The Scottish Government

John Bobbit - 1665

No offence mate but you've fallen for the scare tactics of Westminster. There is still around 80 years+ of oil left (fact) and Alex Salmond is suggesting using the revenue in a responsible way to ensure the economic stability of future generations. Its true to say that OUR oil alone does not subsidise the whole UK but it does more than its bit - the main point on oil is that what it brings in to the UK's coffers does not go very far accross the UK population but if that was secured for Scotland there would be 4000 barrels per capita income per year for every man, woman and child in Scotland as opposed to 140 per capita of the UK - this money would go a HUGE way to implementing policies for the people of Scotland ensuring that no child lives in poverty etc etc - in theory we could be a tax free nation (although I don't feel we should be!)
Yes, in the current set up Scotland is a region - does that make you proud? It saddens me deeply and I can only hope to see Scotland re-instated on the world stage as a country in its own right!

You say you're from Glasgow

I thank Gordon Murray for his little tirade but I'm afraid he's just wrong. The UK is a member of the United Nations, the UK is a member state of the EU. The UK is the internationally recognised state which happens to be made up of the former countries of England, Scotland, Wales and the area of Ireland that was sectioned-off. Scotland is not a country no matter how many athletics teams or football teams we field. We are a region and should recognise that. The 1707 Parliament was dissolved permanently and from that date, Scotland AND England ceased to exist and instead Great Britain was founded.
I am all for perhaps a more federal system of government in Scotland with clearly defined power boundaries with no overlap from Westminster. I want to go back to a time when being British made me proud - when Britain was Great.
Scotland gets more money per capita than anywhere else in the UK. The digital television switch has already happened in one area of England so someone else was factually wrong too. Instead of complaining, we should come to appreciate just how much we have to be thankful for in today's Scotland. We do not 'support' the rest of the UK with oil. The London economy keeps the whole of the UK afloat in reality. The oil is running out. The Scottish population is in decline and getting older. The grass isn't always greener on the other side!

so david cameron says the nwxt tory government will cut scotlands funding,saying that the so called barnet formula gives scotland more than anyone else,when are they going to stop telling this old lie we are fed up listening to it.when we get independence it will be englands funding that will be cut as the north sea oil revenues leagally belong to scotland under international law.and they won't be able to steal any more of our industry like they have with our railway,steel,motor and heavy engineering industries...

Why are politicians, who claim to be convinced they would win a vote, so afraid to let the people decide? These anti-democrates must be circumvented, as it is time for the people to decide.

#1661

So much for a cataclysmic event when the SNP were elected to power with a whole 1 in 3 support of the electorate. 'We will bring a new brand of government to Scotland. We will replace SPIN, LIES and downright skullduggery with, you've guessed it, more SPIN, LIES and downright skullduggery '.

Let's see a whole 0.5% increase, (don't mention over inflation). So the pound for pound increase PER head is exactly the same as England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but lets divide it by the actual spend in Scotland which is around £1,500 per head more than England then we can say its a smaller PERCENTAGE increase and start another argument that doesn't exist.

What was the rate of infation increase worth before the 2% increase was applied? Well if we don't mention it until an obscure interview opprtunity arises (Say Newsnight Scotland) maybe it will go away!! What about the £900, 000,000 under spend which will be added to last year's total? KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!! We don't want the public finding out we have between 7% - 8% (conservatively) more to spend than the last executive (lab-Lib), they might want us to keep our manifesto commitments! We can't have that, it doesn't cause a stooshie!! Never forget we are here to break up the United Kingdom, but keep the Queen, in which case anything goes, including the FACTS. We can't let them get in the way of a good fight, oops argument.

While we sit and blether on and on , we continue to subsidise the UK government with our oil ( now at a record 90 dollars a barrel ) No wonder Westminsters so keen to keep the union !! And then they penalise us for voting SNP by allowing us a 0.5% budget increase while Norway (with its own massive oil fund ) increases its spending this year by 7% .

How degrading for us that we are STILL going cap in hand to London for crumbs from their table, when Scotland`s provided the meal !!

As the days go by one by one, it becomes more and more apparent how much better we can be, in so many ways and why only independence can give us the fiscal levers necessary to achieve this.

We`ve been short changed for 300 years and still we`re fed lies by the unionists. C`MON SCOTLAND WAKE UP , WE OWE IT TO OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS !!

Dave Coull 1652

I forgot to say in response to this point - as a referendum on devolution was part of Labours election manifesto in 1997, and because Labour won by a landslide Donald Dewar was able to have this referendum quickly because of labours majority (no opposition).

The point for me in this national conversation is this! Because the SNP do not have a majority in the Scottish Parliament they can't just rush this through as they need the support of the other parties, but the other parties will vote against it which is an absolute travesty as the SNP stated in their manifesto they would hold the referendum on independence and the fact is they won the election, it might just be by one seat but they still won! Any attempt to block this referendum is the total anti-thesis of a democracy and the other Westminister based parties should never be given the chance to go against the wishes of the majority of our great nation again!

1652 - Dave Coull

I agree with you, that wasn't a message for fellow Scots to vote Tory! On the contrary, I couldn't bring myself to put a cross (or a 1,2 or 3!!) in that box either! Its just that as a nationalist I find myself in the strange position of hoping the tories get in at Westminister and see if that brings about a push in Scotland for a referendum. It is my feeling that this is possibly why the SNP are talking about 2010 for an independence referendum which if the tories get in at Westminister will be a political masterstroke - who in Scotland's going to vote to remain part of a country run by the tories! Not many and even less that would admit it!


I've heard the arguments about economic instability etc but it is disgusting that the other parties won't support giving their fellow countrymen the chance to decide - I thought we lived in a democracy but maybe I was wrong!

So the Scottish people are to be given a chance to vote on this? But WHO are the Scottish people? English/Welsh living in Scotland can vote on the issue, apparently, because the draft bill gives the right to vote to those who have the franchise in local elections. But Scots living abroad cannot vote? Oh, I hear, they do not count, they do not pay taxes, etc. Sorry, many expats DO pay taxes in the UK. Furthermore issues such as changing passports from British to Scottish, whether Scotland is part of the EU, are important to them. A referendum that excludes expat Scots is an affront to the whole concept of democracy. And there was the First Minister expressing pride (quite properly) in the contribution of Scots to the world at large! In other words, we are proud of you, but you can't vote.