The Scottish Government

I feel that the Union has and will with stand more threats than the Scottish National Party. Scotland does not need independence to thrive as a nation. Who wants to have a country where we face an economic future where we cannot afford to keep the luxuries that we enjoy today? Scotland is very much substituted by the rest of the union and the SNP admit themselves the national spending on services per head of population would be far less under an independently run country. It is time that instead of cutting our ties with the union, we move closer to our union with Europe. Scotland is a very cultural and democratically rich country, we should cherish that. The Scottish Parliament should continue and perhaps with more powers, however powers we can manage correctly. It is time that less democratically represented regions in England are offered a parliament in order to run there issues closer to home. Devolution for the entire United Kingdom with a centrally run government is the way to go. NOT independence.

I have recently moved over to Livingston from the West of Scotland. I love Edinburgh as a city and all the attractions that it has on offer.
It is our capital city and rightly so but OMG the roads are in some state of disrepair!! Everywhere you go there are potholes,ridges,ruts dug up areas and complete car wreckers.
If this government are going to have any credibility as a force for making this a better country and a better place to be,then they better get started on the roads in our capital city before they will get my vote!
It can't be a very good impression for any visitors seeing what a Nationalist Government have to offer in the way of infrastructure.

My view was always that the people of Scotland wanted a command of what effected there everyday life and the provision of a Scottish Parliament has certainly brought that to us, even our English cousins are making noises about the fact we can decide to provide personal care for our elderly, free prescriptions and have the bufgets to manage our Schools, Hospital Police and Emergency services, lets not also forget that we Scots are a pionering nation and not a devisive lot, keeping the United Kingdom as it is will serve the countries as has done in defence, culture change and facing up to those who would want to control the lives of us all, just as the Nationalist Socialist Party led by Adolf Hitler, there are no good examples of Nationalism that will serve the good that comes from our unity as British people, so leave well alone and if the SNP are not happy shift your butt elsewhere and let the rest of us get on with living and being good neighbours.

Patrick Kirkwood

I took issue with you last post. You say that you want Scotland to have the ability to make its own decisions. Now correct me if I am wrong here but what do we have the Scottish parliament for? Is it just a big ugly looking building with loads of MSP's talking mince? Perhaps. But it is also equipped with substantial powers to govern over most domestic affairs. Sure there are reserved issues but the Scottish parliament has power in the areas which concern most people namely health, education and so on.

I don't care what anyone says these powers are extensive. I am sure that those in the constitutional convention of the 1980s would have bitten your hand off if you offered them the current settlement.

Craig

Paul Johnson - I am no particuliar Unionist, but your comments are quite correct. I fear being a wee tadpole in a big pool. Of course it can be done and will work, but is it better?
Also, what currency is this independent country going to use? The pound completely controlled by another sovereign country or the Euro where we have even less influence than we currently have.

Re: 360. Robert Arnold -
Sunday, January 13, 2008 10:02

Robert wrote "Independence is NOT about facts and figures though" and "I love my country ..."

I couldn't agree more. Only one thing, my country is Great Britain and an independant Scotland in Europe will not be "free".

Mike (a Tory a-hole and no doubt a Unionist a-hole too. Proud of both!)

I have recently returned from a ten year stay in Australia. Throughout my time in that country, I met numberous ex-pats who worked in different fields including business, engineering and education. Most of them want to come back but will not do so until Scotland becomes an independent nation. Can Scotland really afford to lose this talent and investment?

To digress for a moment can I address the opening statement for this blog?

Quote "Correspondingly, the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government would assume the full range of competence, duties and responsibilities accorded to sovereign states under international law." Unquote

Obviously a statement that means more on paper than in practice. We can take out "competence, duties and responsibilities " and that would be more in keeping with the actual situation.

Before we pass the responsiblity of running this coutry's affairs perhaps we should expect to see that the Government has the 'competence' to undertake the 'Duties and responsibilities' expected of it, before even considering the leap into the unknown.

In short, the current members of the government have shown themselves to be as self seeking, incompetent and devious as they have claimed their opponents to be.

Thanks for allowing me to comment on this important debate, i just want to say that i do not believe Scotland has benefited greatly as part of the union. Over the last 30yrs both Labour and Tory governments have failed Scotland, children still living in conditions of poverty on drug infested housing estates where crime spills out everywhere, and so many other important issues needing to be addressed. It is like i can almost see the future and it looks grim, i see independence as the only way to stop this gradual decline.

I would like to rename this 'national conversation' to 'The peoples forum' and long may it continue.