Scottish Referendum....

[ToraToraTora]

if they vote yes then do you think they should be allowed to vote in the general election next year?

[emmie]

it be constitutionally correct, however once they say yes to Independence, then that should be it. How long did it take to make the union in the first place i wonder.

[Gromit]

The UK without Scotland is roughly politically divided, North / South.

If the result of Scotland leaving is a perpetual Conservative Government, I doubt people in the North would stand for that.

They would either have to redraw the boundaries or the North would want some sort of devolution and powers to govern themselves.

[ToraToraTora]

emmie you are getting silly now, so if a player leaves a football club then the whole club must desolve? One part of the club is leaving approx 7% of the population, are you saying that by leaving they disolve the other 93%? It will still be called the UK after they leave. Whatever silly interopretations some have.

[emmie]

i am not being silly, why will we be considered United when we won't be.

[anneasquith]

Scottish and welsh people hate the English,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,great sweeping statement !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and you have proof ?

[emmie]

before the Union was made in 1707 i believe what were we called, Great Britain, not the United Kingdom.

[Uriah Heep]

An awful lot of you seem to think that Scotland will vote for independance. The reality is that far less than 40% are in favour of it.

[anneasquith]

my post was to venator.

[Gromit]

Emmie,
If they vote Yes Scotland will still be in the UK for a couple more years. How can the people of Sotland NOT be represented for those years? If you are saying they can have no voice because they are leaving in the future, then I certainly disagree with you.

If the UK vote to leave the EU are you saying the rest of the EU decide the terms and timescale of our withdrawal without the UK getting a say?

[jim360]

I agree that as soon as Scotland is independent it shouldn't have a voice in the UK. The point that I am making, and Gromit and TTT are also, is that this won't happen instantly after a "yes" vote, and Scotland will still be in the UK. Like it or not this means that they still have a voice in the UK, so that between times they should have a vote in the 2015 election. The way to combat ymb's point is presumably to have a one-issue Parliament, focusing all (or at least most) of its business on the Scottish issue rather than anything else. There should be enough hangover legislation anyway to keep things going for a few months, and while the negotiations can draw out for years I think months is a more likely timescale since it would be in both sides' interests to keep the negotiations as brief as possible. So it might be a 2015 Election, and then a second within no more than a year.

Mind, current trends suggest that the result will be "no" anyway so this is more than likely to be purely academic.

[emmie]

i don't think they will vote for Independence either, however if they do it had better be now and for good, and no bailing them out if it goes belly up.
I don't want to split, i think we are better together as a nation than apart.

[emmie]

less than two years,

http://www.yesscotland.net/answers/how-will-scotland-become-independent

[jim360]

I would take whatever Yes Scotland says with rather more than a pinch of salt.

[emmie]

why, if it is what they want.

[jim360]

Because there are at least two parties involved in the negotiations and while it might be in everyone's interests to keep things short that doesn't mean that it will be. The "Scotland's Future" manifesto is what the Scottish representatives will bring to the table, but that doesn't mean they will come back with it intact. I would be surprised if things drag all that far into 2016, but these things are rather tricky.

[Gromit]

Jim,

A 1 year timescale seems very optimistic and is coming from the SNP. I think most people assume it will take longer than that.

// The process of achieving Scottish independence is far from easy. In reality, the process of severing Scotland from UK/rUK will go on for very many years, no matter what. //

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/20/scotland-yes-vote-dividing-from-rest-uk

[Gromit]

We will still retain the name United Kingdom as that would ecapsulate the countries of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

[ToraToraTora]

emmie:"i am not being silly, why will we be considered United when we won't be." - the remaining members of the UK will be "United" obviously. So by that logic if we left the EU the whole EU would have to be disbanded would it? What if Texas left the USA? penny dropping anytime?

[Svejk]

you've got a lovely way with words, 3t.

[ladybirder]

The Disunited States of America?