Scottish Independence May Be Coming Soon

[Chef Ramsay]

Long Live William Wallace!! Make him proud, Scots.

Support for Scottish independence has risen eight points in a month, according to a new poll.
The No camp are now six points ahead of the Yes campaign, down from 14 points in mid-August and 22 points early last month, excluding undecided voters.

The latest YouGov poll found that, excluding ''don't knows'', 53% of those questioned planned to vote No, while 47% would back Yes.
This compares to 57% for Yes and 43% for No in mid August and 61% for Yes and 39% for No at the beginning of last month.

Blair Jenkins, Chief Executive of Yes Scotland, said: ''This breakthrough poll shows that Yes has the big momentum - it's an all-time high for Yes support in a YouGov survey so far, and an eight-point swing from No to Yes in just three weeks. We only need another three-point swing to achieve a Yes for Scotland on September 18.

More...http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11069121/Scottish-Independence-Yes-camp-closes-the-poll-gap.html

[Daniel91]

It's still 50/50 chances if this will happen or not.
I think that to much emotions is involved here and no so much reasons.
If Scotland will have to apply to join EU and start their own currency, than independence will be no so good choice for them.
It will be really interesting to see what happens

[Balthazar]

It will be good for them in any case. Their head of state won't be so crazy, at least.

Example of stupidity:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CprUnsEvZ7U

[practicaldreamer]

Salmond wants to retain GBP. There is adamant cross party opposition to this in Westminster. Even if an independant Scotland could retain GBP, why would it want to ? They wouldn't have their own central bank and, as the Governor of the Bank of England has already pointed out, monetary union with the rest of the UK wouldn't only mean that Scotland is monetarily dependant - it would also necessitate them having to sacrfice some degree of fiscal independance (ie. raising tax, and so spending). That is, an "Independant" Scotland would be a misnomer under the GBP.

   Personally, if the Yes campaign had stood up and said that an independant Scotland would establish its own currency I would have had to give a "Yes" vote even more serious thought than I have hitherto. But they don't seem to want their own currency - they would prefer to ride off the back of the strength and stability of the rest of the UK as reflected in its currency, the GB Pound.

    But I think a big moment that helped swing it for me was in the debate between Salmond and Darling, when Darling made the point that although he wants whats best for the people of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen  he also wants whats best for the people of Manchester and Birmingham and Newcastle.
        Well said that man. Magnanimous, compassionate and seeing the bigger picture.

           Better together for me I'm afraid.

[countryfree]

I'm all in favor of an independent Scotland (independent Ireland, too), but I'm no Scot no my voice doesn't count. It will make Germany even stronger within Europe, but I'm not afraid of that, it has always been like this.

[Arctic]

It's not a 50/50 chance. 

The polls have narrowed significantly but the odds from the bookies are currently 1/4 No vs 11/4 yes.  They have a habit of being right - but anything can happen.

[Lethn]

There is nothing from stopping Scotland becoming a wealthy independent country, it's not landlocked so it has every option of ignoring anything the UK says and trading freely with others. I support Scottish independence and I'm in England! Someone needs to tell the guys in the government over there about Bitcoin.

[bryant.coleman]

It's not a 50/50 chance. 

The polls have narrowed significantly but the odds from the bookies are currently 1/4 No vs 11/4 yes.  They have a habit of being right - but anything can happen.

Yeah.... the NO is still having a healthy lead over YES.. with the latest opinion polls showing something like 53 v 47.

The problem with YES activists is that they can't penetrate to the lowlands, where immigrants from England and those from the EU nations are present in large numbers. Also, the ethnic minorities (although only 3% of the population) remains opposed to any split from the UK. Right now the YES bloc is strong only in the Highlands and the Islands.

Things can change if Highlanders vote in much larger numbers, compared to those in the lowlands. This can happen, as usually the polling rate is higher in the rural regions, when compared to the urban areas. So if we see tartans and kilts in large numbers along the polling stations on 18th September, then there is a chance that the Scots will gain independence.

[Balthazar]

I remember Cameron's speech about scottish independence referendum... He argued that "No" is preferred option and said that union is very beneficial. But he didn't elaborate who is beneficiary.

[Lethn]

If you guys think this is bad then there are people who are actively against us even voting on the EU referendum because they're terrified we'll vote differently to how they want, Labour in particular have made comments about this and it just shows you how much they totally despise the public despite them hiding behind nice words.

[bryant.coleman]

I studied the opinion poll. Here is what I found.

#1. Men want independence, while women are in favor of British rule. (M: 52 vs 48, F: 42 vs 58). Very strong gap among the females.

#2. Younger people want independence, while older ones want to remain British. In all age groups under 60 years, YES dominates. But 60+ voters favor NO extremely heavily, with 31 vs 69 margin. This huge margin overpowers the YES vote from all the other age groups.

#3. People born in Scotland are split almost 50-50. But voters born in England are heavily in favor of NO (31 vs 69). EU voters (Poles.etc) are favoring NO with 40 vs 60 margin.

[Sithara007]

#3. People born in Scotland are split almost 50-50. But voters born in England are heavily in favor of NO (31 vs 69). EU voters (Poles.etc) are favoring NO with 40 vs 60 margin.

Why should anyone from England vote Yes?

[practicaldreamer]

Independent Scotland could not join EU without central bank

[bryant.coleman]

BTW... what will happen to the British army if Scotland gains independence on September 18th? Although Scots are just 8% of the total population, a large part of the soldiers, as well as many of the army regiments are based in Scotland. Will they take British citizenship and move to England, or will they simply join the newly formed Scottish Armed Forces?

[Balthazar]

BTW... what will happen to the British army if Scotland gains independence on September 18th? Although Scots are just 8% of the total population, a large part of the soldiers, as well as many of the army regiments are based in Scotland. Will they take British citizenship and move to England, or will they simply join the newly formed Scottish Armed Forces?

Are you reffering to Crimea example?

[Arctic]

Independent Scotland could not join EU without central bank

correct - they'd have to adopt the euro although Alex won't admit that

[countryfree]

Independent Scotland could not join EU without central bank

Nobody should worry about that. There will be a political solution, but the choice between the pound or the euro is a tough one. Who to trust, Westminster or Brussels (actually, Frankfurt)?

[Arctic]

Nobody should worry about that. There will be a political solution, but the choice between the pound or the euro is a tough one. Who to trust, Westminster or Brussels (actually, Frankfurt)?

there's probably a few folk in Ireland and Greece that could give you an opinion on that  

[murraypaul]

It will be good for them in any case. Their head of state won't be so crazy, at least.

If Scotland became independent, they would keep the same head of state.

[Lethn]

#3. People born in Scotland are split almost 50-50. But voters born in England are heavily in favor of NO (31 vs 69). EU voters (Poles.etc) are favoring NO with 40 vs 60 margin.

Why should anyone from England vote Yes?

Because if you vote yes then you are against empire building and the annexation of independent countries.