The Scottish Government

An Independent Scotland

Friday, November 30, 2007

The White Paper says: For Scotland to achieve full independence, the UK Parliament must cease to have competence to legislate for Scotland and the UK Government must cease to have competence in respect of executive action in Scotland. Correspondingly, the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government would assume the full range of competence, duties and responsibilities accorded to sovereign states under international law.

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Comments

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• 481. Dave Eastabrook - Largs, Ayrshire

  Saturday, March 8, 2008 01:51

  481. Mike King
  At the moment, whether Scotland is in the UK or out of the UK, it is, and presumably would be in the EU, so status in the UK is irrelevant, except that it adds an unneccessary and unrepresentative layer to our negotiations within the EU.
  
  However, if the UK were to leave the EU, and the choice were between Scotland more strongly devolved / federated within an independent UK, or an independent Scotland but within the EU, the choice would be a lot more difficult - and I have no certain answer. Though my heart would still be for an independent Scotland - my head might tell me otherwise.
  
  I'm sure the EU has great ideals and great idealists. Unfortunately the way it implements these ideals (or the non-idealist people who implement the directives) discriminates heavily against small business, and even against individuality. It's all "harmonisation" by enforcement (and very high unbearable costs), and in my opinion, is bound to fail and fall apart within a couple of decades at most. Dissimilar people cannot be forced together too closely. Even the French and Germans don't seem to like the EU any more. Vive le difference!

• 482. kev - Edinburgh

  Saturday, March 8, 2008 11:27

  Mike 475 writes.
  
  If Scotland leaves the Union then Wales will surely follow. As for Northern Ireland - the Unionists there have been sold (by both Labour & the Tories) down the river long ago & will be lucky not to find themselves in a united Ireland some time soon.
  
  --
  
  So Mike a rather selfish attitude! its alright for you to keep your union but Ireland is not? you dont mind keeping this isle united but Ireland in your words
  "will be lucky not to find themselves in a united Ireland ".
  
  
  So your fine with your sense of "national identity" but you frown at other's!
  
  Btw britain is not a country but Scotland and Ireland are, you can learn to respect that and you can still bring out the flags on St George's day.
  
  Regards
  
  
  

• 483. Chris Ashley - South

  Saturday, March 8, 2008 18:24

  For Independence this must be the choice of the Scottish people to vote on, however with Labour's Anti English Stance under Blair and Brown, these issues can be brought to the fore and utilised. With more English anger, Scotland can go Independent with ease.

• 484. PMK - Ayrshire

  Monday, March 10, 2008 11:59

  It seems bizarre to me that the EU could possibly be seen as more of a "burden" to Scotland than the union with the rest of the UK. After all how many scots soldiers have lost their lives because of EU foreign policy? (none) How many jobs have been destroyed by the obsession of the centre with the south-east? It seems clear to me that the UK is the problem not the EU.
  
  However, i feel this is very much a post-independence debate (Scotland's future in Europe), as attempting to tease out divisions in the independence movement now is thoroughly counter-productive. Personally I favour a Republic within the EU but I am quite prepared to start that debate after working towards independence as presented currently by the leadership (i.e. a Commonwealth Realm with the Queen as Head of State). Eventually these sort of strategic choices (EU membership - yes/no, republic/monarchy etc ...) must be put to the people in a post-independence Scotland.

• 485. Kenneth MacDonald - Falkirk

  Monday, March 10, 2008 12:49

  Scotland should have it's independence and she will in time. In the past i voted Labour, which i'm now even ashamed to admit. I get exasperated by my own fellow Scots who fall fot the Unionist propoganda especially the freeloading Labour party who's politicians are more interested in feathering their own nest than to further Scotlands interest. They are just a total embarassment and i even have more respect for the scottish tories. As for England They would and should be our biggest ally, market and friends in the world community but as separate countries as is normal.

• 486. Douglas Watt - Morvern

  Tuesday, March 11, 2008 11:00

  "Quos deus vult perdere, prius dementat"! This tag is now often attributed to Enoch Powell, but he only quoted it from classical sources. Surely the latest suggestion from Gordon Brown, hiding, as usual, behind someone else, in this case, Lord Goldsmith, that all our school leavers should have to swear an oath of allegiance to the British state, the British flag, and the British monarch, as a "rite of passage" to adulthood and citizenship shows that the gods have, indeed, made them mad, and are driving them to destroy the union, and achieve that which they are most desperate to obstruct, the independence of Scotland.

• 487. kev - Edinburgh

  Tuesday, March 11, 2008 16:29

  487 - Douglas,
  
  Good post what a ridiculous idea, this clown get's paid a fortune and all he comes up with is a pseudo idea copied from America.
  At least the Americans for all the problems embrace all Nationality's and Faiths ie one is an Italian, Catholic and an American.
  
  That's not Ever going to happen in Britain, the teachers have already ridiculed the idea.
  A british state were Scotland is a region, a flag despised by many and an English Queen who acts as a figurehead for bigot's and racist's a like, its pointless and undemocratic.
  
  Mike King and other's how can you claim to support a union were the Act of Settlement dis-enfranchise's many of the population? and as I stated before and you've not yet answered, "So your fine with your sense of "national identity" but you frown at other's! "
  Well>?
  
  

• 488. william ackland - dumfriesshire

  Wednesday, March 12, 2008 15:29

  I was for over sixty years member and supporter of the labour party,however I am now convinced that it is now time for Scottish Independance. It would appear that wwhile we remain part of the UK, we will continue to fail to recognise that we live in a small offshore island, and cannot continue to attempt to policing the world. Instead of using what resources we have,squandering them on nucleur weapons and submarines, we could put such resources to building a better and more caring society

• 489. Mike King - Birmingham

  Wednesday, March 12, 2008 19:14

  483. kev - Edinburgh
  
  Re your posting above: “So your fine with your sense of "national identity" but you frown at other's!”
  
  Kev: are you not doing the same re the Northern Ireland Unionists right to remain within the UK?
  
  I don’t want to argue over semantics (or your habit of capitalising Scotland but not Britain) so if any future postings of mine refer to Britain please assume by that I mean the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which IS a sovereign state.
  
  Whilst on the subject of semantics, Kev, I must advise you that I don’t ‘claim’ to support the Union, I DO support it.
  
  I have not responded to your point about the Act of Settlement & its disenfranchising nature as I don’t think it’s a significant point. Whether your interpretation is correct or wrong I don’t see it effects the debate.
  
  As I’ve repeatedly said if you don’t feel British then vote SNP & take Scotland out of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland!
  
  Regards
  
  Mike
  

• 490. Ellis Sims - Gosport

  Wednesday, March 12, 2008 21:01

  To be honest kev from Edinburgh, i wouldn't mind seeing the Republic of Ireland rejoin the UK under a federal umbrella, where a new sense of Britannia can be developed, one which encompasses the passion and nationalism of the nation (scotland) and that at the same time the Union.
  
  when you say not letting another country have there union, a big part of Northern Ireland wants to stick in the UK, there democracy, they choose.
  
  

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