Viewing 24 posts - 121 through 144 (of 144 total)
  • End free student loans in Scotland now
  • TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    A warmer Iceland – that would do. a small country with a high standard of living, long life expectancy and a happy peoples? I'd settle for that. Or Norway. Or Denmark. Or any of the similar small countries around the north sea.

    epicyclo
    Full Member

    backhander – Member
    …It's not difficult, if the scots feelings on here are representative of the population then they obviously do not like the english, so why make the part of a union that they don't want to be in?
    My only stipulation would be a full border. Can't say fairer than that?

    I suspect the English the Scots don't like are the same type of English that people living in England don't like. All the English people I know are nice decent people, but I've had dealings with the other sort. You may have met them while you're out riding on one of your sneaky trails.

    It's nothing to do with not liking the English. It's a very simple concept – a belief in freedom – which can only be achieved by self government. The words of the Declaration of Arbroath are burned into the Scottish consciousness.

    As for a 20 foot high wall at the border, that was tried 2,000 years ago to keep the barbarians out. Didn't work, the English keep coming up here anyway 🙂 (That's a joke by the way)

    backhander
    Free Member

    It's a very simple concept – a belief in freedom – which can only be achieved by self government.

    I quite agree and I'm not opposed to it.
    All comes down to ££ really. Scotland could be far better off in the short term, but they think there's only 50 years of NS oil left (which TJ has correctly pointed out belongs to Scotland). The vast majority of the gas would go to the remainder of the union I believe. What would be scotlands long term revenue stream? tourism perhaps? Also, I think you're not getting any nuclear power stations? Wind will only do so much (which isn't a lot), wave/hydro a goer? These are genuine questions by the way, not digs.

    happy peoples? I'd settle for that

    I'm under the impression that many of the countries you have mentioned (certainly Norway) have some of the highest suicide rates in the world.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    pixelmix
    Free Member

    All comes down to ££ really. Scotland could be far better off in the short term, but they think there's only 50 years of NS oil left (which TJ has correctly pointed out belongs to Scotland). The vast majority of the gas would go to the remainder of the union I believe. What would be scotlands long term revenue stream? tourism perhaps? Also, I think you're not getting any nuclear power stations? Wind will only do so much (which isn't a lot), wave/hydro a goer? These are genuine questions by the way, not digs.

    First off, I should clarify that I sit on the fence re indepedence. Pros and cons to both options. But to answer your question, one revenue stream when oil runs out (still plenty of debate as to when that actually will be, as we were told ages ago it would have run out by now) is indeed power generation as you suggest. The western isles are pretty darned breezy, and the Pentland Firth is reckoned to have excellent potential for wave power. Offshore wind turbines also have a big part to play, as a there is plenty of sea around here to stick them in. I believe that Scotland is already a net exporter of electricty, and as power becomes more expensive, this looks like a good revenue stream.

    I'm under the impression that many of the countries you have mentioned (certainly Norway) have some of the highest suicide rates in the world.

    That's partly because it is so dark is it not? I'd be a tad grumpy too if I only saw the sun 9 months of the year!

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Scotland is well placed to be a big player in the alternatve energy market – and some belated steps are being taken in the releasing of sites for wave and tidal energy. We have the world leader in wave power based in Scotland. ( pelarmis)

    Tourism will always be a revenue stream – and while oil is going to run out at some point more will become viable to extract as prices rise – all in scottish waters.

    I think some heavy engineering will return as economic policies to suit are put in place. Hi tech as well based around the world class universitiers

    Also the oil money could be invested in a fund for the future much like norway instead of being used to pay for the UK budget deficit.

    When Denmark, Norway and Iceland can have rich economies there is no reason why Scotland cant.

    However the economic argument is different from the philosophical one.

    pixelmix
    Free Member

    When Denmark, Norway and Iceland can have rich economies there is no reason why Scotland cant.

    I think our esteemed leader got in a bit of bother for spouting that one once too often did he not? 😉

    backhander
    Free Member

    I think some heavy engineering will return as economic policies to suit are put in place. Hi tech as well based around the world class universitiers

    Hmm, not too convinced by that. Not unless the costs (read salaries) are considerably less than that of eng/wales/NI, which is not what you want really.

    pixelmix
    Free Member

    Hmm, not too convinced by that. Not unless the costs (read salaries) are considerably less than that of eng/wales/NI, which is not what you want really.

    Scotland already does reasonably from hi-tech. Wolfson in Edinburgh supplying iPod chips once (not sure they still do), or the gaming industry around Dundee are good examples.

    I'm not sure that anywhere in Europe will ever be into 'heavy engineering' these days, but there is certainly scope for this on a small scale to meet local demand where import costs would otherwise be too high.

    trailmonkey
    Full Member

    It is time for this again yet ?

    Or maybe this ?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I'm under the impression that many of the countries you have mentioned (certainly Norway) have some of the highest suicide rates in the world.

    Yes but that's not cos everyone's miserable. In fact the opposite is primarily the case. My personal experience of Scandinavia is that it's a fairly family-orientated place, which is great if you've got one but might be exclusionist if you are alone…. but I don't know really. In Helsinki I saw a lot of happy people and some drunks. Maybe it's the drinking culture?

    porterclough
    Free Member

    When Denmark, Norway and Iceland can have rich economies

    Iceland?

    Not the best example to choose…

    epicyclo
    Full Member

    porterclough – Member
    When Denmark, Norway and Iceland can have rich economies
    Iceland?

    Not the best example to choose…
    Why not, they got all our money 🙂

    druidh
    Free Member

    trailmonkey – Member
    Or maybe this ?

    One of the best goals – EVER!!

    Oh – remind me again. What was the score in the last football match played between England and Scotland??

    Norton
    Free Member

    Getting back to the original post – the HE situation is far worse than described. Do you realise that English students are the only EU nationals who pay tuition fees at Scottish Universities? That's right live in Latvia – no charge, Portugal – no charge, Northumberland – that'll be be £3k.

    How can that be legal I wonder…imagine the outcry if English universities singled out another EU country to pay tution fees.

    westkipper
    Free Member

    Back from a road run, where I was thinking of lots of inflammatory stuff to say, and I come back to find the thread's gone all cosy and sensible (fitba' wind ups aside) 😐
    One industry the independent Scotland will excel in is, like many nations -the Arms Industry. Who needs tactical nuclear weapons when we have the perfect 'green' alternative- The Scottish Midge, Yes folks, for the market rate, you too can render whole swathes of your enemies land uninhabitable, no fall out to worry about either.

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    And don't forget the anti-English and possible racist policy of Edinburgh Uni. 🙂
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/mar/19/edinburgh-university-scottish-application-bias

    druidh
    Free Member

    IanMunro – Member
    And don't forget the anti-English and possible racist policy of Edinburgh Uni.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/mar/19/edinburgh-university-scottish-application-bias

    You didn't actually bother to read the article, did you? How can a policy be anti-English or racist when it does not discriminate against any nationality? 16% of the population of Edinburgh is English, they aren't being discriminated against in any way. Neither are any of the other many nationalities, and neither are those kids going to school in the North of England.

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    I read it over the weekend thanks. There is a smiley 🙂

    Norton
    Free Member

    so to be English, working class and with kids of university age is to be doubly screwed by the Scottish state. A large portion of your taxes goes to propping up what's left of the ailing Scottish economy and their spendthrift social policies, but if you choose to take advantage of your investment in Scotland and send your kids to Uni there, if they don't discriminate directly against your kids' applications, you wil then have the priviledge of being the only EU national to pay tuition fees – someone is having a laugh I think…

    druidh
    Free Member

    Norton – Member
    someone is having a laugh I think…

    We are.

    At you.

    HTH

    kennyp
    Free Member

    someone is having a laugh I think…

    No we're not. We're all out riding our bikes in some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe, and riding any trails we want thanks to our enlightened "right to roam" laws.

    However we do have a right good giggle into our whiskies when we get home!

    🙂

    epicsteve
    Free Member

    you wil then have the priviledge of being the only EU national to pay tuition fees

    The tuition fees was a UK policy later scrapped in Scotland (one of the few good things to come out of the lib/lab alliance). The problem then is that if you don't charge tuition fees to applicants from England you'd be swamped with applications (and possibly not get enough state funding from England to cover the costs of teaching them).

    I'm not sure how it works for other EU states coming to Scottish uni's but I've have thought their own states would be paying for their tuition, it's just England that want their students to pay their own (or at least a proportion of it). I've got a meeting with the senior finance folks at a Scottish uni tomorrow so I could ask.

    Norton
    Free Member

    EU states do not pay directly for the tuition of their nationals at another EU University – however, afaik English students at a Scottish University are the only examples anywhere in the EU of an EU national being asked to pay a higher tuition fee than that charged to those from the state in which the University is based.

    backhander
    Free Member

    The unis can do what they want.
    It's really simple, go somewhere else!
    There's loads of good unis in england. The riding won't be as good though 😐

Viewing 24 posts - 121 through 144 (of 144 total)

The topic ‘End free student loans in Scotland now’ is closed to new replies.