You have confidence in the tories not to take advantage of the reduction?
I don't know what's going to happen. Not much point in getting down about it until actual formal plans are announced.
Also bear in mind everyone's getting their funding reduced in general...
Aye, that's my major problem tbh.molgrips - Member
Also bear in mind everyone's getting their funding reduced in general...
I don't agree with austerity, do you?
Well, I don't think so. I understand how borrowing can get you out of recession, and I also understand that Tories might want to use the deficit as an excuse for smaller government, but even then it seems odd that they would want to simply slash services without providing any private sector alternatives to anything.
The problem is though that I really don't know that much about economics so whilst I believe that more borrowing could've helped, I can't have a huge amount of confidence in that belief.
molgrips - Member
The problem is though that I really don't know that much about economics so whilst I believe that more borrowing could've helped, I can't have a huge amount of confidence in that belief.
Aye, this is something that needs majorly addressed, we need to educate ourselves.
Having only part of tax raise powers is a shit idea, means you get the blame while the funding from westminster can be fiddled with, and vice versa. It'll lead to poor politics of blame.
Devolution of VAT powers to the regions, inc Scotland would be illegal under EU law...
Devolution of VAT powers to the regions, inc Scotland would be illegal under EU law...
conspiracy!!!!! 😉
It's a shame the jocks didn't opt for independence as that would have only left the taffs and the scousers to get rid of 😆
Aye, this is something that needs majorly addressed, we need to educate ourselves.
And yet when ever anyone tried to do this throughout the process, AS quashed it immediately or distorted the facts. Educations empowers people and AS sought to suppress knowledge and deceive otherwise he was immediately exposed for a snake oil salesman. So much for a fair society.
The so-called biased media didn't help with the Times headline being another example of how a headline bears no relation to the article. Anyway one more bay of Anstruther bitters and we can move on. Hopefully the Ryder Cup will help.
And the Northerners. Don't forget the Northerners. 😉
In fairness, you are educating to your own agenda. you only see one route.teamhurtmore - Member
Aye, this is something that needs majorly addressed, we need to educate ourselves.
And yet when ever anyone tried to do this throughout the process, AS quashed it immediately or distorted the facts. Educations empowers people and AS sought to suppress knowledge and deceive otherwise he was immediately exposed for a snake oil salesman. So much for a fair society.The so-called biased media didn't help with the Times headline being another example of how a headline bears no relation to the article. Anyway one more bay of Anstruther bitters and we can move on. Hopefully the Ryder Cup will help.
Regardless, enough about tax, personally I just see it as a bit of a mess and it will ultimately prove to be a route to home rule and then ultimately independence. But that's just speculation on my part.
But anyhow, some further speculation, next question, given that the Labour party "may" be in serious trouble in Scotland(There's an apetite for punishment, dunno if anything will come from it mind).
How do you feel that if miraculously the SNP sent a majority of scots MPs to westminster,(I agree it's fanciful at this stage) how that would affect the dynamics of the UK parliament?
The SNP as kingmakers in westminster is a strange concept!
I'd guess it'd hasten calls for an English parliament?
I suspect answering the West Lothian question will be a key part of any manifesto for next years election.
Next question, If Scotland gave up the rights to the oil.
How much support would there be for the union? 😆
In fairness, you are educating to your own agenda. you only see one route.
QED
Take the status of a currency for example?
YS is based in the distorting or hiding of basic facts. You cannot escape this. No wonder more people were able to see through it that accept it. And the distortion games continue afterwards.
Regardless, enough about tax, personally I just see it as a bit of a mess and it will ultimately prove to be a route to home rule and then ultimately independence.
You are Alex Salmond and I claim my 5 Scottish Groats.
aracer - Member
Regardless, enough about tax, personally I just see it as a bit of a mess and it will ultimately prove to be a route to home rule and then ultimately independence.
You are Alex Salmond and I claim my 5 Scottish Groats.
Haha! Caught! 😉
Nah, my issue is that I see a certain cohesivness of the left(astounding I know) and centre to left beginning to happen in Scotland that I don't see replicating itself really anywhere else in these islands.
So that coupled with the Nationalists, and it strikes me that the obvious path ahead will be further powers for Scotland(even after these ones, the question/request/demand for more will never go away) resulting in further distance from westminster.
I would love there to be a viable left elsewhere, but it's just not presenting itself at the moment.
I actually think a parliament in the likes of Manchester would be great and the making of such a thing in England. (but it could also be a double edged sword and maybe signal the break up of the union in itself).
Basically, I don't really have a lot of confidence the union will last beyond the next 10/20 years. It was just too early this time.
Incidently, food for thought, a political generation in relation to referenda? Already defined by the British government in the GFA? as 7 years.
(I'm just thinking out aloud here btw, as most of my thoughts since friday have been! 😆 .)
Next question, If Scotland gave up the rights to the oil.How much support would there be for the union?
Ask Northern Ireland and Wales.
It's a shame the jocks didn't opt for independence as that would have only left the taffs and the scousers to get rid of
🙄
interestingly, if you were to use the analogy of a magnet, the converse of what I just said above would possibly be true...
Blimey are we still going with all this ?
You have confidence in the tories not to take advantage of the reduction? Having only part of tax raise powers is a shit idea, means you get the blame while the funding from westminster can be fiddled with, and vice versa. It'll lead to poor politics of blame.
@seas - it gives the Scottish Parliament control over tax raising, they can demonstrate to the world how they will deliver this social Nirvana they keep alluding to. Whether they have control over Corporation tax is very much secondary. The fact is what they propose costs money and they never explained where this would come from.
The Union will last more than 10/20 years, not least as there won't be another referendum before then.
tbh I think it's just me really! 😆jambalaya - Member
Blimey are we still going with all this ?
The Union will last more than 10/20 years, not least as there won't be another referendum before then.
I'd wouldn't be surprised if there was another referendum in 20 years or less. It would be inevitable if either a) Westminster doesn't come good on it's promise of more devolution or does it in such a way as to win favour with English voters at the expense of Scottish ones or b) the SNP continue to win elections in Scotland and provide a good track record of managing the country while controlling which ever tax powers come up our way.
In either of those situations and given the lessons that should be learned from this referendum I wouldn't be surprised by a Yes vote.
In either of those situations and given the lessons that should be learned from this referendum I wouldn't be surprised by a Yes vote.
Agreed. The SNP membership thing is fairly remarkable. Will be interesting to see how things pan out at the next election.
Although I do know folk planning to vote tactically to keep the SNP out.
When are the next polls out? 😀
Plus, between the first devo vote and getting a parliament, it only took 18 years. After that it only took 17 years to get the referendum......
Aye, there's basically going to be very little room for any of the other parties in scotland for a while, as Labour and the SNP slug it out. Suppose the outcome of that battle will determine the direction.piemonster - Member
Although I do know folk planning to vote tactically to keep the SNP out.
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Interesting post Molgrips what do you think yourself?
Well just as I'm in favour for increased Scottish devolution and English regional, I'm also in favour of more powers for Wales. It would seem to be a great way to address this:
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.. without the unnecessary breakup of things that work better as a bigger country.
Looks like there is a majority for increased devolution to wales.I genuinely hope there can be a fair and workable settlement for Wales Northern Ireland and
England .
those of us in england who are not tories are probably hoping for regional devolution or we are stuffed- I live in the band that is North west that is not Tory
Its strange looking at that as the Conservative and Unionist party is pretty much the English party.Perhaps devolution would help them have "regional voices"?
Its strange looking at that as the Conservative and Unionist party is pretty much the English party.
By area, but not by population.
Assuming it's representative of the electorate. Looks like we can stop blaiming "craven pensioners"
I blame the SNP mob
Their study of 3,188 voters showed that 51 per cent of those aged between 16 and 24 voted No. It also revealed that more than one in five SNP supporters turned their backs on independence.
It's never been a secret that people voted for the SNP at the last election who didn't support indy, but did like the left leaning policies on offer.
Indeed - I've voted several times for the SNP because I thought they generally did a fairly decent job and I liked their policies.
But I was never convinced by independence.
Technology boost for Scotland's oil reserves in North Sea 😆
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-29342142
Its not even a week. Hahaha! 😆 lies and deceit eh thm?
Not really, smart water, bright water or lo sal has been around for quite sometime.... http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/bps-secret-sauce-for-more-oil-less-salt/
I know it has. Its the sudden reporting of it and decades of extra north sea oil I'm talking about. Apparently there was only 20 years of it left! 😆
seosamh77: the issue isn't just how much oil is left. It's also cost of extraction. Technology to extract oil improves all the time but that technology is becomes increasingly expensive as they chase smaller and harder to reach reserves. At some point it becomes cheaper to get the oil elsewhere with bigger or easier to reach reserves.
😆
the issue isn't just how much oil is left. It's also cost of extraction.
And in the case of the referendum debate the predicted price that oil will fetch in the future. The SNP/Salmond repeatedly claimed during the referendum debate that Scotland had £1.5tr worth of oil reserves - a claim backed by few other people. And seosamh's link doesn't vindicate that claim.
Quantifying oil reserves isn't easy, predicting the future price of oil isn't easy, exaggerating both oil reserves and the future price of oil is extremely easy.
The SNP/Salmond were quite rightly challenged and criticised for offering the Scottish people very dubious figures concerning Scotland's predicted oil wealth/reserves.
Its not the amount of oil or the price of a barrel I'm highlighting. Its the positive reporting that was non existent before last Thursday.
😆
I saw a lot of positive reports about North Sea oil during the campaign. But the SNP seemed to want to gamble the future of Scotland on it.
Its the positive reporting that was non existent before last Thursday.
I wonder what the BBC/ openly biased media were supposed to report?
[i]A Heriot-Watt University team said they had made a breakthrough in developing clean and cheap methods to maximise extraction from existing fields.[/i]
I would guess that the media are pretty reactive to a story like this, the team at the Edinburgh based university make a breakthrough and announce it, the media report it. I don't really see how they could have reported it before the breakthrough was made and announced.
or is Heriot-Watt university part of the conspiracy as well now?
Ask NW
C'mon Joe, if you are trying to score a point at least make it a good one.
😆 youse are only kidding yourselves on.
