The Scottish Government

If Scotland was to gain independence, this would lead to many difficulties. We have enough trouble as it is trying to just get our Scottish notes accepted in English shops. Scotland gaining independance would just make this issue a whole lot worse. This is just a minor problem however, there would be an argument as to how the BBC would be broken up, we would have to apply to become part of NATO and for all we know, may not be accepted because we have chosen to take independance and may have insulted and upset our neighbouring countries. If we chose not to join NATO we would then have to form our own army consisting of just Scotland which if a war ever broke out, we can safely say we would probsbly risk having our whole country and soldiers abolished. This is why I feel that Scotland gaining independance is not the greatest idea the Scottish Government have ever proposed.

Hello my name is Jenny Sangster and I come from Inverurie Academy and am curently studying Modern Studies in 4th year. At first Scotland and England did not get on but as the generations have past we have formed a strong relationship but over the past few years the relationship seams to be thinning and we are getting further and further apart. Scotland was independent from 843 to 1707 and it looks like in 2010 Scotland will once again become independent. If Scotland was to become independent things we would have some serious issues on would be the army and air force and navy. Also we would have serious problems on the government and Scotland would be bankrupted when we pull out of the UK and the question is will we have enough money to pull ourselves together again. Then we would have to think about what currency we would use and if we are going to join the European Union.

Fiscal Autonomy Supposition: If Scotland and its People are Sovereign, then we have the right to create our own currency => Government can create and regulate currency creation for the benefit of the Nation. Banks are Publicly owned entities for public good, not Private Profit => thus the government need not borrow money from a central bank since it can create and spend the money it needs on Public Services and National Infrastructure => So the gov could create its own funding legally, and free from debt. => also then individuals and businesses can borrow money from the Public bank, at a certain interest rate for trade etc. => To control inflation, the government would levy taxes on private enterprise to re-fund into the public sector. =>

#298 Dode1

"Why should a parliamentary majority against independence be called a conspiracy?"

Jim Silvery'spost #297 read :"Should the unionist parties conspire to deny Scots the choice to have their say on independence, what will the Scottish Government do?"

Dode1 you missed the crucial words "the choice to have their say". Jim Silvery was talking about the unionist parties opposition to a referendum on independence, not independence itself.

You have misread the post.

"Failing that they should be able to negotiate a majority by convincing sufficient MSPs to vote for it in our parliament."

Why should the Scottish populace not have their say on such an important issue?

I don't think there is much sense or indeed support to deny the Scottish electorate the chance to vote in a referendum on independence

From reading many of the comments on here there is a lot of talk about England. Lets be clear, Scottish independence has nothing to do with England or being anti-English, it is about Scotland and Scots having the right to function as any other modern day country does, to make its own decisions that effect its populace.

There is also a lot made of the now 302 year old union. Again, lets be clear, for most of that time Scotland was left to run its own affairs with little interference. Only in the latter part of the twentieth century with the advent of the modern media age and WWII has this concept of Britishness been forced onto the population of the UK. Prior to this Scots were Scots, not British.

The Treaty of Union has served its purpose, it was never a permanent but a temporary measure. Scotland has retained its own law, education and religious institutions, three core constituents of any nation. This was stipulated in the treaty as the union was never meant to last.

I'm sure most know why the union was entered into, conversely the time has now come to dissolve this treaty for economic, social, environmental and political reasons.

Scots have always thought of themselves as a sovereign people, now is the right time for Scots to make their own decisions for the benfit of their country and the generations to come.


If you're interested in debating independence and Scottish politics in general, visit Brian Taylors political blog on the BBC website. The topic at the moment: the Scottish Governments submission to the Calman comission.

293-Dode1-the different regions making up England have been a united nation for a long time-since around the 10th century. Scotland is different-we only entered this union in 1707 (by corruption) and were nearly always an independent nation before.

We are not part of England and do not have an English identity. And just because we have 'contributed' to the union doesn't mean we have to stay in it.

I assume this is the one-island argument again. Why do our countries have to be united just because we share an island?

Cornwall also has an independence movement by the way. We are not crawling back into something, we are crawling forwards to independence and internationalism.

#297 Jim Silvey Dundee

Why should a parliamentary majority against independence be called a conspiracy? If the SNP can govern effectively it should be able to convince the electorate to vote for them, and call a referendum by themselves. Failing that they should be able to negotiate a majority by convincing sufficient MSPs to vote for it in our parliament. Unfortunately they are falling down on so many manifesto promises that it is doubtful that they will persuade enough people of either dominion to give them free rein. No conspiracy, just common sense.

Dode1

Should the unionist parties conspire to deny Scots the choice to have their say on independence, what will the Scottish Government do? They could following the Irish model of launching a national bond scheme to fund a referendum overseen by an international election body. If British nationalists/unionists are so confident they would win such a referendum why are they apparently so scared to allow it to take place? Equally the SNP should show determination to give Scots that choice. There are other ways to hold and fund a referendum that through a Parliament that was, according to civil servants, established to "weaken the case for independence".

#294 C Stafford

The only qualification for having a vote in a referendum is to be on the electoral role in the region concerned. I would expect your vote to be cast based on the arguments presented by either side of the debate. The same rules as would apply to me if I settled in another member country of the union.

In reply to #286 whom seems to bexenophobic, may I point out I am no foreigner; I am a born Scot, as was my father, his father and even all my relatives going back as far as one can trace the family tree.

In your comments you state that Scotland would be required to join the EU, adopt the Euro and sign up for CAP and so forth! What a load of ignorant nonsense. The point of being a sovereign and democratic country is having the power within the hands of the people to decide "if" they so choose and not let a foreign country decide what choices the Scottish people will make.

As for paying "us" a visit, I come home every 18 months or so. Finally where do you get the idea that I am a psuedo Nationalist and ran away to warmer climes; nothing psuedo about me, nor my politics. If this is the level of debate that Unionists stoop to then I have no hesitation in stating that within a few years I will come home to a Scotland free to make the choices that will be in the hands of a Democratically Elected Independent Scottish Government.