For The Love Of Port

Whilst in Scotland last week, all the conversations and even radio discussions (had lots of time in the car) focused on Scotland's possible breaking ties with England ... changing the face of "Great Britain" forever. The decision will be made by the Scotish populace with a "yes" or "no" vote in two years time and even 16 and 17 year olds will be allowed to vote in this specific election. Lots riding on the outcome ... for both Scotland and the UK as a whole.

What is your opinion?

It will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Without any firm picture on the split of the national debt, allocation of natural resources, the currency that would be used by Scotland, the fate of the armed forces, whether Scotland remains within the commonwealth with QEII as monarch or becomes a republic, or even whether Scotland will be granted automatic entry into the EU (quite apart from eligibility barriers, would Spain agree...?), i don't see how there can be an informed vote on separation. But none of these questions, as far as i understand, are intended to be decided in advance of the referendum. So what, exactly, is being voted on?!

My gut feeling is that the "no" campaign will prevail - in part due to the sheer level of uncertainty of what a split would entail, but also ultimately because Salmond will face a credibility problem when his rhetoric is properly questioned. Plus Chris Hoy will come out and say he likes the UK and Team GB [and Northern Ireland]!

On the English side, I think it will potentially bring to a head the "West Lothian question" and a strong popular demand (fostered by the media) that this is now resolved. The issue has been bubbling for quite a while now, and an aggressive Scottish separation campaign could well be the thing that ignites a more forceful questioning of this constitutional anomaly in England.

For Wales, i don't get the feeling there's a huge popular desire to follow Scotland's lead (though there's undoubtedly a very intense desire among a few!).

Rob's observations are bang on the money. None of these important issues will be resolved before the vote and the "yes" brigade will be relying on whipping up nationalist fever amongst the younger generation to get their way. Having once been a teenage Scot I know that it is very easy for clever politicians to create those feelings of nationalism in the young, naive, hormone-ridden teenage masses. Hitler employed a similar tactic.

I am fiercely Scottish and proud of it, but this proposed separation from the UK (not Great Britain, which is an island and would be very difficult to break apart) is a disaster waiting to happen. Any Scot who thinks otherwise might as well invest all of their money in Ireland or Greece now and avoid the wait for financial and social meltdown.

My sincere hope is that the business leaders in the UK come to the fore and explain to Mr Salmond's followers that he isn't the next William Wallace and that they are not going to be continuing to invest in his homeland if it weakens itself by trying to go it alone in a world where strength in numbers is far more likely to be successful than enforced isolationism.

Unfortunately, I live in England so won't get a vote as to whether or not the country that I live in (the UK) should be broken apart at the whim of a tiny minority. Three million Scots deluded enough to vote yes will out-vote fifty sevenish million UK citizens, fifty four million of whom will not be allowed to vote. Even Robert Mugabe doesn't have the advantage of those odds.