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  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,821
    GIN1138 said:

    I know you have to move with the times but of something ain't broke it doesn't need mending....

    It is broke: as at 2006 there were something like 2 million untaxed vehicles, and it's all online nowadays anyway.
  • SpeedySpeedy Posts: 12,100
    Socrates said:

    Sorry to bring this up, but: are Scots completely mad?

    No, of course not.

    So why on earth does John Swinney assume they are?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28943041


    Alex Salmond doesn't know what a financial asset is. Not a surprise as he thinks sharing a monarch means sharing a kingdom. He's not very good with words.
    He doesn't need to explain what an asset is, only to convince people on his version of what assets are.
  • corporealcorporeal Posts: 2,549
    GIN1138 said:

    Smarmeron said:

    I never knew the government were making it illegal to transfer your road tax when you sell a car...PB should have had a thread on it to keep me informed!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-13-obscure-uk-laws-you-didnt-know-you-were-breaking-9692065.html

    I was reading about this earlier. It sounds like the new rules are going to be a nightmare to get used to, particularly in relation to buying and selling cars.

    This is what I don't get about politicians. Something like the road tax system can run smoothly for 90 years, then along comes Boy George or whoever, and for reasons only known to them, they start fiddling about and changing things.

    I know you have to move with the times but of something ain't broke it doesn't need mending....

    Point of pedantry (but important pedantry to cyclists etc), road tax hasn't existed for ~80 years.
  • Edin_RokzEdin_Rokz Posts: 516
    Smarmeron said:

    I never knew the government were making it illegal to transfer your road tax when you sell a car...PB should have had a thread on it to keep me informed!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-13-obscure-uk-laws-you-didnt-know-you-were-breaking-9692065.html

    I was a bit puzzled the other day to see a car clamped by the side of the road. On closer inspection, there was a notice stuck on the drivers window informing of the clamp and not to drive (Fail, there were scratches in the road where someone had tried) while the clamp was in place. Seems that the tax disc should have been paid in March.

    What struck me was that this was not a major road (very minor side road) and that the police must have been looking for the car to clamp it. (Obvious usage inside the car)

    I have to agree with Ken Bruce on R2 this morning, the tax disc is useful for budgeting out when to pay the tax and also to think about a replacement new car.

    I know there is a falling crime rate, but do Police Scotland have the time and man power to chase every out of date tax disc?

  • RobDRobD Posts: 60,030
    GIN1138 said:

    Charles said:

    GIN1138 said:

    Smarmeron said:

    I never knew the government were making it illegal to transfer your road tax when you sell a car...PB should have had a thread on it to keep me informed!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-13-obscure-uk-laws-you-didnt-know-you-were-breaking-9692065.html

    I was reading about this earlier. It sounds like the new rules are going to be a nightmare to get used to, particularly in relation to buying and selling cars.

    This is what I don't get about politicians. Something like the road tax system can run smoothly for 90 years, then along comes Boy George or whoever, and for reasons only known to them, they start fiddling about and changing things.

    I know you have to move with the times but of something ain't broke it doesn't need mending....

    The argument is replacing tax discs with an electronic registration. This has the advantage that when a copper scans your licence as well as checking insurance and MOT electronically it also checks for tax. That is clearly an efficiency improvement (and I don't think the civil liberty implications are material in this case).

    The non-transferability is a wrinkle / hassle but we'll get used to it (and - on the margin - will raise more income)
    Well I'll be sorry to see the tax disc go. I generally like getting "something" for my money. Be it a tax disc I can put in the car or a paper licence for the TV, etc....

    Call me crazy, LOL.
    It's also a nice reminder every time you get in the car of when it is due.
  • Edin_Rokz said:

    Smarmeron said:

    I never knew the government were making it illegal to transfer your road tax when you sell a car...PB should have had a thread on it to keep me informed!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-13-obscure-uk-laws-you-didnt-know-you-were-breaking-9692065.html

    I was a bit puzzled the other day to see a car clamped by the side of the road. On closer inspection, there was a notice stuck on the drivers window informing of the clamp and not to drive (Fail, there were scratches in the road where someone had tried) while the clamp was in place. Seems that the tax disc should have been paid in March.

    What struck me was that this was not a major road (very minor side road) and that the police must have been looking for the car to clamp it. (Obvious usage inside the car)

    I have to agree with Ken Bruce on R2 this morning, the tax disc is useful for budgeting out when to pay the tax and also to think about a replacement new car.

    I know there is a falling crime rate, but do Police Scotland have the time and man power to chase every out of date tax disc?

    Police only get involved when someone complains about an untaxed car being parked outside their house/place of work and is blocking them in/causing them difficulties.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,376

    GIN1138 said:

    I know you have to move with the times but of something ain't broke it doesn't need mending....

    It is broke: as at 2006 there were something like 2 million untaxed vehicles, and it's all online nowadays anyway.
    That's bad, but I can't see how the new rules help this to be honest.
  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,821
    Socrates said:

    Sorry to bring this up, but: are Scots completely mad?

    No, of course not.

    So why on earth does John Swinney assume they are?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28943041


    Alex Salmond doesn't know what a financial asset is. Not a surprise as he thinks sharing a monarch means sharing a kingdom. He's not very good with words.
    Their whole approach is just astonishing. Quite apart from anything else, do they not understand that the terms of Scottish Independence, if it happens, will be defined by an Act of the UK Parliament?

    And as for saying Scotland could renege on debt, words fail me. This is the politics of three-year olds.

    I simply cannot believe that such nonsense isn't counter-productive - Scots would have to be terminally stupid for it not to be - which suggests they are very desperate indeed.
  • SmarmeronSmarmeron Posts: 5,099
    @Edin_Rokz
    Everything is online, so they can switch on an automatic number plate reader and wait for a "positive", they don't even have to key in the numbers anymore.
  • SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322

    Socrates said:

    Sorry to bring this up, but: are Scots completely mad?

    No, of course not.

    So why on earth does John Swinney assume they are?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28943041


    Alex Salmond doesn't know what a financial asset is. Not a surprise as he thinks sharing a monarch means sharing a kingdom. He's not very good with words.
    Their whole approach is just astonishing. Quite apart from anything else, do they not understand that the terms of Scottish Independence, if it happens, will be defined by an Act of the UK Parliament?

    And as for saying Scotland could renege on debt, words fail me. This is the politics of three-year olds.

    I simply cannot believe that such nonsense isn't counter-productive - Scots would have to be terminally stupid for it not to be - which suggests they are very desperate indeed.
    I don't think Salmond has a horizon beyond the Yes vote. He will say whatever is needed to get him there, and sort out any resultant problems afterwards. All that matters to him is Scottish independence. Everything else is secondary.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,376



    As you say, the left just shut down any topic that doesn't suit them.



    Just so we all know who said what, I have never said this.

  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,821
    On another subject: I don't know the constituency, but presumably Boris' position on closing Heathrow will be a huge issue in Uxbridge & South Ruislip. Presumably he thinks it will be a positive for him - I wonder if that is right?
  • SpeedySpeedy Posts: 12,100
    Socrates said:

    Socrates said:

    Sorry to bring this up, but: are Scots completely mad?

    No, of course not.

    So why on earth does John Swinney assume they are?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28943041


    Alex Salmond doesn't know what a financial asset is. Not a surprise as he thinks sharing a monarch means sharing a kingdom. He's not very good with words.
    Their whole approach is just astonishing. Quite apart from anything else, do they not understand that the terms of Scottish Independence, if it happens, will be defined by an Act of the UK Parliament?

    And as for saying Scotland could renege on debt, words fail me. This is the politics of three-year olds.

    I simply cannot believe that such nonsense isn't counter-productive - Scots would have to be terminally stupid for it not to be - which suggests they are very desperate indeed.
    I don't think Salmond has a horizon beyond the Yes vote. He will say whatever is needed to get him there, and sort out any resultant problems afterwards. All that matters to him is Scottish independence. Everything else is secondary.
    I agree, Salmond is powerhungry, he will stop at nothing to become the absolute master of scotland.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,376
    edited August 2014
    @Richard_Nabavi

    What get's me is YES thinking a currency union with the rest of the UK is going to happen even though they've been told by the rest of the party leaders it's a non starter and polls are quite clear the public won't stand for it.

    It's like just because Alex Salmond say's something is going to happen we've all got to dance to his tune.

    One things for sure though. If Scotland does vote YES the rest of the UK will need to elect a strong government with a strong mandate to negotiate with Salmond...
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    GIN1138 said:



    As you say, the left just shut down any topic that doesn't suit them.



    Just so we all know who said what, I have never said this.

    I did!

    And they have
  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,821
    Socrates said:

    I don't think Salmond has a horizon beyond the Yes vote. He will say whatever is needed to get him there, and sort out any resultant problems afterwards. All that matters to him is Scottish independence. Everything else is secondary.

    Yes, but my point was that I find it hard to imagine that this actually helps his cause. Are Scots really going to vote Yes on the basis that they might threaten to renege on their debts? It sounds a most un-Scottish piece of silliness.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,875
    Gin1138 Yes backer ex RBS chairman Sir George Mathewson earlier this month accused the pro Union camp of scaremongering
  • RobDRobD Posts: 60,030

    Socrates said:

    Sorry to bring this up, but: are Scots completely mad?

    No, of course not.

    So why on earth does John Swinney assume they are?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28943041


    Alex Salmond doesn't know what a financial asset is. Not a surprise as he thinks sharing a monarch means sharing a kingdom. He's not very good with words.
    Their whole approach is just astonishing. Quite apart from anything else, do they not understand that the terms of Scottish Independence, if it happens, will be defined by an Act of the UK Parliament?

    And as for saying Scotland could renege on debt, words fail me. This is the politics of three-year olds.

    I simply cannot believe that such nonsense isn't counter-productive - Scots would have to be terminally stupid for it not to be - which suggests they are very desperate indeed.
    It's maddening, isn't it?
  • surbitonsurbiton Posts: 13,549

    On another subject: I don't know the constituency, but presumably Boris' position on closing Heathrow will be a huge issue in Uxbridge & South Ruislip. Presumably he thinks it will be a positive for him - I wonder if that is right?

    North of the flightpath but surely plenty of Heathrow workers live there. But he must have thought about it for a couple of years.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,376
    HYUFD said:

    Gin1138 Yes backer ex RBS chairman Sir George Mathewson earlier this month accused the pro Union camp of scaremongering

    Was he one of the folks involved with it going bust, LOL?

  • HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098
    Smarmeron said:

    @Edin_Rokz
    Everything is online, so they can switch on an automatic number plate reader and wait for a "positive", they don't even have to key in the numbers anymore.

    Very true, but then what? I was a victim of a hit and run driver a couple of years back. The car was not registered and after the prang he just drove off, dumped his car and walked away. The system of registration, tax, insurance and MoT works very well for people who are prepared to play by the system. It fails utterly when it meets those who don't give a damn.
  • Edin_RokzEdin_Rokz Posts: 516

    Sorry to bring this up, but: are Scots completely mad?

    No, of course not.

    So why on earth does John Swinney assume they are?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28943041


    The monkey dances to the Organ Grinders tune.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,875
    DavidL Do not despair, I believe Dundee is in Mid/Central Scotland which tends to have the highest Yes total of any region of Scotland
  • SmarmeronSmarmeron Posts: 5,099
    I read somewhere tonight, that "Boris Island" plans have been handed in for scrutiny, and will be rejected next week, leaving Boris to have a rethink anyway..
  • Edin_RokzEdin_Rokz Posts: 516
    Smarmeron said:

    @Edin_Rokz
    Everything is online, so they can switch on an automatic number plate reader and wait for a "positive", they don't even have to key in the numbers anymore.

    Agreed, but you still need some one to go find and clamp the car plus stick a label on the window.
  • Edin_RokzEdin_Rokz Posts: 516
    There is still the problem of Scottish Notes. RBS, BoS and Clydesdale all issue bank notes under a regulation from Westminster.

    If, by any chance there is a Yes vote on the 18th September, those notes will be valueless outside of Scotland. Legally not, but would any London taxi driver take a chance? (Trying to persuade a London taxi driver that Scottish notes are legal is a pain anyway, but hopefully, you get the idea).

    If there is a run on the Scottish banks, will Swinney be able to pay to keep them open?
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,875
    GIN1138 I believe he stepped down in 2006, though his hedge find was involved in the ABN Amro takeover
  • corporealcorporeal Posts: 2,549
    Edin_Rokz said:

    There is still the problem of Scottish Notes. RBS, BoS and Clydesdale all issue bank notes under a regulation from Westminster.

    If, by any chance there is a Yes vote on the 18th September, those notes will be valueless outside of Scotland. Legally not, but would any London taxi driver take a chance? (Trying to persuade a London taxi driver that Scottish notes are legal is a pain anyway, but hopefully, you get the idea).

    If there is a run on the Scottish banks, will Swinney be able to pay to keep them open?

    I think there's an RoI bank that still issues UK bank notes)

    (In practice I suppose people could take them to a bank to be exchanged etc).
  • NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    corporeal said:

    Edin_Rokz said:

    There is still the problem of Scottish Notes. RBS, BoS and Clydesdale all issue bank notes under a regulation from Westminster.

    If, by any chance there is a Yes vote on the 18th September, those notes will be valueless outside of Scotland. Legally not, but would any London taxi driver take a chance? (Trying to persuade a London taxi driver that Scottish notes are legal is a pain anyway, but hopefully, you get the idea).

    If there is a run on the Scottish banks, will Swinney be able to pay to keep them open?

    I think there's an RoI bank that still issues UK bank notes
    Bank of Ireland predates partition - it only issues sterling notes in Northern Ireland.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,564
    GIN1138 said:

    Smarmeron said:

    I never knew the government were making it illegal to transfer your road tax when you sell a car...PB should have had a thread on it to keep me informed!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-13-obscure-uk-laws-you-didnt-know-you-were-breaking-9692065.html

    I was reading about this earlier. It sounds like the new rules are going to be a nightmare to get used to, particularly in relation to buying and selling cars.

    This is what I don't get about politicians. Something like the road tax system can run smoothly for 90 years, then along comes Boy George or whoever, and for reasons only known to them, they start fiddling about and changing things.

    I know you have to move with the times but of something ain't broke it doesn't need mending....

    Electronic tax discs are OK with me. But I don't get the middle lane ban. Generally, on any busy road there are very slow vehicles in the left lane. If cars weave in and out they are causing much more risk to themselves and everyone else than if they steadily chug along at the speed limit in the middle, leaving the right lane to maniacs driving above the limit. And if the road isn't busy then it doesn't matter.

    Yes, i know it's in the Highway Code. But it still baffles me.
  • alexalex Posts: 244
    Socrates said:

    Socrates said:

    Sorry to bring this up, but: are Scots completely mad?

    No, of course not.

    So why on earth does John Swinney assume they are?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28943041


    Alex Salmond doesn't know what a financial asset is. Not a surprise as he thinks sharing a monarch means sharing a kingdom. He's not very good with words.
    Their whole approach is just astonishing. Quite apart from anything else, do they not understand that the terms of Scottish Independence, if it happens, will be defined by an Act of the UK Parliament?

    And as for saying Scotland could renege on debt, words fail me. This is the politics of three-year olds.

    I simply cannot believe that such nonsense isn't counter-productive - Scots would have to be terminally stupid for it not to be - which suggests they are very desperate indeed.
    I don't think Salmond has a horizon beyond the Yes vote. He will say whatever is needed to get him there, and sort out any resultant problems afterwards. All that matters to him is Scottish independence. Everything else is secondary.
    Quite - he changes his argument from week to week. A month ago he was using this "no currency, all of the debt" line. Then he realised it was nonsense so he tried to nuance it with his "share of the debt owned by the Bank of England (the Quantitative Easing debt". Now having obviously been told that that argument was also nonsense (and anyway less 'scary' for the rest of the UK since it was a significantly lower amount) he's simply gone for broke and reverted to his original claim.

    None of it has any basis in reality it's all just spin. I'm not sure he even cares if a "yes" vote actually leads to independence (because terms become impossible to negotiate). He probably forsees a dream scenario whereby independence can't happen (short of UDI) where he can simply blame Westminster for setting "unreasonable" terms.

  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    edited August 2014
    Thanet South, major party candidates:

    Con: Craig Mackinlay
    Lab: Will Scobie
    LD: Russ Timpson
    UKIP: Nigel Farage
    Greens: Ian Driver

    It may be to Farage's advantage that all the candidates are men, to the extent that Farage and UKIP tend to be less popular with women and therefore if one of the other candidates had been female they may have attracted a sort of anti-Farage vote so-to-speak.
  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    HYUFD said:

    DavidL Do not despair, I believe Dundee is in Mid/Central Scotland which tends to have the highest Yes total of any region of Scotland

    My first attempt at predicting the referendum results by council area a few months ago had Dundee with the highest Yes vote on the mainland, (the former Western Isles was higher).
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,875
    ThanksAndy Yes, I think Dundee will be a firm Yes
  • alexalex Posts: 244
    Edin_Rokz said:

    There is still the problem of Scottish Notes. RBS, BoS and Clydesdale all issue bank notes under a regulation from Westminster.

    If, by any chance there is a Yes vote on the 18th September, those notes will be valueless outside of Scotland. Legally not, but would any London taxi driver take a chance? (Trying to persuade a London taxi driver that Scottish notes are legal is a pain anyway, but hopefully, you get the idea).

    If there is a run on the Scottish banks, will Swinney be able to pay to keep them open?

    Probably a run on the Scottish banks (post referendum, pre independence) is what they are trying to achieve (there is strong evidence of the near miss in Quebec that large scale capital flight will happen). They think that the Bank/Treasury will be forced to step in on a massive scale, and the rUK public will be terrified into reversing their views on a Currency Union. Thing is a currency union is also a nonsense - the terms of the union would be so onerous that Scotland would never want to join anyway.

  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    GIN1138 said:

    Smarmeron said:

    I never knew the government were making it illegal to transfer your road tax when you sell a car...PB should have had a thread on it to keep me informed!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-13-obscure-uk-laws-you-didnt-know-you-were-breaking-9692065.html

    I was reading about this earlier. It sounds like the new rules are going to be a nightmare to get used to, particularly in relation to buying and selling cars.

    This is what I don't get about politicians. Something like the road tax system can run smoothly for 90 years, then along comes Boy George or whoever, and for reasons only known to them, they start fiddling about and changing things.

    I know you have to move with the times but of something ain't broke it doesn't need mending....

    Electronic tax discs are OK with me. But I don't get the middle lane ban. Generally, on any busy road there are very slow vehicles in the left lane. If cars weave in and out they are causing much more risk to themselves and everyone else than if they steadily chug along at the speed limit in the middle, leaving the right lane to maniacs driving above the limit. And if the road isn't busy then it doesn't matter.

    Yes, i know it's in the Highway Code. But it still baffles me.
    Because the middle lane is an overtaking lane, not for "chugging along at the speed limit".

    If you want to do that you should be in the left hand lane.
  • Edin_Rokz said:

    There is still the problem of Scottish Notes. RBS, BoS and Clydesdale all issue bank notes under a regulation from Westminster.

    If, by any chance there is a Yes vote on the 18th September, those notes will be valueless outside of Scotland. Legally not, but would any London taxi driver take a chance? (Trying to persuade a London taxi driver that Scottish notes are legal is a pain anyway, but hopefully, you get the idea).

    If there is a run on the Scottish banks, will Swinney be able to pay to keep them open?

    Hmmm.... so Scotland already has its own banknotes...
  • Charles said:

    GIN1138 said:

    Smarmeron said:

    I never knew the government were making it illegal to transfer your road tax when you sell a car...PB should have had a thread on it to keep me informed!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-13-obscure-uk-laws-you-didnt-know-you-were-breaking-9692065.html

    I was reading about this earlier. It sounds like the new rules are going to be a nightmare to get used to, particularly in relation to buying and selling cars.

    This is what I don't get about politicians. Something like the road tax system can run smoothly for 90 years, then along comes Boy George or whoever, and for reasons only known to them, they start fiddling about and changing things.

    I know you have to move with the times but of something ain't broke it doesn't need mending....

    Electronic tax discs are OK with me. But I don't get the middle lane ban. Generally, on any busy road there are very slow vehicles in the left lane. If cars weave in and out they are causing much more risk to themselves and everyone else than if they steadily chug along at the speed limit in the middle, leaving the right lane to maniacs driving above the limit. And if the road isn't busy then it doesn't matter.

    Yes, i know it's in the Highway Code. But it still baffles me.
    Because the middle lane is an overtaking lane, not for "chugging along at the speed limit".

    If you want to do that you should be in the left hand lane.
    So what's the right-hand lane for??
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,564
    Charles said:

    GIN1138 said:

    Smarmeron said:

    I never knew the government were making it illegal to transfer your road tax when you sell a car...PB should have had a thread on it to keep me informed!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-13-obscure-uk-laws-you-didnt-know-you-were-breaking-9692065.html

    I was reading about this earlier. It sounds like the new rules are going to be a nightmare to get used to, particularly in relation to buying and selling cars.

    This is what I don't get about politicians. Something like the road tax system can run smoothly for 90 years, then along comes Boy George or whoever, and for reasons only known to them, they start fiddling about and changing things.

    I know you have to move with the times but of something ain't broke it doesn't need mending....

    Electronic tax discs are OK with me. But I don't get the middle lane ban. Generally, on any busy road there are very slow vehicles in the left lane. If cars weave in and out they are causing much more risk to themselves and everyone else than if they steadily chug along at the speed limit in the middle, leaving the right lane to maniacs driving above the limit. And if the road isn't busy then it doesn't matter.

    Yes, i know it's in the Highway Code. But it still baffles me.
    Because the middle lane is an overtaking lane, not for "chugging along at the speed limit".

    If you want to do that you should be in the left hand lane.
    No - the left hand lane is full of lorries etc going well below the speed limit every time there's a hill. The point is to be able to overtake them without weaving in and out. It's an unnecessary luxury to have TWO overtaking lanes.

  • alexalex Posts: 244
    What's the middle lane on roads with more than 3 lanes? ;)
  • Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091

    Socrates said:

    I don't think Salmond has a horizon beyond the Yes vote. He will say whatever is needed to get him there, and sort out any resultant problems afterwards. All that matters to him is Scottish independence. Everything else is secondary.

    Yes, but my point was that I find it hard to imagine that this actually helps his cause. Are Scots really going to vote Yes on the basis that they might threaten to renege on their debts? It sounds a most un-Scottish piece of silliness.
    LMAO. Do rightwingers seriously believe normal people CARE about whether debt is "reneged" on or not? "Oh no, we can't do that, some random dude on a trading floor in Shanghai won't be happy!!!!111"
  • NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    Danny565 said:

    Socrates said:

    I don't think Salmond has a horizon beyond the Yes vote. He will say whatever is needed to get him there, and sort out any resultant problems afterwards. All that matters to him is Scottish independence. Everything else is secondary.

    Yes, but my point was that I find it hard to imagine that this actually helps his cause. Are Scots really going to vote Yes on the basis that they might threaten to renege on their debts? It sounds a most un-Scottish piece of silliness.
    LMAO. Do rightwingers seriously believe normal people CARE about whether debt is "reneged" on or not? "Oh no, we can't do that, some random dude on a trading floor in Shanghai won't be happy!!!!111"
    Because it wouldnt have major implications? Because Argentina is doing so well these days?
  • alexalex Posts: 244
    The whole "reneging on debts" argument is all misrepresented. Because the debt will legally remain with the UK, what we are talking about is a separate arrangement being set up internally between Scotland and the rUK. So the issue is not really about the international reaction to Scotland "reneging", but the question about whether Scotland can be remotely successful as an independent country when their closest neighbour and largest trading partner (and also the one who will actually define the whole independence settlement via Act of Parliament) is made to all intents and purposes an enemy.

  • NinoinozNinoinoz Posts: 1,312
    I do hope all those who voted for the Labour West Midlands Police Commissioner last week are pleased with themselves today.
  • alexalex Posts: 244
    Ninoinoz said:

    I do hope all those who voted for the Labour West Midlands Police Commissioner last week are pleased with themselves today.

    Why - what's happened?
  • Y0kelY0kel Posts: 2,307
    There are two very noticeable IS offensives just kicking off.

    One in Iraq, one in Syria.

    There may be serious news out of both.
  • JonnyJimmyJonnyJimmy Posts: 2,548
    FPT @bigjohnowls you claimed that the BBC cost "less than 40p a week".

    52 x 40p = £20.80

    Maybe you meant less than 40p a day? So only out by a factor of 7...

    I'm unsurprised by innumerate lefties, but very disappointed that nobody else noticed.
  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    Y0kel said:

    There are two very noticeable IS offensives just kicking off.

    One in Iraq, one in Syria.

    There may be serious news out of both.

    Thanks Y0kel, continue to keep us informed as always.
  • old_labourold_labour Posts: 3,238
    Yep, the Tesco self-service check outs in London take them.

    Edin_Rokz said:

    There is still the problem of Scottish Notes. RBS, BoS and Clydesdale all issue bank notes under a regulation from Westminster.

    If, by any chance there is a Yes vote on the 18th September, those notes will be valueless outside of Scotland. Legally not, but would any London taxi driver take a chance? (Trying to persuade a London taxi driver that Scottish notes are legal is a pain anyway, but hopefully, you get the idea).

    If there is a run on the Scottish banks, will Swinney be able to pay to keep them open?

    Hmmm.... so Scotland already has its own banknotes...
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Charles said:

    GIN1138 said:

    Smarmeron said:

    I never knew the government were making it illegal to transfer your road tax when you sell a car...PB should have had a thread on it to keep me informed!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-13-obscure-uk-laws-you-didnt-know-you-were-breaking-9692065.html

    I was reading about this earlier. It sounds like the new rules are going to be a nightmare to get used to, particularly in relation to buying and selling cars.

    This is what I don't get about politicians. Something like the road tax system can run smoothly for 90 years, then along comes Boy George or whoever, and for reasons only known to them, they start fiddling about and changing things.

    I know you have to move with the times but of something ain't broke it doesn't need mending....

    Electronic tax discs are OK with me. But I don't get the middle lane ban. Generally, on any busy road there are very slow vehicles in the left lane. If cars weave in and out they are causing much more risk to themselves and everyone else than if they steadily chug along at the speed limit in the middle, leaving the right lane to maniacs driving above the limit. And if the road isn't busy then it doesn't matter.

    Yes, i know it's in the Highway Code. But it still baffles me.
    Because the middle lane is an overtaking lane, not for "chugging along at the speed limit".

    If you want to do that you should be in the left hand lane.
    No - the left hand lane is full of lorries etc going well below the speed limit every time there's a hill. The point is to be able to overtake them without weaving in and out. It's an unnecessary luxury to have TWO overtaking lanes.

    If there are several lorries in a row you overtake them in one move. It's really very simple! No need for any weaving at all.

    And the idea that having sufficient road space is a "luxury" is crazy - what are you going to try to do next - tax it?
  • Oliver_PBOliver_PB Posts: 397
    edited August 2014
    Upon Scottish independence, Britain's response to "no currency, no debt" should be "no debt, no UK trade, no EU membership".

    It is really not in an Independent Scotland's interests to get into a pissing match with the UK.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,585
    Oliver_PB said:

    Upon Scottish independence, Britain's response to "no currency, no debt" should be "no debt, no UK trade, no EU membership".

    It is really not in an Independent Scotland's interests to get into a pissing match with the UK.

    As a no EU member won't Scotland be subject to a large number of duties that will need to be automatically added as items cross the border...
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,703
    Oliver_PB said:

    Upon Scottish independence, Britain's response to "no currency, no debt" should be "no debt, no UK trade, no EU membership".

    It is really not in an Independent Scotland's interests to get into a pissing match with the UK.

    And vice versa.
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,300
    Ed Balls agrees to do ice bucket challenge - will he nominate Osborne?
  • Edin_RokzEdin_Rokz Posts: 516

    Edin_Rokz said:

    There is still the problem of Scottish Notes. RBS, BoS and Clydesdale all issue bank notes under a regulation from Westminster.

    If, by any chance there is a Yes vote on the 18th September, those notes will be valueless outside of Scotland. Legally not, but would any London taxi driver take a chance? (Trying to persuade a London taxi driver that Scottish notes are legal is a pain anyway, but hopefully, you get the idea).

    If there is a run on the Scottish banks, will Swinney be able to pay to keep them open?

    Hmmm.... so Scotland already has its own banknotes...
    Guaranteed by an Act of (Westminster) Parliament, RBS: £1, 5, 10, 20, 50 & 100, BoS and Clydesdale, the same except for the £1. All on parity with the BoE.

    However, since these banks are now owned by "foreign" countries companies and their shareholders (and with RBS and BoS) governments brings thoughts that Salmond has a lot less room for manouvere than he allows the YESNP to believe.
  • FinancierFinancier Posts: 3,916
    dr_spyn said:

    Ed Balls agrees to do ice bucket challenge - will he nominate Osborne?

    Only a person of little brain and seeking publicity would do this - especially when he should be formulating credible economic plans for the UK - of course he cannot do that if he has little brain.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 60,030
    So, when should we expect post-second-debate indyref polls?
  • RobDRobD Posts: 60,030
    Financier said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Ed Balls agrees to do ice bucket challenge - will he nominate Osborne?

    Only a person of little brain and seeking publicity would do this - especially when he should be formulating credible economic plans for the UK - of course he cannot do that if he has little brain.
    I'd agree. For retired politicians I think it is fine, but for a member of HMG to do it would suggest that they support a particular charity/cause etc. over another, which would be pretty unacceptable. I'm sure the civil service rules say they shouldn't be doing this either, but who knows if it is enforced.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,703
    edited August 2014
    Financier said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Ed Balls agrees to do ice bucket challenge - will he nominate Osborne?

    Only a person of little brain and seeking publicity would do this - especially when he should be formulating credible economic plans for the UK - of course he cannot do that if he has little brain.
    If someone is taking a few minutes out to raise money for research into MND I applaud them. MND is a dreadful, currently incurable, disease. It’s not even possible to slow it’s “progress”!

    And, RobD, if a member of HMG or senior opposition member wants to support a particular health charity, why on earth not?
  • FinancierFinancier Posts: 3,916

    Financier said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Ed Balls agrees to do ice bucket challenge - will he nominate Osborne?

    Only a person of little brain and seeking publicity would do this - especially when he should be formulating credible economic plans for the UK - of course he cannot do that if he has little brain.
    If someone is taking a few minutes out to raise money for research into MND I applaud them. MND is a dreadful, currently incurable, disease. It’s not even possible to slow it’s “progress”!

    And, RobD, if a member of HMG or senior opposition member wants to support a particular health charity, why on earth not?
    Why not just give the money anonymously as many of us do?
This discussion has been closed.