OK. Permission to speak! Only cos you're a fellow DOPE (Denizen of the periphery of Europe
). I agree that being shackled to Sterling may not be a good thing for an independent Scotland. No more than it was good for the Irish to be shackled to the Euro. It prevents us managing our economy as we might wish. However, realistically, the £ is a competitive currency at the moment due to the low bank rate. It would make sense for an independent Scotland to stick with the £. More importantly, it would make no sense at all for the rump UK to exclude Scotland from a currency union since that would damage the wider UK economy. Cutting off their nose to spite their face as it were. I call
Danny Alexander as a witness to the fact events in Scotland will have an impact on the wider UK economy and the value of the £.
If Scotland will be the powerhouse salmon promises it would be, he would welcome a Scottish currency so essential for Scotland to run its own financial affairs. Scotland could keep the £ but anyone who thinks some Scots will then sit and negotiate/dictate to the remaining UK what to do with interest rates and borrowing because it suits Scotland is deluded. The very fact that the the rest of the UK has promised to cover Scotland's share of debt and then collect the debt from Scotland shows where the real power/money is.
Looking at the lander of Germany for example, while they are not independent, they seem to manage their economies far more independently (and successfully) than the various regions of the UK. They don't seem to have a problem with sharing sovereignty within Germany and Europe and within the Euro.
Regardless of what happens in September, what we REALLY need in these islands is MUCH less control from London and much greater autonomy for the regions to pursue policies which suit their own economic contexts. I see Scottish independence as an extreme form of regional policy and I would be far LESS likely to vote YES in September if the NO campaign had a credible alternative which would benefit Scotland and the other regions of the UK.
With respect, Scotland already has its own legal system and banknotes. It, like 2 other parts of the UK, has the privilege of something denied to England; its own Parliament.
Scottish youngsters attend your Universities for free along with other European nationals except English youngsters who have to pay; I wonder how the Scots would react if London reversed that scenario and gave free education to English but made Scottish youngsters pay to attend English universities? So much for being 'ruled' from London and then there is the West Lothian question. Me thinks you protest too much
There will be a re-adjustment within Europe but, IMO, if the Euro was going to collapse, it would have done so at the height of the Irish / Greek / Spanish financial troubles. The Germans (and now all the people who owe Germany/ the ECB their shirts)have far too much invested in it to let it go belly up: a European wide market for the industries that they did not allow to collapse during the 70s and 80s. Allowing the Euro to collapse would suit the fascists and other extremists in Europe, just as collapsing banks in Germany in 1931 suited the Nazis and Communists but it would not benefit anyone else. The whole European economy would nose dive and that would take us with it by the way!
The Euro is only one of the things that will crash Europe. When the Euro crashes it will not suit 'fascists and extremists' (they are a tiny, tiny minority) but it will suit Countries' whose people's jobs and industries are being wrecked because they don't have their own currencies priced to suit their economies (Scotland would be in the same position if it adopts the £). The biggest headache for the handful of technocrats running Europe is people are finally waking up to the fact they have been tricked into letting 3rd rate, bought and paid for, vichy politicians dissolve their nationality/borders and give away their countries sovereignties with no debate, discussion or elections.
My problem with UKIP is that they may ride a tide of semi racist zenophobia in England that will lead to another Tory government when Cameron is forced to do a deal with them. From Scotland's POV, as my hon friend Ronno says above, any hint of that happening will only lead to a huge swing to the YES side.
The Tories haven't won an election for 22 years; they couldn't even win an election against Gordon Brown's catastrophic Labour party. Not that it matters because most people now realise Lib/Lab/Con are exactly the same thing; troughing 3rd rate puppets betraying the people rather then defending and working for them.
Dream on if you think UKIP will team up with the Tories (despite MSM propoganda) most hate the Tories as much as the Scots hate and despise the bastards (not that they are any better or worse then all the other troughing career politicians). The Ultimate aim of UKIP is to retake control of our sovereignty/borders, have sensible immigration and energy policies etc and have decent, honourable people working in parliament for us all. Most UKIP people I meet or whose opinions I read, hope to totally destroy the Tory Party at the next election (they are well on the way to achieving this already, check out Tory party membership numbers which have halved under camoron). This will mean putting up with Labour for 5 years who will betray the people and country as much as the hated Tories allowing UKIP to turn their guns on the scum and see them off as well.
Nothing is for certain but the next few years will see massive change and hopefully the individual Countries and people of Europe regaining their democracies. Unless something drastic happens, it looks like Scotland will remain part of the UK; it's a shame your thugs attacked Farage when he tried to engage debate north of the border; he offers more than the devious, divisive, scheming scold salmon for the Scots. Who have it pretty good anyway
).
