I think the whole notion of Scottish independence is bonkers and founded in some romantic/patriotic dream-state (i.e. not meant to have an impact on reality). Apparently opinion polls are currently indicating the result is a close thing; I struggle to believe there is actually a possibility that the referendum could end up with a ‘yes’ outcome.
There are only ten days before the votes are cast and I hope that some common sense prevails before then.
The financial markets don’t want the change; major business doesn’t want the change; Scotland will have no currency if independence goes ahead; the UK’s nuclear submarine base (currently in Faslane) will have to be moved (at enormous cost and risk); EU & NATO membership presents some real hurdles for an independent Scotland; our political party system will be thrown into turmoil etc. etc. etc. The reasons for a ‘no’ vote make a very long list indeed.
From the start I have felt that the whole separation thing was some fantasy peddled by Alex Salmond to increase his profile and massage his ego. I expected a landslide vote against the notion and that to be the end of his political career.
Has Salmond (or anyone in a Scottish politics) actually got the skills to run Scotland? Before people cast their votes, they need to be comfortable that their man/team is up to the job. From a personal perspective, my analogy is thinking I could successful race an F1 racing car because I have a driving licence and a Vauxhall Zafira.
In Scotland, the majority of the 2010 general election vote went to the Labour party (41 seats – the liberals got 11 and the Scottish National Party got 6). That meant four years ago the Scottish voting populace didn’t think Salmond was worth voting for. What on earth has changed?
The fact that Scottish independence even became a possibility is evidence of the soft, overly democratic, politically correct nature of this country – in places like China, North Korea, Egypt and Syria some form of bloody revolution would have been needed to get the notion some air time; Salmond would have been imprisoned for crimes against the state and his supporters would have to physically fight for his/their survival (as opposed to simply putting an X on a ballot paper). In the UK we just go okay let’s have a debate and waste loads of time and resources giving people a say when most of those same people won’t have a clue what the impact of their decision making process could be.
A 'yes' vote will throw the whole country into turmoil whilst the politicians/lawyers/bankers work out how the hell to actually make a separation work. If ‘yes’ is chosen, the whole country will be weakened in every international arena and it I’d bet it wouldn’t be long before the public were wishing that someone had adopted a more draconian approach and just told Salmond to f--k off at the outset.
I offer another car analogy, though I don’t really like my Zafira and would prefer something different, I wouldn’t gamble it for the possibility of winning an F1 car that I couldn’t drive or losing and ending up with an old Cavalier.
On the bright side, Scotland may come to its senses, stop thinking with its heart and use its head instead. Fingers crossed!
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There are only ten days before the votes are cast and I hope that some common sense prevails before then.
The financial markets don’t want the change; major business doesn’t want the change; Scotland will have no currency if independence goes ahead; the UK’s nuclear submarine base (currently in Faslane) will have to be moved (at enormous cost and risk); EU & NATO membership presents some real hurdles for an independent Scotland; our political party system will be thrown into turmoil etc. etc. etc. The reasons for a ‘no’ vote make a very long list indeed.
From the start I have felt that the whole separation thing was some fantasy peddled by Alex Salmond to increase his profile and massage his ego. I expected a landslide vote against the notion and that to be the end of his political career.
Has Salmond (or anyone in a Scottish politics) actually got the skills to run Scotland? Before people cast their votes, they need to be comfortable that their man/team is up to the job. From a personal perspective, my analogy is thinking I could successful race an F1 racing car because I have a driving licence and a Vauxhall Zafira.
In Scotland, the majority of the 2010 general election vote went to the Labour party (41 seats – the liberals got 11 and the Scottish National Party got 6). That meant four years ago the Scottish voting populace didn’t think Salmond was worth voting for. What on earth has changed?
The fact that Scottish independence even became a possibility is evidence of the soft, overly democratic, politically correct nature of this country – in places like China, North Korea, Egypt and Syria some form of bloody revolution would have been needed to get the notion some air time; Salmond would have been imprisoned for crimes against the state and his supporters would have to physically fight for his/their survival (as opposed to simply putting an X on a ballot paper). In the UK we just go okay let’s have a debate and waste loads of time and resources giving people a say when most of those same people won’t have a clue what the impact of their decision making process could be.
A 'yes' vote will throw the whole country into turmoil whilst the politicians/lawyers/bankers work out how the hell to actually make a separation work. If ‘yes’ is chosen, the whole country will be weakened in every international arena and it I’d bet it wouldn’t be long before the public were wishing that someone had adopted a more draconian approach and just told Salmond to f--k off at the outset.
I offer another car analogy, though I don’t really like my Zafira and would prefer something different, I wouldn’t gamble it for the possibility of winning an F1 car that I couldn’t drive or losing and ending up with an old Cavalier.
On the bright side, Scotland may come to its senses, stop thinking with its heart and use its head instead. Fingers crossed!
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