Well, today's the day and I've been and cast my vote. I let my 11 year old son put the cross on the ballot paper as I think he should also have a part to play in this historic day. All the posturing is over and now we just have to wait to see how the people of Scotland decide - I only hope that once the decision has been made that there is no bitterness, as the last few days have becone decidedly bitter and nasty between some people I know.
Steelmonkey - From the news I see and what I read online down here - it seems the YES side are the more vocal and committed online and out and about - presumably because many are Nationalists (tend to be more zealous) and/or are idealistic for change (tend to be enthusiastic). People who are more conservative (the adjective not the idealogy) and wish to maintain the status quo dont really inspire passion and shouting from the rooftops. Is that the reality? Also I saw the BBC's Nick Robinson got a rough ride yesterday from YES campaigners - I've always like him though because he reminds me of Milhous's dad in the Simpsons.
Nick Robinson is despised by the YES campaign as he's a lying c@@t - and has been caught out and hung out to dry - search YouTube and you'll find your answer! Much has been discussed about the biased reporting of some of the media, and the BBC have to shoulder some of that blame, but Nick Robinson was in a press conference with Salmond and asked a question. On the news, he reported that Salmond had flat out refused to answer his question, but on the live feed earlier that day Salmond had given a full explaination and answer to the question. Questions remain as to why Nick Robinson and the BBC allowed this to happen, but one thing for sure is that he is not a popular reporter up here!
I can't paste it here as we're banned at work from YT - but there's a great clip of him going garrity with some old codger with a sign outside Westminster I think it is. Bring back John Sargeant!
That's my view too. I suspect, because of that, it will be a 'No' with a greater margin than the 'Yes' would like but that's just a hunch and I may be completely wrong!
It's actually a nice touch for a child to be able to look back and know they had a part in it, albeit a small one. A cool idea.
It may seem that way, but it's also difficult to promote yourselves positively when your campaign in based on the word "NO" !! As mentioned on other thread, I was a NO voter, but opinion has changed - not due to the campaigning of YES side (which is not as Nationalistic as you would believe), but I spent a lot of time reading impartial analysis of the issues at stake and have come to the conclusion that Scotland would be best served by being locally governed. I'm under no illusion that this is going to be an easy ride, but escaping from the clutches of Westminster is, in my opinion, the best option for the future. I may be proved wrong, which would mean I would be f@@ked, but hopefully that won't be the case. The hope is that once the result is issued, all parties will work together for what is best for both Scotland and rUK, with no more posturing and scaremongering from either side - time will tell......
I haven't watched huge amounts of media coverage on this but what have seen is a lot of wealthy/famous Scots who don't earn their living in Scotland banging the drum for the YES campaign & as for Vivian Westwood stating her hatred of theEnglish......
I watched the debate on Channel 4 last night and to be honest there were no real reason given that would have made me vote either way, it seemed to me that the Yes reasoning was purely a dislike of the Tories and everything Westminster stood for, and the No argument was based on the negativity of voting Yes and what that would entail. Either way if it is as close as many suggest there will be a large number of the population unhappy with the result....
Yes, but last night she expressed her hatred for the English when giving her reasons for supporting the Yes campaign.....
I'm not sure if the irony was lost on the audience last night but a lot of the guests on the panel last night were not eligable to vote today as they do not reside in Scotland..... It was the other day on beeb breakfast when one of the No campaigners was having a go at the SNP who were complaining that Cameron, Clegg and Milliband had no right to go to Scotland to campiagn for a No vote but it was ok for the Yes side to have a Tax Exile from Monaco supporting them......
I seen that. It was rather pathetic. She didn't get any claps from the Scottish audience after her rant thankfully.
Its surprising how little engaged people in England are - or maybe not given they can't affect it without a vote. I've family on the South Coast, and with the exception of Portsmouth shipyard workers wishing for a YES vote - no other group I know are passionately wishing one way or the other. If its's a no vote, then the parties will have to starting thinking about a more federated structure in the UK given the Scottish template - if its Yes - I don't expect anything to change at all. I think greater decentralisation would be a good thing.
Tooting, I have to say that I've been impressed by the general English response to this debate, insofar as I can tell from the media and this Forum etc. It'd be quite understandable for some of the people to feel hostile and perhaps even a bit bitter toward the YES side given that the union is at stake. This will effect England too. Ironically though, if they had've had a go at the Scottish nationalists en masse, the YES side would have already won. The fact that they've generally let the Scots get on with it has helped the NO side no end. Some didn't take that approach though, not least David Cameron himself, and its driven some people into the nationalist camp. I've been impressed but not really surprised to be honest.
I have always been in favour of the Scots staying as part of the UK as I'm a strong believer in the Union. However, over the past couple of weeks I have been edging ever closer to wanting a yes result. This is because Westminster has now given Scotland so many concessions to try to secure the no vote, as well as changing their mind about cancelling the £1,300 subsidy that England pays to each Scot annually, England will now be significantly worse off if the there is a no result. Cameron is a wet fool and has had a complete mare on this issue and many others. I'm hoping for a yes now..............although I suspect it will be a narrow no.
