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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• 551. Ian Forrest - Laurencekirk

  Monday, April 7, 2008 10:28

  Of course Scotland can stand on her own feet. The UK government is against an independent Scotland as it would weaken England. Apart from our financial contributions, England needs Scotland if she is to meet her overblown military ambitions. Where would she keep her nuclear submarines? Who would disproportionately provide the young men and women for her intemperate foreign forays?
  Many similar nations such as New Zealand, Norway and Ireland thrive so there is little doubt that we would too.
  It's time the average Scot looked beyond Westmister which has so consistently served us so badly, and put down their marker for self determination through independence.
  If you don't like the SNP (and I do) then there will be plenty other parties to vote for once we are free.

• 552. Thomas - Kilmarnock

  Monday, April 7, 2008 11:20

  I support independence. But I hope Alex Salmond means it when he declares he will think big for scotland and not let us become some small backward irrelevant country. Defence for example, leave NATO and have a couple of fishing boats is not thinking big. We have a large sea sector and the largest oil/gas resources on our doorstep. We need to think serious and maintain the ability to not only defend, but have power projection. Then scotland will be a true international player.

• 553. John Tennant - Fife

  Wednesday, April 9, 2008 18:39

  I can see no benefit from Independence for Scotland, but I can see a great deal of cost. Who is going to pay for this? The scottish taxpayer.
  
  What is the Scottish National Party going to do if it achieve a yes vote for independence? Will it disband and their supporters either join a Scottish right wing or left wing party. It is obvious to me from the 1st year in government that the SNP want to take as much as they can get from the UK government just now, as they will never be able to balance the books if independence is achieved.
  Let hope the Scottish people are not fooled by the politics of the SNP government.
  
  

• 554. Ellis Sims - Gosport

  Wednesday, April 9, 2008 19:47

  Why do you pro-independence dudes cry on about being "free". You already are free, you can vote on matters affecting Scotland via Holyrod and Westminster, you can vote on matters concerning Britain, because you are British and Scottish and you have the Freedom to say what you like in both.
  
  Don't use the phrase "when we are Free" or any derivative, because you are insulting the people who are actually fighting for freedom, China, Zimbabwe, Burma etc. They are the ones who strive to be 'free' and can mean it. The times of william wallace are gone, you are not under the brutal oppression of merry old England. You instead co-exist with it and the other constituant countries in this Union. Think about fixing the Union and Scotland.
  
  But keep them together.
  
  
  
  So when

• 555. George - East Lothian

  Thursday, April 10, 2008 11:15

  I have been thinking what the Scottish government (I do hope they themselves read what we post here) could/should be doing in the meantime is going to other small independent countries like Belgium ,Switzerland, Luxembourg, Holland, Denmark to find out how they operate as independent countries, with our 300 year old “umbilical cord” to England (dare I say it we might have developed a bit of dependency culture , using a bit of psychology here people have great fear the unknown as The FM himself put it “Uncharted territory” ) we need to overcome that fear .Therefore learn from other small counties and put into practice the “independent mechanisms”, they have in place leading up to “the vote”
  
  Might I suggest a “Cabinet secretary for independence” whose teams remit it would be investigate such things and put them into place here where possible
  this being done people see the gradual changes towards independence taking place and learn from other small counties that theres nothing to be afraid of in an independent Scotland
  
  

• 556. Dave Eastabrook - Largs, Ayrshire

  Thursday, April 10, 2008 17:00

  555. Ellis Sims
  "You already are free, you can vote on matters affecting Scotland via Holyrod and Westminster"
  
  Our MPs (most of whom - the Labour Party - are controlled from Westminster), can indeed vote at Westminster on Scottish issues, or British issues that affect Scotland.
  
  However, with less than 10% of the total vote, the future of any issue that affects Scotland can not be decided by those Scottish MPs, even if all Scottish MPs of all parties were to be unified in their vote.
  
  If, for instance, Westminster decided to bring in a poll tax in Scotland, or to tax us all double, or to make it compulsory for us all to wear the Cross of St. George on St. George's day, donate £100 per family to the English football or rugby team, those Scottish MPs would be powerless to resist. Like it or not, English MPs, by virtue - correctly - of relative population figures, represent the vast majority in Westminster.
  
  Except where matters are devolved to Holyrood, we are NOT free to decide our own future, or even our own present.

• 557. Thomas Porter - Scotland, Aberdeen

  Thursday, April 10, 2008 23:12

  555. Ellis Sims - Gosport
  
  The UK-Government is currently under English rule. I say this because the majoirty of MP's are English.
  
  Now where is fairness of this regime?
  
  Englush MP's have the ability to pass English priorities easily while Scotland has to convince a HUGE majority about problems in Scotland that needs to be taken more seriose.
  
  The Union has went against Scotland and her interests for years.
  
  Why is there £120 Billion of oil revenue in a British Treasury?
  
  Why can Scotland not use it to boast her economy?
  
  You have to admit that England does have a better economy and you have no defence that the UK-Government makes sure of that.
  
  You can preach that the Union is all great and we are better off but you give no reasons just empty words.
  
  A free Scotland will be able to fully encourage investors to develope new sectors within Scotland instead of being put off by the rules laid down by the UK-Government that makes investing more of a gamble in Scotland.

• 558. Mike King - Birmingham

  Friday, April 11, 2008 21:57

  Re: 558. Thomas Porter - Scotland, Aberdeen "The UK-Government is currently under English rule. I say this because the majoirty of MP's are English"
  
  This is surely not correct - MPs have very little power.
  
  Real political power is almost exclusively with the Executive, not the Legislative part of the government, & here Scots have dominated since Labour came to power in 1997.
  
  For over a decade now 2 Scots, representing Scottish constituencies, have been Chancellor & one of them is currently the UK’s Prime Minister.
  
  Just to be clear; as a Unionist I have no problem with this. What I do object to is the falsehood that Scotland is somehow unfairly represented by & in the UK government.

• 559. Mike King - Birmingham

  Friday, April 11, 2008 22:12

  555. Ellis Sims - Gosport "Don't use the phrase "when we are Free" or any derivative, because you are insulting the people who are actually fighting for freedom, China, Zimbabwe, Burma etc"
  
  Absolutely right Ellis! Tibet had no referendum on having its own ‘Holyrood & its people no way of electing a nationalist majority to it, which could then in turn vote for independence or for a referendum on it.
  
  Mind you, it seems likely Zimbabwe will continue with a minority government, pursuing policies it has no mandate for from the majority of the electorate ...... bit like the SNP in Holyrood really?
  
  (And no, Trevor Swistchew & others with similar ‘excitable’ posting styles, I’m not seriously comparing Salmond with Mugabe)
  
  

• 560. Thomas Porter - Scotland, Aberdeen

  Monday, April 14, 2008 17:24

  559. Mike King - Birmingham
  
  MP's have LITTLE power?
  
  Have you really just said that the people who vote on how our lives run have little power?
  
  These English MP's do vote against Scotland on several matters.
  
  Fishing, nuclear plants etc
  
  And you sit there and say that MP's do nothing.
  
  Scotland is poorly represented.
  
  Why in the world did Labour re-introduce that 10p tax rate?
  
  Why can we not regulate our own fisheries like our neighbours?
  
  Why are we in a war that Scotland opposes?
  
  Why? Why? Why?
  
  Because we were out voted now do not sit there and tell me that the MP's have little power because it is their little power that HAS blocked Scotlands interests.
  
  

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