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Scotland starts renewed case for independence

gov.scot

121–130 of 745 posts

Re: Scotland starts renewed case for independence

#121

I don’t get how the Scottish independence movement can be anti-Brexit, which was about the UK wanting more independence and self-governance. If that’s what they’re after, why would they want to join the EU after leaving the UK?

The EU and the U.K. are very different kinds of union. The EU can not require you to host nuclear weapons against your will for example which is a key issue in Scottish independence.

Re: Scotland starts renewed case for independence

#122

One quite important issue is the border. English and Scottish people will almost certainly never tolerate any kind of friction at that border. We've been moving across it seamlessly for centuries, families are mixed, businesses straddle the border, etc. If the Northern Ireland debacle has shown us anything, it's if Scotland were to leave and then join the EU that border would become an absolute political nightmare. T…

Another way to look at the Northern Ireland precedent, is that a compromise was found. People could argue that the same text can be reused.

You do realise that the UK is trying to break that NI protocol unilaterally? That is a very poor example right now.

Re: Scotland starts renewed case for independence

#123

I don't see it happening, we've been through far too much in the last 10 years to inflict even more damage. I've asked this question many times but how is it feasible for Scotland to become Independent: 1. They currently don't meet the requirements to join the EU. Are they going to skip the current waiting list? 2. How will they create a military? 3. Still a big question mark over currency and Scotland's debt. 4. Own…

The biggest hurdle for Scotland joining the EU arent the requirements, they'd likely pass those without too much issues. The biggest hurdle is probably Spain who wouldn't want to give the Catalan independence movement a good example.

Re: Scotland starts renewed case for independence

#124
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> …just be generous to English folks seeking asylum from Tory rule, yeah? As you know, UK asylum policy is horrific at the moment. The UK is sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, copying Australia's repugnant offshore policy. I hope we (Scotland) do better. In 2014, the independence white paper had a points based immigration policy. I want a much more open immigration policy this time round. Scotland is enriched by migra…

Scotland doesn't have England's immigration problems because immigrants generally don't want to go to Scotland. It's easy to be virtuous when the problem doesn't affect you.

> immigrants generally don't want to go to Scotland

Fewer migrants come to Scotland than England, but again: migrants come to Scotland, they enrich society, and their population is demographically useful.

> the problem doesn't affect you.

It was shown very recently that 'concern' over immigration in the UK is correlated to newspaper reporting, not levels of migration.

Re: Scotland starts renewed case for independence

#125

I've always thought Lonscotdonland would be a great distributed city-state if we could secede with them. Both similar politics, fed up of what the rest of England is doing.

Interesting the rest of us don't think of London like that what with Westminster being there, but I take your point.

You'll have to relocate Westminster to somewhere in the home counties. Oh and let Wales & the North join your party :)

Re: Scotland starts renewed case for independence

#126
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps the fringe far-right parties have all but disintegrated, but the Tories have certainly drifted rightward and they're essentially untouchable in England in spite of ... well, everything

The Tory party of higher taxes, pride flags covering every government social media account and currently minting coins with the "progressive pride" flag? Sounds like they're about to burn down the Reichstag.

They're also the Tory party of criminalising dissent, corruption, Russian influence, and offshoring refugees.

The fact that homosexuality isn't as controversial as it once was doesn't preclude their authoritarian nature.

Re: Scotland starts renewed case for independence

#127
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> people are allowed to change their opinion Since I've changed mine I think that is called teaching granny to suck eggs . > If what your choice was based on changed, then it's perfectly logical for your choice to change in response. I was told it was a once in a generation vote - has that changed? What constitutes a big enough change to bring a new vote? How often should these type of referenda be held? > Holding up…

What constitutes a big enough change to bring a new vote? Leaving the EU?

As Scotland doesn't qualify to join the EU upon independence I'd have to say it's not.

What else would be big enough?

Re: Scotland starts renewed case for independence

#128
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For non-UK people: There are four nations in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). But England has roughly 90% of the population of the UK. So what England votes for in an all-nations referendum, the rest of the UK gets. England voted for Brexit by a narrow-ish majority. But Scotland voted against Brexit by a huge margin -- 62/38, or approximately 3:2. Ironically, the year before the Brexit referendum…

I’d say post-Brexit England has drifted away from the far right. The whole EDL/Britain First/UKIP sentiment has only waned massively since then. The ruling government has not come close to far right at any point.

Excuse me, but literally today is the first day that the government starting flying asylum seekers to Rwanda[1], and yesterday they published legislation with the intention of breaking international law[2]. They've also recently curtailed rights to legal protest[3]. The Prime Minister has a history of law breaking including illegally shutting down our parliament[4]. This government only got their majority when UKIP candidates stood down in favour of the Tory party at the last election. By any reasonable definition England is currently governed by the far right.

[1]:https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61791994

[2]:https://news.sky.com/story/a-mess-unrealistic-doctrine-of-ne...

[3]:https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56400751

[4]:https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/11/uk/scottish-court-uk-parliame...

Re: Scotland starts renewed case for independence

#129
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Will you feel the same way when the EU seeks the end of veto powers (as is currently happening)? https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/european-parliament-a...

Not OP but also Dutch. Yes I would definitely like the EU to abolish veto powers and move to a majority rule. Europeans are too divided and need to band together to form a realistic opposition to the US and China. Veto rule is no way to govern a large group, since you only have to bribe a single member to cripple the whole. This has been known since at least the ancient Greek citystate era.

Why does the EU need to form a realistic opposition to the U.S.?

Re: Scotland starts renewed case for independence

#130
post #2

As a Brit that didn’t want Scotland to be independent last time around: good luck to them. Brexit has shown very clearly that Scotland wants to chart a different path to England and IMO they should be allowed to do it. …just be generous to English folks seeking asylum from Tory rule, yeah?

As a Brit who voted for Scottish independence last time, against the wishes of many of my family and those around me, if this happens again then I'll vote against the SNP's wishes. They said it was a once in generation vote. I made my case, as did everyone else, we all had the chance to vote on it, and my side lost. Democratic votes need the consent of the loser, not I didn't get my way so let's have another vote . B…

Obviously the status quo within the UK has changed a lot since the 2014 Scottish independence vote - the key aspect being Brexit. This change was sort of crucial to many of the key talking points in the vote: EU CAP subsidies for farmers, sole EU membership (now from a different prior state), border controls, etc.

The prior vote was relatively close (55/45) so it's reasonable to expect that 200k people might've flipped to the 'Yes' camp.

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