The Scottish Government

to stewart in Stirling - you are NOT free: you are governed by a Westminster government in a different COUNTRY. That government has consistently sold Scotland and Scots short and would happily continue to do so ad infinitum.That government has never asked you for your opinion and never will. T

In response to Ellis Sims, missive 271

Can I start by asking you what is wrong with countries like Greece etc?

The days when 'being British' carried some special kudos and importance have long gone. You may get a thrill out of hanging onto the USA's coat-tails in conducting an illegal war in Iraq, but I fear the majority of the British people and certainly majority of Scots were against it.

Is everything to be measured in terms of the size of your economy, the size of your guns or nuclear arsenal?

If this is the kind of 'benefit' we get from being part of Britain then frankly you can stuff it. Switzerland hasn't had a war for 500 years and they have one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Having a 'big economy' doesn't translate to individual wealth. Economically Scotland would be better off, and even if it weren't it would be good to get away from the 'biggest bully in the class' philosohpy associated with being British.

You also say our problems are to do with the complexion of the government in Westminster. So we wait until the views of the UK government coincide with the Scots' best interests ? - well we could wait, it might be a long wait. We could vote for independence however, that would be a lot quicker !

Can I also say I welcome comments from all those living in Scotland and those intending to return - clearly they have a stake in the argument.

I have a little more skepticism over those commenting from afar and unlikely to return.

I am unclear which category you fit into - why not come back to Scotland so you can truly experience our national rebirth first hand rather than pitching up from so far away ?

Awrabest

Holyrood is a second division parliament for a nation which, disappointingly, so far seems unable to aspire to promotion to the world premier league.

Surely we can't still beleive that the SNP are the true voice of Scotland? This is a party engaging in the worst kind of confrontational politics instead of finding solution to age old problems such as how our elderly are being treated in care homes etc.

Mr Salmond continually ducks the hard questions preferring instead to engage in some kind of guerilla war of words with Westminster - what a let down for us all.

Lets face it, Gordon Murray London is slightly smaller than Scotland. Also Scotland is a country not a city, i could say that Chelsea should become independent because it shares a bourgh with Fulham FC. They are both in Fulham but are not treated as such.

Its a matter of opinion if they should seperate :S, but like i said Scotland is different from a City. Plus if people aren't happy with Devolution, lets go back to one state Britain. Why not? Oh yes thats WHY, because Scotland wasn't happy that it was getting treated like crap. Now it isn't treated like bulls**t, we can focus on why England feels like it is feeling treated like Bulls**t. Then once we have sorted that out maybe we can then go onto far more important things which are to the benifit of the ENTIRE United Kingdom

I agree with Craig cook from Glasgow entirely. We live in an age where the nation state is getting larger and larger. I fail to see the point of joining Europe whilst leaving the UK which is a trade block in itself. For years and years Scots have benefitted from an economic union with the UK, receiving more money per capita than in England, whilst still retaining our strong Scotish Heritage. Our services industry based in Edinburgh for example, is far more important than Oil, and clearly depends heavily on a strong union with the City. The Role of the armed forces is also unclear under an independent Scotland.

Re: Alasdair Martin's comments on Scotland having more say in Europe as an independent country than as part of the UK.

How can this be? The EU is run ('bossed') by France & Germany (indeed its origins are in the EEC, formed in 1955 largely to protect French agriculture & German industry)

Currently only one country is large enough to 'stand up' to them & that's the UK. Once we start to dissolve ALL of us currently in the UK will become less able to protect our national interests.

Please think twice before voting to break up the UK Alasdair!

263,
(example Scotland playing in a huge game against Italy gets less coverage on TV than an england friendly)

Well said James, its such a pity that when its comes to sport and media coverage we are treated as a region of britain, its a sh1te situation.

Its our country people, lets get it back, we pay the same tax's as the English why should we be treated as a colony??.
We don't even vote for the same parties, England are more inclined to the tories, do we need another monster like thatcher to wake up the people of Scotland?

The SNP 'Government' is as good a reason as any to stick with the Union. It has shown itself adept at gimmickry and inept at substance. In two key planning decisions, both of which merited a public inquiry (Park Quadrant in Glasgow and Winston Barracks in Lanark) they blithely waved them through. I am now beginning to believe that devolution (which I have supported for 33 years) is a bad idea.

#283 Mike King - Birmingham

I can't say I'm particularly keen on acceeding further powers to the EU be it as part of the UK or as an independent Scotland. However, so long as Scotland remains part of the Union such decisions will be made by those in Westminster ... and they seem very keen to disregard the views of EVERYONE, regardless of where 'we' come from.

Currently Scotland has no voice in Europe, at least as an independent nation we'd have more of a voice than we do in our current - a minority of a minority, if you will - circumstances.

With luck whoever governs an independent Scotland will listen to it's people in a way Westminster never could thanks to the simple arithmetic of governance.

Remember ... Regardless of whoever is in the cabinet (and there aren't as many Scots as some commentators seem to believe) there is still some 529 English constituency MP's to Scotland's 59.

Regards
Alasdair Martin