scottish independence yes or no

[FoolPhysio]

Yawn.

Just exactly HOW would separation make us significantly better off? What is preventing us from being a successful, modern nation that would be a paragon of virtue to all and sundry?

If wishes were horses . . .

And bringing government posts from different parts of the UK to Scotland will indeed bring jobs - but will require us to shoulder the full cost of both set up and maintaining them. With Scotland already having a higher proportion of public sectors jobs per head of working population that would mean a much greater hunk of the tax take required to do so. False economy.

It is human nature to want something other than you already have, and much of our Western economy has been developed to exploit this. Your separatist politicians are cynically doing the same thing.

Firm facts and figures are required, but you won't get that for a whimsical notion of how much better it would be to be free, free, FREEEEEEE!!!!

Bollards.

Fact is, like it or not, what we have now is probably as good as it can be. Separating will not make it better, but similarly it may not make it worse. It will be plus ca change. Yet we will have had to pay for this divorce which we will probably be lumbered with for a long time come, get worse in the immediate term while we pay it all off and then we will have all that pain of stimulating regrowth just get back to where we are now. Who in their right mind would vote for that?

[Charles Bannerman]

if we don't get out of the uk soon the conservative party will turn all the uk back to the old days like in the film oliver twist they don't care about people like us just there bank friends

The Tory Government is easily changeable at the next election... or indeed could be out of office tomorrow if the coalition collapses, which is eminently possible.

Separation is for ever - a painful bed to have to lie in indefinitely if you end up being fooled by one man's ego trip.

[TSTtiger]

Oh dear Mr Bannerman, I see your finally over your beloved labour party being given a sound doing in the last two Scottish Parliment elections and are furiously towing the party line in not even being able to say the word Independance :)

Separation: ooooh very scary. That's me convinced. :)

[PullMyFinger]

I'm comfortable with seperation, even divorce as neither mean isolation. We will continue to be British and our main trading partners will continue to be the rest of UK. We will however have decisions made by our own politicians elected solely by the people of Scotland (that includes you Laurence). I personally feel that a Scottish parliament is more accountable to us.

In the words of Wendy Alexander, "Bring it on!".

[Yngwie]

We will however have decisions made by our own politicians elected solely by the people of Scotland

Don't we have that already?

If you mean more decisions than at present, then why not seek that through increased devolution rather than the phenomenally expensive, risky and irrevocable independence option? Wouldn't that provide a "best of both worlds" scenario?

If you want independence expecting control over all decisions, you'll never get that. Most laws these days are set by Brussels, and the economy would still be controlled by the Bank of England (assuming we keep the pound) or by Angela Merkel if we get the Euro.