Osbourne says no to currency union.

Can’t stop the signal.

Ben it would be a win-win situation for the UK. We don’t move our nukes and the enemies nukes would be pointed at Scotland. Realistically what could iScotland do about it? ….. It is not like you are going to invade is it 🙄

The UK would be crazy to base their nuclear deterrent in another country, which is effectively what that would be.

Really?

The bulk our nuclear deterrent was based abroad throughout most of the cold war…

They were?

The V-bombers were based at various UK airfields, with a bunch more dispersal airfields also in the UK. Then Polaris was submarine-based and then Trident also submarine-based.

Are you counting the at-sea submarines as “abroad”?

Blimey, separatists will argue about anything 😳

Ben, Yes, they were

Germany, Cyprus, Malta, Gib etc.

all open source & documented

Australia and Canada left the British empire when?

When Britain was quite bit bigger and more important than it is now

classic strathclyde defence!

1) make up fact and say it supports your position

2) get asked about fact and realize it’s nonsense

3) avoid answering question by making jokey vague response

4) return to 1)

Not the first time that the colonialists have mentioned annexing faslane,how do you think that’s going to work for you fnf? I realize it IS just the Scots, and “what are we going to do about it?” But that was a good one and utter pish,but at least you are consistent.

Talking of pish, good to see more debunking of the DOs lies this morning from such a wide audience. It is an unbelievable amount of people that he has managed to unite against his nonsense.

So some more home truths – under plan D, you need significant currency reserves. Details laid out by Governor of BOE two days ago and then treasury select committee yesterday (and one here many pages ago 😉 ). The result? No magic time of low taxes and increase spending. In fact, surprise, surprise, a “decade of greater austerity” as Scotland tries to build up sufficient reserves.

People can make silly jokes about economics, but no one can escape it in the end and it always trumps BS poltiics and emotions. Just look at the € zone.

AS’s fair society starts with feeding the speculators now, encouraging movement of human capital and resources out of Scoltand, a technical default (no he’s not that stupid) and even more AUSTERITY that rUK. Yet again he out Tories, the Tories. Amazing…..

The UK would be crazy to base their nuclear deterrent in another country, which is effectively what that would be.

For much of the Cold War the US Air Force stationed gravity bombs at RAF Lakenheath. There’s technically nothing wrong with stashing nukes in foreign countries.

The problems arise when the government of that country is hostile to such a thing. Although as Lakenheath shows, politicians in high places are happy to lie about there existence. Although of course it’s easier to hide a nuclear bomb store than it is a 500ft sub base.

Do you think they’d like some nice nuclear submarines?

Rumour has it the Yorkshire separatists movement has a few quid spare. Although you’ll need to convert them to gravy and mushy pea tankers.

It’s all noise in the signal.

I was hoping for better spin than this.

Anyway, I see the treasury has come out in favour of the No campaign. I assume that’s what happened.

I must say I AM SHOCKED. Almost as much as I was about the Scotsman.

How is the HM treasury coming out? They have a job to do, they understand how it gets done, they explain that to the wider public. It’s the basic common sense that AS/yS attempt to strangle at or pre-birth – the lasting image of the whole referendum – the aborting of common sense and rationality.

The Scotsman has always sided with common sense – why the (fake!!) surprise at the editorial yesterday? Murdoch has his alternative say, ditto the FT, herald , courier, economist etc. They are papers with editors and views.

Of course, the HMT did have to come out following the DOs desperate attempts to abort Nick Robinson’s questions yesterday. Hilarious attempt to swivel and swerve and as usual the DO doesn’t debate he denies, distorts and deceives. He almost tried to explain an economic fact at one stage and got a bit lost on market manipulation and reporting requirement (bless him) and then realised that he was getting all muddled up and stopped himself quickly. About the closest you will see him ever engaging correctly and he stalled…….yes, alex you really struggle when presented with facts and reality don’t you.

5 days…

Where as unionists seem so reluctant to debate 😕

You’ll need to convert them to gravy and mushy pea tankers.

Brilliant 😆

5 days…

For reality to sink in and sense to prevail 😉

Broadsheet articles confirming what foreign officials and companies were telling me over the weekend – astonished foreigners mainly saying WTF? Is this serious? Are these folk crazy?

At least the generators of prosperity are lining up appropriately

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/01d223b8-39b8-11e4-83c4-00144feabdc0.html

Sustained total productivity gap of 11% versus rest of UK and now the prospect of extended uncertainty and chaos. What would you do?

So who are the the bright entrepreneurs lining up the business parks etc just across the wall? There’s money to be made….

If not already asked, this must be the longest thread ever on here? Doesn’t appear to have been any bannings either which is remarkable given the subject matter. Kudos to everyone. Can’t help but think it would have been different if TJ etc were still here…

piemonster – Member

For much of the Cold War the US Air Force stationed gravity bombs at RAF Lakenheath.

Which amounted to a tiny fraction of their nuclear deterrant (and the least effective part), rather than 100% of it.

Which amounted to a tiny fraction of their nuclear deterrant (and the least effective part), rather than 100% of it.

Assuming a friendly state amenable to the risks. And in a strategically safe location it’s not really a problem.

100% is also not an accurate figure for warheads distribution.

The problem in an iScotland would be a government hostile to such an arrangement.

I still wonder what was stored at Leuchars ?

BB – the thread would have been closed? Banter aside, this has been largely good humoured among ourselves (with the occasional thick skin required) and an entertaining and interesting distraction. On that note, focus…..

I still wonder what was stored at Leuchars ?

nothing nasty there.

Every time I have the displeasure of seeing or listening to AS the irony of his anti Westminster elite rhetoric just slaps me in the face. He is undoubtedly the most dishonest and deceitful politician I have even come across.

I saw that 40 food industry people have signed a letter promoting the Yes campaign, their rationale seems to be primarily as Scottish food can be more prominently branded as such and that the hospitality industry can benefit from “targetted VAT cuts”

Once again we have a group that believes independence will offer them lower taxes. So where is the money going to come from for all the social agendas we hear from the Yes campaign. Those Trident “savings” are going to be streched very thin.

They also state that independence affirms Scotland’s EU membership when in fact it puts it in jeopardy. I don’t think these people have latched onto the fact that Spain will do all it can to block and delay an application from Scotland as it doesn’t want to give the Catalan’s a hint that independence would be easy for them.

Many years of Salmond ? From George Galloway

Galloway said Scotland would face an SNP goverment for many, many years if it voted for independence.
If you vote yes on Thursday you’ll get Alex Salmond. And you’ll get him for a long time, as long as he’s standing. And after that you’ll get Nicola Sturgeon. That, if you like, is the experience of Ireland. Eamon de Valera was president of Ireland until he was 91 years old. So they’ll write the constitution, they’ll polarise; they’ll make the dichotomy in the country, whether you are for independence or against independence.

Galloway rejected the SNP’s claim that their brand of politics was very different to Westminster’s.

When I see the pictures of Mr Salmond playing footsie with Rupert Murdoch on discussion of the future of a post independence Scotland and his other pals, billionaire bigot Brian Souter and Jim McColl, it doesn’t look all that different to politics at Westminster.

He said the collapse of support for Labour in Scotland had encouraged support for independence.

It is the death of Labour in Scotland that has caused this crisis.

He said the division between the powerless and the elite was more important than the division between the Scots and the English.

He is undoubtedly the most dishonest and deceitful politician I have even come across.

He is not even close to Clegg or Blair in those stakes

They lied so much they were not even popular with their natural supporters/party never mind those who disliked them
AS is just disliked by those who dislike his policies [ or the english mainly ] and even non SNP voters respect him
FWIW his approval rating is +26
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/03/even-if-scotland-votes-no-status-quo-will-not-hold

A UK PM could only dream of such a rating TBH they rarely even get a + figure.
Objectively he is more liked tham CMD by his electorate

I always had you down as George Galloway fan #frowns
Folk quoting natural enemies to support their view

its a strange thread this one

From George Galloway

And I stopped reading at that point.

He is not even close to Clegg or Blair in those stakes

@JY No he’s not close he’s way more deceitful

I always try and listen to different points of view, I think what Galloway said about independence being bad for the average working person in Scotland is true, they will suffer in a race to the bottom in terms of tax rates and employment conditions as Scotland seeks to retain/attract businesses. He makes a very good point about how the constitution will be written and notes AS sucking up to Murdoch. AS is Scotland’s political elite just as much as Clegg/Milliband/Cameron are to Westminster.

I watched the big big debate on TV and Galloway despite his great eloquence took about 12 mins to show himself up . The man is a charlatan and if you ever wanted an a example of a deceitful politician you couldn’t go far wrong with him. Mind you there is IDS and surely the daddy of them all is Bliar

The Noers on this thread seem to be raising a lot of important questions that no-one can answer. The Yessers seem to be ignoring them and focusing on hope

The undecideds are also raising lots of questions too, without many actual answers coming back. Its fairly civil on here at least, I’m seen some really nasty stuff in response on facebook. I think bencooper is very young so I’ll let him off :p

If you haven’t seen it Kevin Bridges’ bit in this, it is very funny

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04h8kvx/kevin-bridges-live-at-the-referendum

Incidentally Galloway also managed to anger the always affable Patrick Harvie no wonder they were sat on opposite ends of the stage.

@JY No he’s not close he’s way more deceitful

Not sure why I bothered stating facts tbh seeing as you would just ignore them.
That is what you think not the electorate.
He is clearly popular in general as the FACTS show.

I dont have much time for George tbh but yes the new scotland wont be a socialist eutopia. Not exactly news that though is it.

IMHO his appearance at the US senate was absolutely superb and a master class from start to finish.

Galloway seems to be warning Scotland that under independence, we’ll get the government we vote for. And what’s worse, we’ll get them all the time!

I am still surprised at the anti-Blair feeling on here. He made the Labour party electable, was in power for 10 years with the most left wing government the country was prepared to tolerate. He took us into Afghanistan to pursue Al-Qa and surely no-one believed the “Iraq 45 minute” threat (its like falling for a Nigerian email scam). We went into Iraq as the Americans did, any alternative Labour leader at the time would have done he same.

@Northwind, he is saying the constitution will be written by the SNP and it’s not rocket science to work out it will be written to favour them electorally.

@Northwind, he is saying the constitution will be written by the SNP and it’s not rocket science to work out it will be written to favour them electorally.

AS has already said the negotiating team will be cross party and how on earth they’d a) get away with and b) actually write a constitution that was somehow pro SNP I can’t even imagine.

I am still surprised at the anti-Blair feeling on here

You are surprised that someone lied to the electorate with a dossier, ignored the feelings of the voters, went to war with Tory support in the face of the opposition of his own MP’s and you are surprised that people dislike him for this? It is not on here it is everywhere.

How can this surprise you?

You can disagree but be surprised 😯

Not sure why I bothered stating facts tbh seeing as you would just ignore them.
That is what you think not the electorate.
He is clearly popular in general as the FACTS show.

Well they would think that because he’s deceived them all. The big difference between him and the others you mentioned is that he’s a lot better at lying and getting away with it (had more practice?) Remember the question is not whether he’s popular, but whether he’s deceitful. If nothing else, the things he’s lying about are a lot bigger and more important than anybody else has tried.

Galloway seems to be warning Scotland that under independence, we’ll get the government we vote for. And what’s worse, we’ll get them all the time!

Do you agree with him then? Because I thought the whole point was that it wasn’t about the SNP and they’d not be in power for long…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04h8kvx/kevin-bridges-live-at-the-referendum

Thanks for that

The big difference between him and the others you mentioned is that he’s a lot better at lying and getting away with it

aracer you missed out your tongue in cheek emoticon there
Yes that would be why it is not that haters are biased it is just that everyone else is wrong.

Serious for a mo – why do No voters hate him so much?

You make me look like I had a warmth towards Thatcher

FWIW the biggest lair would seem to be clegg and that is why he is hated the most .

Because I thought the whole point was that it wasn’t about the SNP and they’d not be in power for long…

What’s hard to understand here? The referendum isn’t about the SNP and most of us think they probably won’t be in power for long, but that’s not to say that they couldn’t be.