Interesting what the consequences will be for the rest of the union if it is a yes, for Northern Ireland/Ulster especially.
Ulster wanting independence is not really an issue. The vast majority of them like being part of the UK, unlike the jocks and the welsh. I think this Scottish Independence thing could fast become a nightmare. The long and short of it is that it would mess up their country and ours. Politically and financially it's a myopic quest: a Nationalist version of the Emperor's New Clothes.
which sounds fine to me... basically i think a good proportion of scots would be delighted to just get what osbourne has now promised effectively to buy the vote. I would say that yes if it goes federalist then the north of england would need some regional representation as outlined. mind you it seems to be going back to pre 1066 lines. anglia, northumbria scotlund. wales... and so forth. next thing the vikings will invade.
thats probably not quite accurate. The overall majority want to be Uk. the sizable minority want a united ireland and a tiny group would take independence but are never heard. I think bascially the more independant the better but i don't even understand why for example germany has "regions" and italy has regions but you don't get this .saxonia or bavaria for example don't go spotng thsi do they?? I dunno.... The only similar thing in europe i see is the basque region.
I'm googling castles with large moats so I have some protection when I claim independence over afcftwland as soon as Scottish independence is announced!
I know. That's why I wrote 'their Boudica'. Shorthand for 'their version of Boudica'. A German Boudica.
Catalonia as well. The German states are quite independent, certainly more so than English counties. They do have their own governments and can make their own laws. Bavaria even has it's own major political party, the CSU, which is currently causing Merkel some headaches. I'm not aware of any particualrly serious separation movements, although the former East German states sometimes wonder whether reunification was worth it (as do some West German states).
The worry about Scotland is the cynical way in which the SNP pushed through rule changes so 16 yr olds can vote. Think back to when you were 16, and a non tax payer probably. we all had idealised views on matters then as we could, because it would not affect us financially and most of us thought tomorrow was a long way off
the catalans dont bomb people though. This is what i mean by germany.. you don't see bavaria wanting to be independant. its quite happy they was it is. any eastern german fools who think was re unification worth it should slap themselves illy. I persoanlly know lads who grew up over there in the 80s and have seen the roads and airports and so forth built on west german money. you'd want to be some f'n waster OR a west german (agian like soem i know) who complain bitterly about their taxes going to east... to be whining about reunification
Italy. It's never really been one country in anything but name only. The regions it was formed on look to their own govts to do the real work as the national system can be deadlocked or unelected for months at a time. I think it went 14 months without a national govt sitting and the region's just went about their business....the north don't really identify themselves with the south. Alternatively, look at Czechoslovakia. Everyone and his dog predicted Slovakia would die a death including quite a few Slovakians who didn't actually want independence. Now they've a quicker growing economy than the Chech republic. It's really why so much effort is put into flags and symbols because even with islands like mainland Britain and Ireland it's a myth that there's ever been cultural homogony where you can say the whole island is one country in heart and mind. There's always been a sense of regional belonging first. The state lines are manufactured then all the songs and flag waving is done to convince you it's real....So some Bastard can take your sheep goats and wives in taxes lol.....
Have the Scottish been bombing people as well? There's been a fair bit of money flowing into Eastern Germany, but a lot of people have moved across the border and the amount of jobs has declined/the amount of unemployment has risen. Land prices are dirt cheap cos everyone's moving away. Added to this is certain sense of rose-tinted nostalgia about the way things used to be compared to the modern, uncaring capitalist society. There's been a rise in the far-right there as well. With the exception of a couple of the major towns/cities, I don't think there's much in the way of optimism over there (from what I can tell here in Düsseldorf).
I think it's a joke to lower the voting age. I'm all for youth parliament and involvement from young people. But not voting as an adult when they haven't even finished there gcse's...
No, definitely bad for whats left of the united kingdom but probably better for Scotland in the long term. No doubt they can raise the neccessary revenue's to support themselves they have plenty going for them tourism, Oil, Whisky etc and I do agree with Alex Salmond re London
