Osbourne says no to currency union.

Looks like there’s been a Yes supporter stabbed in George Square in Glasgow after the Union Flag waving bampots arrived mob handed to break up the Yes party.

Shit

Potential was always there. Let’s hope the guy isn’t too badly hurt and it doesn’t escalate. Just a few hundred nutters, if that ,hopefully.

Hopefully the case, some of the posts I’ve seen related to the alleged ballot fraud are disturbing. And on topic.

Apparently Queen St Station has shut its doors. Flares are being set off.

Doesn’t bode well. Anyone near?

I have to say that this looks like the usual rent -a-thug mob and nothing to do with the No campaign. Sickening.

And the promised devo max all just smoke and mirrors…

No, the great triumph lay not in the quality of public debate (which was often breathtakingly dishonest) or the extent of popular participation (which was frequently ugly and demeaning). The key to the real source of democratic freedom was in the result: what became clear was the sacred function of that late historical reform to the electoral system, the secret ballot

Janet Daley nails it.

Whatever poll respondents had said – or been afraid to say – about their intentions because they felt coerced or intimidated by the aggressive tactics of the other camp, when it came to it, they were free to do as they pleased.

Fortunately.

This is a salutary lesson in the limits of militant political activism: you can bully people in the street, shout them down at public meetings and dissuade them forcibly from displaying posters or banners you don’t like. You can, with the help of your friends and comrades, create what seems to you, inside the bubble of mutual congratulation, to be an unstoppable momentum.

But making people afraid to voice contrary opinions just reinforces the delusion into which political tribes so easily fall when they are waging war. And, even more dangerously, it leaves them utterly out of touch with the slow-burning resentment they are creating in the opponents they are so determined to crush. The inviolable privacy of the polling booth puts paid to all that: the ordinary citizen, who may well have had his anger and resolve strengthened under fire, gets his revenge.

You can try to manipulate, bully, deceive to your hearts content, but you cannot go into the booth. The triumph of democracy indeed.

And the promised devo max all just smoke and mirrors…

Of course. You had your chance and bottled it – welcome back to the status quo.

Former Tory minister John Redwood has warned businesses not to meddle in the politics of the European Union referendum

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/29/john-redwood-warns-businesses-stand-way-eu-exit

This is all very confusing. Is it OK for businesses to have an opinion on issues of the day and say what they think, or not?

This is all very confusing.

Well let me help you. In the first sentence of your link : “in a move greeted with astonishment by his colleagues”.

And also bearing in mind that Redwood looks and acts weird even by Tory standards, I think it would probably be fair not to attach too much importance to what he says.

Here he is singing the Welsh national anthem :

HTH

It’s dark humour to see one of the swivel-eyed loonies of the 1990s Tory right threatening to “destabilise corporate governance” and “disrupt business” for their pernicious influence in politics. It’s like he’s only now picked up on the main arguments of antiglobalisation. By December, he’ll be quoting Naomi Klein. By March 2015, it’ll be Chomsky, Spiral Tribe and driving to Czech techno festivals in an ex-Royal Mail van. Good luck to him – just twenty years too late.

And so it begins….

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29559618

Your point?

First Group has lost the lucrative ScotRail franchise to a Dutch firm.

“It is scandalous that just a few weeks after the referendum, and promises from all quarters that the Scottish people would have an increased say in every aspect of their lives, that the continued privatisation of Scotland’s railways has been bulldozed through with the SNP colluding with the political elite in Westminster to deny the opportunity for this franchise to be brought back into public ownership.

There is no question that this whole franchising process could and should have been halted, pending the ratification of the post referendum devolution settlement, instead of rushing headlong into a deal that will deny the Scottish people ownership and control of their railways for many years to come”

And so it begins….

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29559618

Good news for people trying to buy cheaper houses and more tax to be paid by rich people buying more expensive houses, sounds pretty good to me?

My point being the SNP firmly have the (no voting) ‘middle classes’ in their sights and will pay dearly for those no votes. Essentially if you have you have a decent job and want a nice house you will be hammered for tax. God help us when the socialists get (limited) control on income tax.

I hear you Jim but 300k in Aberdeen is nowt. It should have more refined bands rather than >250k =10% duty.

are the french about to take charge?

The Scottish housing market should not be base on what you can buy in Aberdeen.

for the love of christ and all thats holy please mods kill it before it can regenerate KILL IT!

Hence my request for more refined bands. I’m really starting to think Scotland doesn’t want people to do well, work hard, get a decent job and contribute when it would be easier to live elsewhere. If the better off do just leave then society will fall to around the lowest common denominator.

ernie_lynch – Member
First Group has lost the lucrative ScotRail franchise to a Dutch firm.

“It is scandalous that just a few weeks after the referendum, and promises from all quarters that the Scottish people would have an increased say in every aspect of their lives, that the continued privatisation of Scotland’s railways has been bulldozed through with the SNP colluding with the political elite in Westminster to deny the opportunity for this franchise to be brought back into public ownership.

There is no question that this whole franchising process could and should have been halted, pending the ratification of the post referendum devolution settlement, instead of rushing headlong into a deal that will deny the Scottish people ownership and control of their railways for many years to come”its a 10 year contract with a 5 year break clause. Now consider the Tories aren’t going to deliver any powers for at least 3 years. What’s your, and incidently labours, point?

You are basically quoting labour nonsense. Which if you’ve been watching the Scottish parliament recently has been **** hilarious! 😆 why didn’t they nationalise the railways when in office? 😆

Nobeerinthefridge – Member
The Scottish housing market should not be base on what you can buy in Aberdeen.

yip its mental up there, completely unreflective of the rest of the country.

What’s your, and incidently labours, point?

You are basically quoting labour nonsense.

I was quoting the RMT general secretary from the Herald link. The RMT isn’t even affiliated to Labour. What’s their point ? Self explanatory I would have thought. Have another go :

“It is scandalous that just a few weeks after the referendum, and promises from all quarters that the Scottish people would have an increased say in every aspect of their lives, that the continued privatisation of Scotland’s railways has been bulldozed through with the SNP colluding with the political elite in Westminster to deny the opportunity for this franchise to be brought back into public ownership.

There is no question that this whole franchising process could and should have been halted, pending the ratification of the post referendum devolution settlement, instead of rushing headlong into a deal that will deny the Scottish people ownership and control of their railways for many years to come”

why didn’t they nationalise the railways when in office?

Ask them. I am not a Labour supporter and would strongly urge people not to vote Labour.

My point being the SNP firmly have the (no voting) ‘middle classes’ in their sights

is it true that the middle class voted No?

possibly but it’s easier to direct the venom at the middle classes and the rich folk, incidentally wasn’t there a lot of crowing about how the nasty bastard tories would punish the Scot’s for daring to ask and fail?

If you can afford a £300k house then you can afford a bit more tax. Not going to stop you from eating over the weekend, is it?

Meanwhile, lots of other people in the country can’t afford to eat properly.

Ernie I was at a meeting last night with an rmt representative there. There question was put to him that it’d be unrealistic for scotrail to be brought in to public ownership within 5 years anyway and he pretty much agreed. So I think we can put the rmt position down to making themselves noticed. This announcement was always due in October its only been brought forward by a few weeks.

If find it laughable that people this is a tax to Burt them middle classes. Houses aren’t that expensive up here. This is a progressive tax that will mean the vast majority of people paying less.

Shock shudder that a foreign company might provide a better solution – do we say the say the same thing when Weir (or other Scottish companies with activities overseas) is winning contracts off foreign governments or that many of the rigs in the NS were built by the Franch and Americans. Veiled xenophobia.

The only good stampt dutyis a zero one – let the property market function properly.

The new housing tax is completely sensible

In the current tax system led to some strange anomalies around the £250k mark

Stamp duty on a £250k house is £2500.

Stamp Duty on a £251k house is £7530.

Now in the salubrious air of the English home counties this isn’t a big deal as you can’t buy a horsebox for less than £250k. But up in Scotland £250k is around the price of nice family home in a nice area so it effects a lot more sales.

So the new housing tax and the way its applies tax marginally makes a lot more sense.

And everyone wins up to £324k

Shock shudder that a foreign company might provide a better solution –

Except Abelia is owned by the nationalised Dutch railways so we have a state run railway, just run by a foreign state. Now if state run railways are such a good thing, why don’t we run them ourselves and not subsidise someone else’s railways?

And everyone wins up to £324k

….Unless you live in Edinburgh or Aberdeen.

…Unless you live in Edinburgh or Aberdeen.

Why do people in Edinburgh and Aberdeen paying less then £324k have different tax rules to the rest of Scotland?

Now in the salubrious air of the English home counties this isn’t a big deal as you can’t buy a horsebox for less than £250k. But up in Scotland £250k is around the price of nice family home in a nice area

You do realise there is more to the UK than Scotland and the Home Counties, don’t you?

imnotverygood – Member
And everyone wins up to £324k

….Unless you live in Edinburgh or Aberdeen.

Not a very good argument

http://www.ros.gov.uk/pdfs/ros_statistical_report_apr-jun2014.pdf

Average Residential Property Prices in Scotland
Aberdeen City £205,072
Aberdeenshire £225,135
Edinburgh, City of £227,361

Residential Property Median Prices
Aberdeen City £175,338
Aberdeenshire £210,000
Edinburgh, City of £177,317

Someone remind me, how many times have the SNP asked for power of railways to be devolved?

whatnobeer – Member
Someone remind me, how many times have the SNP asked for power of railways to be devolved?

Not very many, but that the whole point of this story regarding the RMT, ie they are making it an issue in the run up to powers being devolved, which I support.

I don’t particularly see any issue with that, the SNP need to work within constraints of westminster rules, If the SNP adopt the RMTs stance on the back of this, fair do’s.

I do think labours position is hilarious though, they are an utter shambles of a party. 😆

I remember them asking a couple of years ago as they were fed up with the system as it is at the moment. The statement about bulldozing the privatization of our railways above is laughable. FWIW I don’t know anyone who commutes on that line who isn’t pleased with the change.

You do realise there is more to the UK than Scotland and the Home Counties, don’t you?

Of course Mols but there wouldn’t be much point of comparing parts of England an Wales that have similar house price profiles to Scotland would there?