Do you agree with proposals to split the union between England and Scotland?

Question

I don't personally. I am English and i think this would impact heavily on our position on the international stage and our economic stability

Answer 1

Only if we can send our politicians back. (Blair's from Edinburgh)

It will make very little difference to England. If Scotland want to become a banana (or should that be haggis) republic, good luck to them. The reason a number of Scots are going on about independence is that they think they've got some oil. They'll be rather upset when they find out that it was Shetland's oil and they've sold it all. I hope they don't think Shetland wants to be part of an independent Scotland - they'd rather join Norway.

Answer 2

It is all notional, as it means nothing if there is no physical separation. Scotland, and to some extent the North of England have always been politically different to the South of England.

Self determination, is probably a better word than independence. We would see some significant changes in the way business is done, which would redress any gains from taking with one hand and giving with another.

That political divergence was polarised under the rule of Margaret Thatcher/John Major, and really never recovered from that.

Decision making with companies can go through similar oscillations between centralisation and decentralisation. Both extremes have their own particular problems, which means that advocates for change see the benefits without ever seeing or resolving the problems.

It is like a boom and bust vicious circle, which explodes when too much excess fat is taken on and has to be shed. In the long run, one can imagine a scenario where if you let lunatics run a company you will end up with a company which is destroyed. It is then taken over, and rebuilt and the lunatics are removed forever.

It is best therefore, in the long run, to get that blockage out of the system by allowing nature to take its course.

Answer 3

i agree, i don't think that it would benefit either England or Scotland. If anyone watched the news the other day, they said Scotland would lose out because they get more money per person than England does. So if Scotland did decide to split from us, then they would probably find it harder than England! But over all i disagree with Scotland splitting from the rest of the UK!

Answer 4

Yes.Scotland now has full self-government in the most major areas of public policy:
Education, health, local government, social work, housing,
training, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, sport and the arts,
economic development including the administration of
European Structural Funds, tourism, many aspects of transport,
the legal system and law and order, most civil and criminal
law, prisons and the fire services, and various lesser matters.
It is not just an astonishing degree of independence within a Union which is denied to its other constituent nations; it is also one in which one of those other nations, namely England,subsidises most generously. ?????????
Of the £45.3 billion spent in Scotland in 2003-4 only £34 billion was recovered in taxation.
The £11.3 billion difference, which works out at £2200 per head of population in Scotland, was paid by the UK Parliament.
If tax revenue from North Sea oil is excluded, namely £4.3 billion, there still would have been a £7 billion gap, which equates to a £281 surcharge on every English taxpayer.
One has to hand it to Brown and co. They have pulled of the biggest and brightest coup in the Union’s 300 year history.
Not only is there the gross political and constitutional injustice of the English Question and the West Lothian Question,
There are also the financial aspects.
As we have seen, Scotland does not pay its way. Only by reason of the immensity of the grant being paid by the Exchequer out of its UK revenue to the Scottish Parliament can it afford to provide
the educational, health and social benefits it now enjoys which are not being made available in England.
There are free eye tests for all regardless of age, free personal
and social care for the elderly, highly specialist cancer
treatments available across the whole of Scotland, free bus
travel throughout Scotland and free central heating installation
for pensioners, and free prescriptions for 19-25 year olds.
Scottish university students do not pay either tuition fees or
top-up fees which in England can be as much as £3000 a year.
They don‟t pay them even if they are at an English university.
No EU students (except the English, Welsh and Northern Irish)
pay them either. English students at Scottish universities
however must pay £3600 yearly in tuition fees for four-year
degrees while Scottish (and EU) students pay nothing in
advance and just £2000 after graduation. Each Scottish person is in receipt of at least £1300 more per head expenditure than English people!

Answer 5

Putting the local nationalism to 1 side it would be a very bad idea to split the union.
If that happened England would not be a world player anymore!

England would be relegated to spectators not participants (The French would be delighted)

I'm sure the Scots the Welsh and even the N Irish would love to go it alone but after the euphoria what then?

Everyone is isolated

It's a non-starter splitting, because we are in the middle of opening borders with our European counterparts

So lets say we do split......... Then you get idiots who say London should go it alone (because they generate 1/3 of total GDP ......Manchester and Liverpool dislike each other.....and they are neighbours!
Lets face it the UK could become a bunch of principalities.

Great to discuss but Stupid to action!

Nobody will benefit

Answer 6

I don't agree. I think it would be terrible if Scotland and England split! Look at all the things England and Scotland have achieved together! The British Empire! A great Army, Navy and Airforce! A splendid history! A not bad economy! The British Villain! Plus, we'd no longer be able to sing 'Rule Britannia!', terrible news!

Stay strong our United Kingdom! Lets stay United!

Answer 7

As a Scot I think it's definitely a good idea. Being 'British' means nothing to me or most of my friends. I have nothing against the English personally (my dad is English) and I agree with those that say Scottish MPs shouldn't be allowed to vote on matters in England that have been devolved to the Scottish parliament up here. Thats only fair.
Also, us Scots may receive a higher percentage of taxes per head than England but then we wouldn't need this if the immense profits from our own natural resources (e.g. oil) and products (e.g. whisky) hadn't been pilfered by England.

Answer 8

As a Scot - I think the Union is too valuable to consider Scottish independence.

The Scottish Parliament has not been impressive so far - just expensive. Labour are awful in a purely Scottish context too - it makes the SNP look good. At least they can string an argument together.

Answer 9

I do not think it would be a good move for the Scots although they bleat on about the oil and gas industry on which England depends being theirs. If there is a split it should be a real split with all the Scottish MPs in Westminster being sent home and the English Parliament made up of purely English MPs. All Scottish nationals to have work permits and visas to come to England.
The present devolved system precludes the English from the Scottish parliament but the Scottish constituencies are represented in Westminster. Another one of Blair's mish mashes.

Answer 10

Only if there's a proper referendum with a clear majority. The Scots already have a kind of Parliament yet still have a say on English affairs that needs to be dealt with. Maybe proper Independence is the answer .