent of Westminster and would not be contributing to the UK treasury. We'd have our own treasury managing Scotland's finances based on Scottish tax payers' contributions and not on what some old English MP thought we deserved out of jolly old England's treasury - that we support from Scotland through taxation.

[BCram]

Scotland would receive nothing from Westminster under the Barnett Formula or any other grant because it would be independent of Westminster and would not be contributing to the UK treasury. We'd have our own treasury managing Scotland's finances based on Scottish tax payers' contributions and not on what some old English MP thought we deserved out of jolly old England's treasury - that we support from Scotland through taxation.

This statement worries me. I think we will have a share of the national debt that has been run up already. How do we pay for pensions that are already in payment. The public sector pensions are not funded. The money comes in from taxes and goes out to pay pensions. There is no massive public sector pension fund just waiting to be divided up between England and Scotland. I think it would be helpful if the total value of public sector pensions paid each month will bes
so large it would mean an independent Scotland could not possibly pay. It would be helpful if this figure is known. I have nothing against public sector pensions. I am using them because I believe that the figure will be known and I think it will provide a good example why we will not escape Scot free!

[Deeranged]

This statement worries me. I think we will have a share of the national debt that has been run up already. How do we pay for pensions that are already in payment. The public sector pensions are not funded. The money comes in from taxes and goes out to pay pensions. There is no massive public sector pension fund just waiting to be divided up between England and Scotland. I think it would be helpful if the total value of public sector pensions paid each month will bes
so large it would mean an independent Scotland could not possibly pay. It would be helpful if this figure is known. I have nothing against public sector pensions. I am using them because I believe that the figure will be known and I think it will provide a good example why we will not escape Scot free!

We're already responsible for our proportion of the national debt, it won't be like a bank calling in the debt right now in the event of independence, it would crack on increasing same as it will if we stick with the union.

[BCram]

We're already responsible for our proportion of the national debt, it won't be like a bank calling in the debt right now in the event of independence, it would crack on increasing same as it will if we stick with the union.

But it will be our share and our responsibility to deal with.

[dayster]

But it will be our share and our responsibility to deal with.

Just as we would inherit a share of the assets which will be ours to deal with... decommission some nukes hopefully!

[islaydarkblue]

Scotland would receive nothing from Westminster under the Barnett Formula or any other grant because it would be independent of Westminster and would not be contributing to the UK treasury. We'd have our own treasury managing Scotland's finances based on Scottish tax payers' contributions and not on what some old English MP thought we deserved out of jolly old England's treasury - that we support from Scotland through taxation.

Thanks to the rules of the Barnett Formula there is free bus travel throughout Scotland for people aged 60 and over, free prescriptions for all in Scotland and a free eye test every two years for people aged between 16 and 59 with a yearly free eye test for people aged 60 and over who live in Scotland.
In England people aged 65 and over only get free bus travel in their local area. There are only free prescriptions for people aged 60 and over and everyone has to pay for their eye test.
It was recently reported that people in Scotland receive £1,462 per head more than people living in England.
At lot of people living in England especially those living in London and the South East would be delighted to see Scotland leave the U.K. as they would no longer have to subsidise the moaning, whingeing SNP MPs and their pro independence supporters.
An independent Scotland will be in a sorry state financially as al the wealth drains out of Edinburgh and moves down south to England. The management of the RBS have already set the ball rolling by changing the name of their company to Nat West Bank. The former RBS head office at Gogarburn will likely close down leaving a rapidly shrinking RBS branch network throughout Scotland.
In the early 1970’s there were 14 RBS branches in Dundee. Now in 2020 there just 2 RBS branches in Dundee.

[dayster]

The former RBS head office at Gogarburn will likely close down leaving a rapidly shrinking RBS branch network throughout Scotland.
In the early 1970’s there were 14 RBS branches in Dundee. Now in 2020 there just 2 RBS branches in Dundee.

An excellent point Islay. The Scottish banking sector has diminished massively since the 1970's under the continual mis-management of the UK government, its clear that without taking drastic action like voting for independence that there will be no RBS branches left in Dundee