The Political Thread

[Grugz]

did anyone else see the story about vacuums over a certain wattage being banned by the eu?

[Old Tankie]

No, surely not!!  The EU interfering pointlessly in our daily lives?  Never!  They wouldn't do that, would they?!!

[8-Ball]

Sportsmen bet on that, mate!

I'm quite serious. If they (all the countries in the EU) had the vote we wouldn't be allowed to leave. The integrity of the project must be maintained. The only way to do it is unilaterally. Thems the breaks.

[Old Tankie]

If the vote was only with the politicians I'm sure you'd be right.  But the people?  I'm not so sure.  Anyway, I'd be quite happy to leave unilaterally.  After all, the people in Scotland are getting the chance to leave the UK unilaterally.

[Grugz]

it was on the wright stuff last week in the papers section i'll try and find a link when I can be bothered finishing my ebay wrapping

[Old Tankie]

Don't bother, mate, it's true.  I was being sarcastic about the EU.

[8-Ball]

If the vote was only with the politicians I'm sure you'd be right.  But the people?  I'm not so sure.  Anyway, I'd be quite happy to leave unilaterally.  After all, the people in Scotland are getting the chance to leave the UK unilaterally.

Indeed we are.

[Old Tankie]

How do you think it's going to go?  Or should we not go there?!

[Grugz]

  Or should we not go there?!

I went there a few weeks back, it was nice and sunny mostly debunking most stereotypes of Scottish weather I'd deffo recommend going there

saying that we were short changed by the wildlife or lack thereof  a couple of deer as we passed loch Lomond ,loads of birdies a vole and a bat in the bedroom but that was it!

[8-Ball]

How do you think it's going to go?  Or should we not go there?!

OK, I'll bite. It will be a close one but in the end the status quo will be maintained and the rest of the UK can go back to not really giving a shit about what we drunken, quarrelsome, redheaded savages from the darklands of the north do. But that's just my opinion.

[8-Ball]

  Or should we not go there?!

I went there a few weeks back, it was nice and sunny mostly debunking most stereotypes of Scottish weather I'd deffo recommend going there

saying that we were short changed by the wildlife or lack thereof  a couple of deer as we passed loch Lomond ,loads of birdies a vole and a bat in the bedroom but that was it!

Nice one.

[Jim_Campbell]

rest of the UK can go back to not really giving a shit about what we drunken, quarrelsome, redheaded savages from the darklands of the north do. But that's just my opinion.

This particular part of the UK very much gives a shit, given that we're looking at a generation of Tory rule if Scotland chooses independence, which would mean the death of the NHS, the wholesale privatisation of what remains of our public services and a very good chance we'd leave the EU (regardless of your opinion of the politics of this last, the economics of it are madness).

Cheers

Jim

[Frank]

hang on ,do we not get a say? Scotland is still part of the uk so we should get to say wether we want them to stay or go

In the event of a YES vote, whatever's left of the UK will get a huge say - a defining say - in exactly what form an independent Scotland would take, the currency it would use, the rate at which Scots could borrow, whether it operates its own central bank or not. We're essentially voting on whether we reckon the Scottish government's negotiating team will be able to pull one over on their English counterparts.

[Grugz]

will all the yes voters be wearing blue woad?

[8-Ball]

rest of the UK can go back to not really giving a shit about what we drunken, quarrelsome, redheaded savages from the darklands of the north do. But that's just my opinion.

This particular part of the UK very much gives a shit, given that we're looking at a generation of Tory rule if Scotland chooses independence, which would mean the death of the NHS, the wholesale privatisation of what remains of our public services and a very good chance we'd leave the EU (regardless of your opinion of the politics of this last, the economics of it are madness).

Cheers

Jim

I don't disagree with you Jim. However, the Union, in its current form, is (to use a tired soundbite) no longer fit for purpose. This 300 year old union needs to be reformed or it will not survive another 100 let alone 300. The results of the 2010 General Election proved to Scotland that our voices carry no weight and that, when it comes to the Union, our presence is nominal. So why stay? The current referendum is a result of that rejection by our neighbours down south. I don't need to remind you that the Scottish parliamentary electoral system was designed by Westminster to deliver coalition/minority governments and keep the SNP at bay and yet after one year of Tory/Lib Dem coalition misrule we ended up with a majority SNP government in Holyrood.