Eerily familiar polls.
All pundits who over the past few months have been saying the possibility of Scottish independence as a result of the September 18 ballot, is at best a pipe dream got a rude wake up call overnight, when Scottish YouGov poll for the Sunday Times put the “Yes” (for independence campaign) on top for the first time since polling began, with No below the majority cutoff line for the first time, at 49, when undecided voters are excluded, and even when including undecideds “Yes” is still ahead by two points at 47-45. As the Spectator reports, “in the space of four weeks, “No” has blown a 22-point lead.”
Curious- does anyone know how much the immigration issue is driving the separatist vote? Is it coincidental that the UKIP is also on the rise?
Idiots. After the economy tanks, at least there is haggis on the menu. While I always suspected French Canadians had cognitive issues, the 1/8 of me that is Scottish always assumed no national Scottish mental impairment. I was wrong.
The 1/8 of me that is Irish always considered Irish nationalism to be a revolution against people who look for all purposes identical to me, the English. Now the Scottish?
Scotland has been heavily, heavily socialist for decades. They still don’t forgive the rest of the UK for Thatcher, and can’t see that she bloody well saved the country from itself back then. Looks like they want to go back to the realities of the 1970’s.
Let them.
It looks like the psycho libertarians at ZH don’t realize that it’s the Far Left that will be running Scotland and not the “People” should they gain their ‘independence’.
It’s interesting you should mention that, YG.
My Scottish neighbour who was a skilled tradesman and I’m sure voted NDP here came back from a rare Scottish vacation in that era and told me that all his friends were all complaining about how Thatcher was destroying the country but then asking him what brand of single malt he’d like, implying that they could now afford fancy single malts under Thatcher despite their complaints.
The best part of Scotland left a century ago, they’re not allot different than the French nowadays. Let them do what they do, keeping their borders open to the Islamic invasion of the west, and check their passports veeeery carefully at our own borders.
The other side of a state monopoly.
Sorry, that should have been on the BCTF threaad
Porridge for breakfast, porridge for dinner, porridge for supper.
Wake up guys!
A few years ago I spoke with an expat Scot who was all for Scottish independence. I asked him what was the benefit to having an independent Scotland. He was stuck for an answer.
Perhaps the scots will decide NO MUSLIM IMMIGRATION. That alone is great reason to separate. England is now part of the caliphate.
Like the Hitchhiker’s threads and the folkfest threads, this thread could be an occasional feature entitled “More Pakistani tartans on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile…”.
What’s been driving this is Scottish ambitions for North Sea oil. But the gas is running out, and the oil is pretty much a known commodity. So Scotland will be independent just in time to revert back to their two main commodities, wool and whisky.
And they’re about to discover that Glasgow isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to RN shipbuilding contracts.
Note that a few of the leading lights of the Scottish independence movement, come on down, Sean Connery, don’t pay taxes or live there.
Most of the English no longer care, only their useless and worse political ruling class. If Scotland separates the Rump UK will lose at least a quarter perhaps more of its international clout. Scotland will have the same international clout as Ireland or Denmark.
Actually the SNP is heavily influenced by the Palestinian lobby and if it goes independent and then gives up its independence to be ruled by the EU as the SNP wants it will lose control of its borders and its monetary system as it is forced to adopt the Euro.
I struggle to see why it should want to end a mutually beneficial partnership with its neighbours where it has higher than warranted representation in Parliament and a higher than average public spending (more than $2,000 per head) and then join the EU where it will be ruled by a placeman and bureaucrat led superstate.
“If Scotland separates the Rump UK will lose at least a quarter perhaps more of its international clout.”
Scotland has maybe 1/12 of the UK population, less than Greater London. Out of this population of less than 6 million 120,000 are EU immigrants who are allowed to vote in the referendum (people living in the rest of the UK including Scots living in these countries) have no vote. In other words a single German living for a few months in Edinburgh has more say in Scotland’s future than the hundreds of thousands of Scots living in London.
The SNP has, of course, used Scottish governmental resources to campaign for independence and grnts and work put out to companies are said to be contingent on holding the correct views.
Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.
Isn’t the desire for Scottish independence an emotional one instead of a rational one? Wouldn’t you as an 18 year old want to live on your own under your own rules irregardless of the economics?
I wish them well IF they decide to go independent. However, like all teenagers endeavoring to be on their own, they find out reality is not what they wish.
Regarding the comments on the North Sea oil fields running out, you forgot the fact that NONE of these fields have been “fracked” to recover more oil and gas, a whole lot more oil! There will be enough money to run their Socialist Utopia for a decade or so then the moment of truth will have to be faced as the oil fields dry up. Or they might like the Swedish and Norwegians moderate their Socialism and grow up.
A few years ago I would have been dead set against independence for Scotland. Now I really don’t care what happens. Polls taken after the referendum was announced indicated that more English people wanted Scotland to leave than Scots wanted to leave.
Salmon wants Scotland to be part of the EU. I don’t see much value in achieving “independence” from the UK, to become one tiny little part of the EU.
It is interesting to note that neither Tony Blair or Gordon Brown would have been PM if Scotland were not part of the UK. David Cameron despite his name appears to be English from his biography.
It will be interesting to see how the division of assets will go and what will happen to the UK government if Scotland goes. I think if Scotland goes so will Wales, Northern Ireland would probably go after that.
A long shot, but it is possible that there will be a civil war and when its over the muslims will preside over the ruins.
If Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales broke away, based on the last election results, England would be left with a Conservative majority.
It’s crazy that such a monumental decision is made on the basis of 50%+1.
I saw this online somewhere:
If Scotland gains its independence in the forthcoming referendum, the remainder of the United Kingdom will be known as the
“Former United Kingdom” …….or FUK.
In a bid to discourage the Scots from voting ‘yes’ in the referendum, the government has now begun to campaign with the slogan “Vote NO, for FUK’s sake”
They feel the Scottish voters will be able to relate to this.
I don’t think that independence is among the options available to Northern Ireland. Ireland would encourage them to join by killing them. Despite the fact that Welsh is the most spoken non-English indigenous language in the British Isles, I’ve never even heard of Welsh nationalism. Mind you WTF is Scottish nationalism all about?
‘Scotland has been heavily, heavily socialist for decades.’
Exactly correct. Our relatives living there have opinions that are to the left of any Canadian Socialist I’ve ever met. They’re all about going ‘green’ and putting the rich in their place.
The last folks with ambition left Scotland generations ago.
Well then, they should separate and move faster into the Cuban and Venezuelan world.
50 + 1 is the only way. It’s how NL became a part of Canada. Union is just as impactful as separation.
The EU has everything to gain from Scottish independence. Don’t be surprised if it happens, helped along behind the scenes by the Brussels Eurocrats.
Scotland first, then Wales, will declare independence and join the EU and the Eurozone. England will be surrounded on all sides by the EU and be trapped in it.
Eventually the Catalans and Lombards will win their independence. Then the EU becomes the United States of Europe and will be cemented together forever, since none of the mini-states that are left over would ever think of leaving. Perhaps only France and Germany will remain as united, sovereign nations within the EU framework.
Scotland is just another semi Nation heading towards Islamic domination.
To heck with it, let’s see a socialist region split off from it’s more productive brothers and see what happens. It may very well be a wake up call to all the whiners who think they can do better on their own without all those evil corporations and conservatives.
I can’t begin to think what the generation of the 30’s and 40’s would think seeing Germany and France take over Europe, not through war but socialist bureaucracy and bind so many to their will. Hitler would be embarrassed that they are doing it so easily and with zero consequence compared to him going to war with the world trying to do the same thing.
My guess is that in the next 20 years Germany will blitzkrieg France economically as the pattern continues.