should we kick Scotland out of the union?

Answer 1

Scotland is one of the only nations that is ruled from another country - admittedly since 1997 it has had it's own government but with limited powers.

Kicking Scotland out of the Union would probably do more harm than good - certainly to the rest of the Union. Despite what the British media leads you to think (bear in mind it's almost exclusively based in London), Scotland is richer than England - the per capital GDP in Scotland is $30,269 and in England it's $24,503.

And contrary to the popular belief that England subsidises Scotland it's actually the Scottish taxpayer that's subsidising the rest of the UK. See these two Wikipedia articles for confirmation and further info... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_England and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Scotland

If the spilt was amicable then trade between the two countries could remain unaffacted but if it was a hostile split then both countries would suffer economically.

Countries with small populations do well economically. The US is the only country amongst the world's 10 richest countries that has a large population. Contrary to another popular belief, the UK is not the 4th richest country in the world - it's actually the 26th https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html

Then of course there's the question of the oil. 1.5 trillion dollars worth of it sitting under the North Sea plus an unknown amount yet to be discovered. The waters off the Scottish coast had always been classed as Scottish Waters but with the discovery of oil Westminster proclaimed them to be British Waters.

If Scotland were kicked out of the Union and reclaimed the oil in Scottish Waters then the rest of the UK would go bankrupt and Scotland would receive a windfall equivalent to more than a quarter of a million dollars per person.

You can imagine what would happen if the UK (less Scotland) had no oil - it would have to import it all and the nearest place would be from Scotland. The UK would become far less significant on the world stage and Scotland would would be the Saudi Arabia of Europe with every other country queueing at it's door.

Kick Scotland out of the Union at your own peril.

Answer 2

What would England do without the Oil or the Scotch Whisky Revenue...? Maybe it would be a good thing - then England couldn't afford to send Harry to Iraq... wonder what all those Scottish MP's in Government would say to that.. I don't want England to split...I am Scottish - and there isn't anyone intelligent enough to run Scotland...just look at the Clowns that make up the Scottish Parliament..

Answer 3

Scottish person here...

England can't actually "kick Scotland out"... lol
but Scotland may decide to split from the UK for economic reasons, ie it might be better because there aren't many of us so it might be cheaper not to pay taxes for the rest of the UK's benefit.

I hope we don't split because it would make the Scottish hate the English even more than they already do.

Answer 4

I don't like England, however I know that there is no such thing as Scottish oil.

That oil is over 100 miles offshore, and not one drop of it would have been removed if it wasn't for British and foreign companies. Scotland never had the money of the wherewithall to explore and exploit it.

if any of that oil was on land, it would be fair game, but it isn't.

Answer 5

What absolute hogwash you speak Trevor.The income from the oil off Scotland and mostly in Shetland waters (who are by no means guaranteed to seek separation from the UK) accounts for just 6% of the national economy.

There is no fear whatsoever of rUK going bankrupt, and you may have noticed that one of the worlds most significant finds of shale oil/shale gas is in England. I don't for one moment that the English would say, oh we are not going to share that with Scotland, if Scotland were in the Union. You speak of subsidising, then let me tell you that Scotland earmarks just some 2.5 billion Pounds for defence. The whole of the UK pays 37 Billion Pounds per year on defence .

If independence becomes a reality you can expect many major companies to get out of Scotland. Moreover, the Clyde will lose any future ship building for defence. Probably that will go to a grateful Belfast, or Portsmouth

The nuclear submarines will relocate, again, it seems that Northern Ireland would be a good choice

Currently, because of shale oil and shale gas, it is predicted the the price of oil will fall by 25 to 40% over the next 10 years. This means the very expensive deep sea oil off the Shetlands may be uneconomic to produce and search for.

Scotland is not ruled by another country. You have some 50 MPs in parliament, it is your government as well as any other area of the UK.

Scotland have been warned that it is most unlikely to be admitted to the EU, this is because other countries in the EU have separatist factions. Since it would take all 27 countries to agree, then its pretty much a non-starter for Scotland. So if Scotland were not in the EU, and rUK were, then under EU rules there would have to be border controls and the Scottish people would need a passport to come South.

Talking of coming South, there are approximately 750,000 Scottish people living in the rest of the UK. They have equal opportunities with any other UK citizen and because London and the South East is approximate to the Continent, that has become a rich area. Its a matter of geography, and not as the Scots would have us believe some kind of conspiracy. There are lots of Scots people living in the South East, happily, and creating wealth. Unfortunately, the SNP have seen fit not to permit them to vote in the Referendum, that sounds pretty totalitarian to me i.e declare, illegal, the votes of those who are likely to vote against you. Bit like a banana republic !

What is happening now is the SNP have managed to turn Scots against English, and this will be reciprocated in time. The policies of the SNP seem to have been generated after 10 pm in the tap room of
a bar, it sounds great after three pints. In the cold light of day they plainly ridiculous. They just haven't got even a basic understanding of the real world

Experts in their own field telling the Scots the pitfalls and the SNP rejecting them as scare stories. Even to the point of telling the rest of the UK that they cannot vote on whether to let Scotland use the Pound.

I wouldn't quote Wikepedia as a proven source, if I were you, it very much depends upon who has written the article

I'm afraid that what you speak is trash and typical of the Scottish nationalist misinformation which is fired off in salvoes to the poor Scottish electorate.

As a purely personal choice I am all for kicking Scotland right out of the Union and sending back their 750,000 nationals who live in rUK, think of the jobs that would create down South

Answer 6

Yes Please.
Then we could go it alone without the rest of the 'union' putting us down.
By the way. The oil is in Scotland's continental shelf so that makes the revenue's ours.

Answer 7

If it happens then we should also get rid of Scottish MPs from Parliament

Answer 8

Yes think we all should be independent and stand on our own two feet, we should be allowed to vote on the issue, I would certainly vote yes.

Answer 9

It's not up to you to decide that, unless you vote for a political party like the BNP or UK Independence Party. Idiot.

Answer 10

Only if you want to make them happy.