The judge in the Oscar Pistorius trial has cleared him of murder, but has left it to Friday to announce whether the athlete is guilty of culpable homicide.
OK! But why has Judge Thokozile Masipa delayed her verdict until tomorrow? Is she grandstanding, trying to boost her profile while making even more of a name for herself? The whole thing smells to me.
It's the way judges do things. The one phrase which sticks in my mind from an undistinguished career as a litigation solicitor is "would this be a convenient point to break for lunch?"
The "International Media Elite Anti-SNP Conspiracy" are certainly highly amused but not impressed by Eck having his Praetorian Guard applaud during the press conference.
The "International Media Elite Anti-SNP Conspiracy" are certainly highly amused but not impressed by Eck having his Praetorian Guard applaud during the press conference.
"Scot goes Pop has similar thoughts about the Survation poll as I do"
Just read James's blog and its very good. A great shame that he was lost to this site and i'd suggest if at all possible he's encouraged to come back at least for the next week and then when it's over perhaps a guest article?
Unlikely given the articles slaughtering the PB mods personally
The problem with all this is, most people (not just in Scotland) see these "credible" institutions like the IMF and IFS, as well as big businesses, as part of the Establishment along with Westminster politicians.
Can the Cyberunionists explain why if we are "better together" we play our three most popular team sports, football, rugby and cricket, as separate teams and leagues? And in the case of the first two, we have done so since the mid-19th century?
If we are so "United" as a Kingdom, would you argue for a united UK football team and football league?
Would you please stop flogging this dead horse. It's tedious and frankly stupid, not some killer point as you seem to think.
Only if you care to answer the question. We are supposed to be "better together" after all.
The judge in the Oscar Pistorius trial has cleared him of murder, but has left it to Friday to announce whether the athlete is guilty of culpable homicide.
OK! But why has Judge Thokozile Masipa delayed her verdict until tomorrow? Is she grandstanding, trying to boost her profile while making even more of a name for herself? The whole thing smells to me.
The legal experts in South Africa I have heard, say she has done a very good job so far. She has gone through the evidence and explained using case law, whether an aspect has been proved or not.
The evidence suggests a verdict of culpable homicide ( manslaughter), the reason being that all four shots fired were in one direction downwards. There does not appear to have been a deliberate act of shooting someone directly. But firing shots at a locked door would be considered a negligent act and would not be seen as reasonable by anyone.
I think the case has been adjourned because the Judge had other things to attend to and there would not be enough time today to reach a final conclusion.
Unless you have sat through all the evidence and are an expert in SA law, it is difficult to comment. I go by what the legal experts say, who are watching the proceedings.
Don't wish to unnerve any unionists but the £ is slipping back this afternoon, quite steeply. Last time the movement on the markets - the £ going up - anticipated the Survation poll which came later.
Probably just coincidence, and nerves.....
GBP would be a massive buy post Indy. The UK economy would be stronger without Scotland, lowerspending per capita and the loss of the oil income amounts to £4bn per year for the government which is not exactly a big deal. If GBP falls below 1.55 I will definitely get in, the fundamentals of the British economy won't have changed significantly and the nation will be richer and more business friendly without one of the Celtic fringe nations.
This is from the comments section of the Scotsman this morning. Obviously I don't know anything further about it, except to say the commentator "revisionism rules" is normally a very restrained and not at all partisan. We will see more of this, sadly. Other commentators were saying the same thing was happening in their firms:
Well, after a difficult board meeting yesterday today I start the sad task of relocating the business from Scotland to England formally.
The investors, primarily English based, have decided that no matter what the vote next week, continuing to trade as a Scottish business with primarily English customers is a risk too far for them. Even if the vote is NO they believe that too much damage has been done to the 'Scottish Brand' in the eyes of rUK/England. One of them even phoned me this morning to rant about Salmond comparing apartheid South Africa with the situation in Scotland. He, like many in England was deeply offended.
Thanks Alex.
Any halfwit stupid enough to even read the Scotsman never mind the comments would know that is a pile of horse manure. Unless it is the halfwit Hamiltonace.
Given I have already voted YES that will be difficult
And we all thought that you were in the NO camp !!!!!!!!!
And it was Scotland that asked England to bail them out after the Darian affair. It is not like England invaded - although the Highland clearances and 1715/45 rebellions did not exactly cover England in glory.
... snip ... History will judge this as an example of crowd behaviour, a collective wobbly moment. Induced on the gullible by those not quite right in the head.
Whilst I agree with the main points you make, I disagree with your last two sentences. I feel that this is an example of the "cult of leadership" where any dissenting opinion is viciously put down and it is thriving on a base layer of demonisation built up over many years by Labour attempting (and succeeding) to purge the then Tory opposition from what Labour perceived as its fiefdom.
Old faint resentments from the clearances of the 18th century, romantic views of past rebellions - the Jacobites, Bonnie Prince Charlie and so forth - were an ideal fertilizer to foster dislike of anything south of the border and it worked. It was spectacularly successful. It ignored facts, it ignored the lessons of history, it ignored the changes in England and it become a wonderful starting point for the YES brigade to waltz in and promise a modern rebellion, snatching the legend out of Labour's control with a modern Bonnie Prince Charlie coming back from exile retirement and leading the way.
It has not worked on every Scot, but it has worked on enough people to give YES a credible chance of winning.
Can the Cyberunionists explain why if we are "better together" we play our three most popular team sports, football, rugby and cricket, as separate teams and leagues? And in the case of the first two, we have done so since the mid-19th century?
If we are so "United" as a Kingdom, would you argue for a united UK football team and football league?
Would you please stop flogging this dead horse. It's tedious and frankly stupid, not some killer point as you seem to think.
Only if you care to answer the question. We are supposed to be "better together" after all.
People kicking a bag of wind around a field has no impact on my mortgage or the balance of payments. Splitting a successful union does, it's not rocket science. Now give it a rest, it's stupid and tiresome.
Yes, 7 marks out of 10 to Spreadex for trying. Usually they are frit, frit, frit in terms of leading the field and invariably lag well behind Sporting, always waiting for them to show their hand first. That said, their offering can hardly be described as generous with a full 2% spread on both the YES and NO percentage share of the votes, when realistically both can be assessed with probably a 90% accuracy within a 10% range (i.e. Yes 42% - 52%, No 46% - 56%) Leave well alone is what I say!
Can the Cyberunionists explain why if we are "better together" we play our three most popular team sports, football, rugby and cricket, as separate teams and leagues? And in the case of the first two, we have done so since the mid-19th century?
I will answer the question Sunil - the teams are allowed to play separately because it is only a game and does not really matter. It is only football.
Scotland was flat broke in 1707. And then thrived hugely after Union as the union with England gave them access to not only the English market but the whole empire and opportunities to work and progress throughout. The size and wealth of Scotland's cities exploded. Glasgow in the early c18th was a dirty village - by the c19th an industrial powerhouse. The 8% got the freedom to participate fully in the 100%. And so it is today.
But take away the other 92%, put them behind an international barrier with a 'fcuk you' message - well what will happen?
It is the blithe assumption of the Malcs of the world that things will carry on much as before that sticks in the craw. NOTHING will will carry on as before. Banking jobs and taxes, defence jobs, public sector jobs servicing the whole UK, asset mangement jobs and taxes, pan-UK pricing structures, companies whose customer base is mainly outside Scotland, etc, etc, etc ad nauseam - will go. Some overnight, some over years. iScot would implode economically. And un-rescuably. Add to that the cultural and institutional loss - BBC, mail service, generally positive attitudes from the 92%, passports, met office, DVLC, etc, etc ad naueam. As the Blunt song goes 'you only miss the sunshine when it snows'. And it's going to snow on Scotland. 'I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life'.
And all that grief for what? Really for what? Scotland already governs itself for all the things people really care about most (devolved stuff) and they get a hugely preferential share of it (11-15% more per head). So..all the shit because they don't like the UK's defence policy? or the foreign policy? Cameron's face? Ed's teeth? Ozzy's accent?
History will judge this as an example of crowd behaviour, a collective wobbly moment. Induced on the gullible by those not quite right in the head.
Agree wholeheartedly - but what really gets me is that whilst Scotnats have their heads up their kilts there are countries and communities being torn apart in the most murderous fashion in the Middle East and the Ukraine for irreconcilable ethnic and religious reasons. All it seemingly takes to sway votes here are a couple of ill-chosen words from third rate politicians. Shallow, selfish, myopic, stupid and unnecessary - and doomed for failure. Scotland - don't f**k up my country!.
The £ is edging back up again. So it seems the volatility was just nerves.
I can't believe we haven't had a leak yet. AFAIK we have three different indyref polls coming out tonight, right?
You'd think one of them, at least, would have cracked by now.
Maybe they've leaked but they all say different things.
PS It's weird being able to predict polls by the financial markets. The fact that we don't usually do it show how little difference there is between the parties in normal elections.
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
I was fairly depressed when that first Yes lead came out. Now I've got over it, and I'm just enjoying the excitement. If we become a slightly more right-wing United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so be it. Maybe we could make Cornwall a fourth home nation to restore balance to the force.
"Scot goes Pop has similar thoughts about the Survation poll as I do"
Just read James's blog and its very good. A great shame that he was lost to this site and i'd suggest if at all possible he's encouraged to come back at least for the next week and then when it's over perhaps a guest article?
Unlikely given the articles slaughtering the PB mods personally
I went over to the site the other day. He seems to have a mild obsession with Mike - and me. "A certain Cornish sex memoirist", is his oft-repeated phrase.
He is, however, quite astute, albeit biassed, as others have pointed out.
The guy was a nice bloke, just with a fairly large chip on his shoulder.
Can the Cyberunionists explain why if we are "better together" we play our three most popular team sports, football, rugby and cricket, as separate teams and leagues? And in the case of the first two, we have done so since the mid-19th century?
If we are so "United" as a Kingdom, would you argue for a united UK football team and football league?
You are drifitng off into irrelevances and absurdities. First - take Rugby Union. It is played as All Ireland not simply Eire. Secondly - sport is not politics or economics. Witness the Irish RU Team. Have you never heard of the British Isles RU team? Thirdly Cricket - 'England' (formerly known as the MCC) is in effect all the UK, it has been captained by Scots and Welsh. Fourthly - History. Leaving aside sport, Scotland has always had a seperate legal system, so a seperate FA is hardly unusual. The Home FAs coincided with codifying the sport and setting up the international game. And there is no English FA - it is 'The' FA - another accident of history.
Soctland is an entity. There is nothing illogical in suggesting that it and the rest are better together. The entity that is Scotland can be itself in many many ways, just as much as say England can and both can be better together in other ways in a united kingdom.
So we're not better together, yet we are better together?
The judge in the Oscar Pistorius trial has cleared him of murder, but has left it to Friday to announce whether the athlete is guilty of culpable homicide.
OK! But why has Judge Thokozile Masipa delayed her verdict until tomorrow? Is she grandstanding, trying to boost her profile while making even more of a name for herself? The whole thing smells to me.
The legal experts in South Africa I have heard, say she has done a very good job so far. She has gone through the evidence and explained using case law, whether an aspect has been proved or not.
The evidence suggests a verdict of culpable homicide ( manslaughter), the reason being that all four shots fired were in one direction downwards. There does not appear to have been a deliberate act of shooting someone directly. But firing shots at a locked door would be considered a negligent act and would not be seen as reasonable by anyone.
I think the case has been adjourned because the Judge had other things to attend to and there would not be enough time today to reach a final conclusion.
Unless you have sat through all the evidence and are an expert in SA law, it is difficult to comment. I go by what the legal experts say, who are watching the proceedings.
"Scot goes Pop has similar thoughts about the Survation poll as I do"
Just read James's blog and its very good. A great shame that he was lost to this site and i'd suggest if at all possible he's encouraged to come back at least for the next week and then when it's over perhaps a guest article?
The problem with James was a total lack of self-awareness. He made some good points but managed to alienate poster after poster here by sucking the joy out of any discussion, relentless and tiring sarcasm, and a tedious instance to always have the last word. On everything.
When he realised how unpopular this had made him, rather than realise the impact of his own behaviour, he decided to see himself as the victim instead - he thought everyone else were the ones with the problem. He therefore left of his own accord.
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
It has felt like the 15th round for the last 12 months. It frankly now feels like 46-45 in the 5th set of the Mens Final at Wimbledon and knowing there is no penalty shoot out.
The worrying thing is that the more banks and other large institutions say they will relocate to London, the more the typical Scot is likely to respond by saying "fcuk you" and do the opposite i.e. vote YES.
Now it really comes down to GOTV. I suspect that if next Thursday is as sunny a day as today has been throughout most of Scotland, there will be a bumper turnout and the higher the turnout the more likely YES will win.
It would be interesting if there is any information on the % of postal votes already returned. Mine apparently arrived on Tuesday while I was away so it went back today.
'Yes Vote Gaining Ground On Islands' - Shetland islanders overwhelmingly rejected devolution in 1979, but recent times have seen a shift towards independence.
Gordon Harmer who runs the Better Together Facebook page says he has been surprised by the change.
"I used to think, because of our outlook and prosperity here that this referendum would be a comprehensive 'no' vote but things have changed," he said.
"We'll still win but instead of 80/20, it could be more like 60/40."
Local journalist Rosalind Griffiths thinks it could be even closer. "It might be 50/50. We've got a very Liberal electorate and that usually means we are very pro-Union but something's changed."
Can the Cyberunionists explain why if we are "better together" we play our three most popular team sports, football, rugby and cricket, as separate teams and leagues? And in the case of the first two, we have done so since the mid-19th century?
If we are so "United" as a Kingdom, would you argue for a united UK football team and football league?
You are drifitng off into irrelevances and absurdities. First - take Rugby Union. It is played as All Ireland not simply Eire. Secondly - sport is not politics or economics. Witness the Irish RU Team. Have you never heard of the British Isles RU team? Thirdly Cricket - 'England' (formerly known as the MCC) is in effect all the UK, it has been captained by Scots and Welsh. Fourthly - History. Leaving aside sport, Scotland has always had a seperate legal system, so a seperate FA is hardly unusual. The Home FAs coincided with codifying the sport and setting up the international game. And there is no English FA - it is 'The' FA - another accident of history.
Soctland is an entity. There is nothing illogical in suggesting that it and the rest are better together. The entity that is Scotland can be itself in many many ways, just as much as say England can and both can be better together in other ways in a united kingdom.
So we're not better together, yet we are better together?
Sunil,
In Scotland there is also a historic Highland league and now a Lowland League but I don't think this means we need to split into two.
SeanT are you a unionist? If so, why? I assume you're not particularly pro the union of European states, so I'm curious as to the logic of those who are pro UK union but not a European union?
For roughly three decades the Conservative Party's obsession with the union has struck me as a weakness, and I still cannot see much logic behind it. Apart from mushy sentimentalism such as Cameron came out with (albeit eloquently) yesterday, and Tartan Tories from either Morningside or Pitlochry, I still cannot see much coherence to beating a union drum. OK, so we speak the same language but then that's now true of most of the world.
Salmonds point blank refusal or inability to flesh out his fantastical claims for Scotland's financial and economic future has bitten both him, and the nation squarely on the arse, like a rusting man trap on a billionaire's Highland estate.
I was thinking more of the news reports on the banks - much of which has been quietly retracted today, e.g. in emails to staff, and countered by the likes of Sir Angus Grossart and the head of Aberdeen Asset Mgmt.
LOL, all the reporting now is it is just a paper exercise now and as ever the BBC are the Tories little helpers.
I'm not sure you're being entirely serious, and IANAE, but in the case of soccer I guess it dates back to the formation of organised football.
For the first twenty years the players were part-timers, and could not be expected to travel too far if they had to be back at work on a Monday. Travel from London to Newcastle took far longer than it did today in Victorian times, yet alone through the wild expanses from there to the central belt.
The English FA was formed in 1863 by a series of London clubs, most now extinct., using modified versions of the Cambridge rules (note, not Oxford rules, for Oxford never rules). Ten years later, some clubs in Scotland bandied together to form the Scottish FA. Again, they were local affairs. It also explains why Berwick lay in the Scottish league: it was easier to travel to east of Scotland competitors than north of England ones.
It is the nature of the beast that, once established, such organisations protect their turf with religious zeal. There were still cost and travel time issues, and merging them made little sense, even as transport links improved.
I know little about the various rugby codes, but I bet the same sort of things happened there.
Basically, if the sports were being started nowadays with modern communications and transport, there would probably be a GB-wide national league. But that isn't where they started.
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
I was fairly depressed when that first Yes lead came out. Now I've got over it, and I'm just enjoying the excitement. If we become a slightly more right-wing United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so be it. Maybe we could make Cornwall a fourth home nation to restore balance to the force.
God no. Where will it end? I've got no desire to carve up England still further.
Cornish, Yorkshire and Northumbria demands for more regional autonomy can simply be addressed by devolving more powers to traditional English counties.
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
I was fairly depressed when that first Yes lead came out. Now I've got over it, and I'm just enjoying the excitement. If we become a slightly more right-wing United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so be it. Maybe we could make Cornwall a fourth home nation to restore balance to the force.
The UK without Scotland is pointless. Better for each home nation to have full independence. It should not be done immediately, of course, but a timetabled process might work well.
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
Where can you have a delightful liquid lunch in Brum?
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
Where can you have a delightful liquid lunch in Brum?
New Street Station bar, shortly before escaping on a train to anywhere else.
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
Where can you have a delightful liquid lunch in Brum?
The Wellington on Bennetts Hill, or as it's affectionately known the boardroom. 30 ish ales on tap plus lots in bottles behind the bar. If you fancy lunch and a train back to L\Spa let me know.
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
It has felt like the 15th round for the last 12 months. It frankly now feels like 46-45 in the 5th set of the Mens Final at Wimbledon and knowing there is no penalty shoot out.
The worrying thing is that the more banks and other large institutions say they will relocate to London, the more the typical Scot is likely to respond by saying "fcuk you" and do the opposite i.e. vote YES.
Now it really comes down to GOTV. I suspect that if next Thursday is as sunny a day as today has been throughout most of Scotland, there will be a bumper turnout and the higher the turnout the more likely YES will win.
It would be interesting if there is any information on the % of postal votes already returned. Mine apparently arrived on Tuesday while I was away so it went back today.
Hopefully with a No vote.
As regards the Scottish voter the late Tim used to more or less end his contribution on the Indy Ref debate with the word women. So is the typical "fcuk you" Scot you mention likely to be a man while their more level headed women will worry about the job implications and vote No. Incidentally do you reside in a more Nationalist area than average?
Referring to the background to the 1707 Act is not particularly wise.
Scotland had invested around half its liquid assets in the Darien project as we know. Queen Anne's London government was determined to ensure Darien would not succeed and therefore prohibited any English colony in the Americas from coming to the aid of the Darien pioneers, even as they were dying of starvation and malaria.
The English navy also blockaded many of Scotland's ports to restrict the access of Scottish merchants to their traditional markets in France and the Netherlands.
By 1706 the English government had brought Scotland to its economic knees and at that point the English parliament in effect offered to pay-off the losses of the members of the Scottish parliament if they voted YES to what became the Act and Treaty of Union 1707. Even at that stage the overwhelming majority of the Scottish people opposed the union and we know the writer Daniel Defoe acted as an English spy and reported about the riots in Scotland against the Union.
It was blackmail and bribery which persuaded the Scots to sign up. Certainly thereafter Scots thrived in the new politically unified country, so much so that the majority of Scots opposed the Jacobite Risings and supported the Hanoverian cause, either actively or passively.
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
I was fairly depressed when that first Yes lead came out. Now I've got over it, and I'm just enjoying the excitement. If we become a slightly more right-wing United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so be it. Maybe we could make Cornwall a fourth home nation to restore balance to the force.
The UK without Scotland is pointless. Better for each home nation to have full independence. It should not be done immediately, of course, but a timetabled process might work well.
Why would Wales and NI vote for a Moldovan standard of living ?
And it was Scotland that asked England to bail them out after the Darian affair. It is not like England invaded - although the Highland clearances and 1715/45 rebellions did not exactly cover England in glory.
... snip ... History will judge this as an example of crowd behaviour, a collective wobbly moment. Induced on the gullible by those not quite right in the head.
Whilst I agree with the main points you make, I disagree with your last two sentences. I feel that this is an example of the "cult of leadership" where any dissenting opinion is viciously put down and it is thriving on a base layer of demonisation built up over many years by Labour attempting (and succeeding) to purge the then Tory opposition from what Labour perceived as its fiefdom.
Old faint resentments from the clearances of the 18th century, romantic views of past rebellions - the Jacobites, Bonnie Prince Charlie and so forth - were an ideal fertilizer to foster dislike of anything south of the border and it worked. It was spectacularly successful. It ignored facts, it ignored the lessons of history, it ignored the changes in England and it become a wonderful starting point for the YES brigade to waltz in and promise a modern rebellion, snatching the legend out of Labour's control with a modern Bonnie Prince Charlie coming back from exile retirement and leading the way.
It has not worked on every Scot, but it has worked on enough people to give YES a credible chance of winning.
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
I was fairly depressed when that first Yes lead came out. Now I've got over it, and I'm just enjoying the excitement. If we become a slightly more right-wing United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so be it. Maybe we could make Cornwall a fourth home nation to restore balance to the force.
God no. Where will it end? I've got no desire to carve up England still further.
Cornish, Yorkshire and Northumbria demands for more regional autonomy can simply be addressed by devolving more powers to traditional English counties.
That depends on the powers in question. If it's transport or educational curricumlum, it really doesn't make sense to have dozens of different authorities.
Referring to the background to the 1707 Act is not particularly wise.
Scotland had invested around half its liquid assets in the Darien project as we know. Queen Anne's London government was determined to ensure Darien would not succeed and therefore prohibited any English colony in the Americas from coming to the aid of the Darien pioneers, even as they were dying of starvation and malaria.
The English navy also blockaded many of Scotland's ports to restrict the access of Scottish merchants to their traditional markets in France and the Netherlands.
By 1706 the English government had brought Scotland to its economic knees and at that point the English parliament in effect offered to pay-off the losses of the members of the Scottish parliament if they voted YES to what became the Act and Treaty of Union 1707. Even at that stage the overwhelming majority of the Scottish people opposed the union and we know the writer Daniel Defoe acted as an English spy and reported about the riots in Scotland against the Union.
It was blackmail and bribery which persuaded the Scots to sign up. Certainly thereafter Scots thrived in the new politically unified country, so much so that the majority of Scots opposed the Jacobite Risings and supported the Hanoverian cause, either actively or passively.
So in summary better for the Scots to vote NO to ensure they don't have such a devious and powerful neighbour next door
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
.
The worrying thing is that the more banks and other large institutions say they will relocate to London, the more the typical Scot is likely to respond by saying "fcuk you" and do the opposite i.e. vote YES.
.
I could see that happening, but I don't think the banks and financial institutions are bluffing. It's simply makes good economic sense for them to shift much of their operation South in the event of a Yes vote.
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
I was fairly depressed when that first Yes lead came out. Now I've got over it, and I'm just enjoying the excitement. If we become a slightly more right-wing United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so be it. Maybe we could make Cornwall a fourth home nation to restore balance to the force.
The UK without Scotland is pointless. Better for each home nation to have full independence. It should not be done immediately, of course, but a timetabled process might work well.
Why would Wales and NI vote for a Moldovan standard of living ?
It's not really up to them.
In reality, of course, it won't happen. But once Scotland kills the UK the best thing for England would surely be to go it alone. We could leave the Celtic fringe to the EU perhaps.
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
Where can you have a delightful liquid lunch in Brum?
The Wellington on Bennetts Hill, or as it's affectionately known the boardroom. 30 ish ales on tap plus lots in bottles behind the bar. If you fancy lunch and a train back to L\Spa let me know.
SeanT are you a unionist? If so, why? I assume you're not particularly pro the union of European states, so I'm curious as to the logic of those who are pro UK union but not a European union?
For roughly three decades the Conservative Party's obsession with the union has struck me as a weakness, and I still cannot see much logic behind it. Apart from mushy sentimentalism such as Cameron came out with (albeit eloquently) yesterday, and Tartan Tories from either Morningside or Pitlochry, I still cannot see much coherence to beating a union drum. OK, so we speak the same language but then that's now true of most of the world.
Was Mrs T much of a unionist, I forget?
Baroness Thatcher was a staunch and passionate Unionist. She became leader shortly after the Ulster Unionists left the party. It was their action which led the Scottish party to change our name to the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Association.
While she was PM I met PM Thatcher on many occasions. She annually came to Moray to visit her friend and ally Lord Laing (of the biscuit empire) and I was one of a number who were summoned to meet her for 1-2-1 discussions about "how things were in Scotland".
People conveniently forget that under Margaret Thatcher's premiership, the greatest transport improvements in Scotland in the past 40 years took place. Almost all the current sections of the A9 which are dual carriageway were built as were all the bypasses between Stirling and Inverness. The Dundee to Aberdeen road was largely made up to dual carriageway and the M8 became a full dual carriageway. She also spent £billions on Glasgow's housing with such initiatives as GEAR (Glasgow Eastern Area Renewal). When she became PM Glasgow had a greater % of council housing than Moscow and only 25% of Glasgow's 130,000 council tenants paid full (subsidised) rent.
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
I was fairly depressed when that first Yes lead came out. Now I've got over it, and I'm just enjoying the excitement. If we become a slightly more right-wing United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so be it. Maybe we could make Cornwall a fourth home nation to restore balance to the force.
The UK without Scotland is pointless. Better for each home nation to have full independence. It should not be done immediately, of course, but a timetabled process might work well.
Why would Wales and NI vote for a Moldovan standard of living ?
It's not really up to them.
In reality, of course, it won't happen. But once Scotland kills the UK the best thing for England would surely be to go it alone. We could leave the Celtic fringe to the EU perhaps.
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
Where can you have a delightful liquid lunch in Brum?
The Wellington on Bennetts Hill, or as it's affectionately known the boardroom. 30 ish ales on tap plus lots in bottles behind the bar. If you fancy lunch and a train back to L\Spa let me know.
Referring to the background to the 1707 Act is not particularly wise.
Scotland had invested around half its liquid assets in the Darien project as we know. Queen Anne's London government was determined to ensure Darien would not succeed and therefore prohibited any English colony in the Americas from coming to the aid of the Darien pioneers, even as they were dying of starvation and malaria.
The English navy also blockaded many of Scotland's ports to restrict the access of Scottish merchants to their traditional markets in France and the Netherlands.
By 1706 the English government had brought Scotland to its economic knees and at that point the English parliament in effect offered to pay-off the losses of the members of the Scottish parliament if they voted YES to what became the Act and Treaty of Union 1707. Even at that stage the overwhelming majority of the Scottish people opposed the union and we know the writer Daniel Defoe acted as an English spy and reported about the riots in Scotland against the Union.
It was blackmail and bribery which persuaded the Scots to sign up. Certainly thereafter Scots thrived in the new politically unified country, so much so that the majority of Scots opposed the Jacobite Risings and supported the Hanoverian cause, either actively or passively.
Ah back in the day the English had a proper foreign policy....
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
I was fairly depressed when that first Yes lead came out. Now I've got over it, and I'm just enjoying the excitement. If we become a slightly more right-wing United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so be it. Maybe we could make Cornwall a fourth home nation to restore balance to the force.
God no. Where will it end? I've got no desire to carve up England still further.
Cornish, Yorkshire and Northumbria demands for more regional autonomy can simply be addressed by devolving more powers to traditional English counties.
That depends on the powers in question. If it's transport or educational curricumlum, it really doesn't make sense to have dozens of different authorities.
Education curriculum should be a matter for the school and paternal choice, IMHO. Some safeguards at national ( English ) level. Transport depends on whether it's national/ strategic, regional or local.
I honestly see no need for regional assemblies in England. You do not need political identity to have local/regional identity or cultural traditions. Any variations in those can be dealt with through strengthened counties - which have been under attack ever since 1972 - and possibly before.
Referring to the background to the 1707 Act is not particularly wise.
Scotland had invested around half its liquid assets in the Darien project as we know. Queen Anne's London government was determined to ensure Darien would not succeed and therefore prohibited any English colony in the Americas from coming to the aid of the Darien pioneers, even as they were dying of starvation and malaria.
The English navy also blockaded many of Scotland's ports to restrict the access of Scottish merchants to their traditional markets in France and the Netherlands.
By 1706 the English government had brought Scotland to its economic knees and at that point the English parliament in effect offered to pay-off the losses of the members of the Scottish parliament if they voted YES to what became the Act and Treaty of Union 1707. Even at that stage the overwhelming majority of the Scottish people opposed the union and we know the writer Daniel Defoe acted as an English spy and reported about the riots in Scotland against the Union.
It was blackmail and bribery which persuaded the Scots to sign up. Certainly thereafter Scots thrived in the new politically unified country, so much so that the majority of Scots opposed the Jacobite Risings and supported the Hanoverian cause, either actively or passively.
So in summary better for the Scots to vote NO to ensure they don't have such a devious and powerful neighbour next door
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
Where can you have a delightful liquid lunch in Brum?
The Wellington on Bennetts Hill, or as it's affectionately known the boardroom. 30 ish ales on tap plus lots in bottles behind the bar. If you fancy lunch and a train back to L\Spa let me know.
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
To those of you who have posted below the incredulity that they and their friends have at the fact that such a large % of Scots are considering that a socialist paradise with independence is an attractive prospect, you should face up to the cold hard facts on who the people living in Scotland actually vote and work for.
+More than 80% of the voters at GE2010 voted for left leaning parties. +Public spending in Scotland typically is 7% to 10% higher as a % of GDP in Scotland. +Public sector employment as a share of workers is much higher in Scotland than England. +Govt spending per head is £1,500 higher there than England.
Now, Conservatives may view this as economic madness, but most in Scotland do not and most of their Leaders do not. It is just an irresistible drive to create a socialist paradise. So let them.
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
Where can you have a delightful liquid lunch in Brum?
The Wellington on Bennetts Hill, or as it's affectionately known the boardroom. 30 ish ales on tap plus lots in bottles behind the bar. If you fancy lunch and a train back to L\Spa let me know.
Now that looks like a plan and a half. It would have to be mid-October, but I would definitely be up for it.
You're on.
Mind you I should warn you the last time I had a liquid lunch and took the train back to Leamington I woke up in Paddington !
But I was young then. ;-)
Nice one. I am in the US until week of I3th, so any time after then would work for me. let me know how you're fixed and we can sort it out. If you fall asleep now you end up in Marylebone.
The English navy also blockaded many of Scotland's ports to restrict the access of Scottish merchants to their traditional markets in France and the Netherlands.
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value 2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests 3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal 4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola 5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
Good anecdote.
yes that's what it is, hence the VOX POP headline.
A Googling doesn't turn up much about the English blockading Scottish port. I'm beginning to suspect it's about as historically accurate as the Scots wearing blue paint and mullets at the battle of Bannockburn.
And yet you are posting at 16:44. Liquid lunches have obviously been tamed since my day.
Well Mr metre of ale for breakfast Southern wuss, I may well be down your way soon, as I have to go to Brighton so if you;re about I'll see if you can get past 12.05 p.m. without falling over
Hosting a Yes Scotland conference for the international media in Edinburgh, he succeeded in taking just 12 questions from overseas journalists over the course of 90 minutes.
Instead, to frequent applause from about 50 supporters, he repeatedly faced down questions about the economics of independence, dismissing any suggestion that a decision by RBS to “re-domicile” its headquarters in London would impact on taxpayers in Scotland. ..
“Corporation tax, does not depend on registered office, but on economic activity.” He later accused Mr Robinson of heckling, was applauded again when mocked the BBC’s “impartial role as a public sector broadcaster”.
Incidentally, if the surge comes back for YES they must surely win. NO have now tried everything.
But the same might be said for NO. If they now show good leads, it's hard to see what YES can do. As they have also thrown everything at this.
It's like the fifteenth round in a heavyweight boxing championship, when both fighters have punched themselves to exhaustion, and slump against each other. It's all about who has that last uppercut left in them.
It has felt like the 15th round for the last 12 months. It frankly now feels like 46-45 in the 5th set of the Mens Final at Wimbledon and knowing there is no penalty shoot out.
The worrying thing is that the more banks and other large institutions say they will relocate to London, the more the typical Scot is likely to respond by saying "fcuk you" and do the opposite i.e. vote YES.
Now it really comes down to GOTV. I suspect that if next Thursday is as sunny a day as today has been throughout most of Scotland, there will be a bumper turnout and the higher the turnout the more likely YES will win.
It would be interesting if there is any information on the % of postal votes already returned. Mine apparently arrived on Tuesday while I was away so it went back today.
Hopefully with a No vote.
As regards the Scottish voter the late Tim used to more or less end his contribution on the Indy Ref debate with the word women. So is the typical "fcuk you" Scot you mention likely to be a man while their more level headed women will worry about the job implications and vote No. Incidentally do you reside in a more Nationalist area than average?
My MP is my noble distant cousin the 3rd Viscount, known as John, Thurso and before him Charles Kennedy and before him Hamish, later Lord, Gray (of Contin). We have an SNP MSP in Rob Gibson but we are one of the few divisions within Highland Council with neither Labour nor SNP councillors. In short we are a LibDem/Tory oasis in a Nationalist desert!
The English navy also blockaded many of Scotland's ports to restrict the access of Scottish merchants to their traditional markets in France and the Netherlands.
I struggle to believe this. Do you have a source?
England (and Scotland) were at war with France at the time, so there may have been an embargo on trade with France. The Netherlands was an ally, however, so I'd be surprised if there was an embargo on trade with the Netherlands.
The English navy also blockaded many of Scotland's ports to restrict the access of Scottish merchants to their traditional markets in France and the Netherlands.
I struggle to believe this. Do you have a source?
England (and Scotland) were at war with France at the time, so there may have been an embargo on trade with France. The Netherlands was an ally, however, so I'd be surprised if there was an embargo on trade with the Netherlands.
Robert Peston @Peston 14m I have learned that PM met supermarket bosses at No.10 this afternoon & urged them to go public on how prices would rise in indie Scotland
A turnout of 80% would mean that almost half the voters did not vote at the last Scottish elections. These people are not just the poor, for example I did not vote. This is why the final result is still very hard to predict. I am a big believer in just taking unweighted votes from the polls and the results from mock elections. At the moment that still suggests a No win.
40-55% is quite a wide band. I'm sure Labour would be delighted with the latter. Less so, with the former. It'll be interesting to see if the Conservative vote collapses in favour of UKIP.
Referring to the background to the 1707 Act is not particularly wise.
Scotland had invested around half its liquid assets in the Darien project as we know.
No one made them invest such a huge fraction of the national wealth in a dodgy venture. You lot are gamblers - would you invest half your wealth in a very risky venture?
Robert Peston @Peston 14m I have learned that PM met supermarket bosses at No.10 this afternoon & urged them to go public on how prices would rise in indie Scotland
Yes, 7 marks out of 10 to Spreadex for trying. Usually they are frit, frit, frit in terms of leading the field and invariably lag well behind Sporting, always waiting for them to show their hand first. That said, their offering can hardly be described as generous with a full 2% spread on both the YES and NO percentage share of the votes, when realistically both can be assessed with probably a 90% accuracy within a 10% range (i.e. Yes 42% - 52%, No 46% - 56%) Leave well alone is what I say!
Surely your bands of 90% accuracy ought to at least have ends that add up to 100? eg Yes 44%-54% No 46%-56%, or Yes 42%-52% No 48%-58%
And yet you are posting at 16:44. Liquid lunches have obviously been tamed since my day.
Well Mr metre of ale for breakfast Southern wuss, I may well be down your way soon, as I have to go to Brighton so if you;re about I'll see if you can get past 12.05 p.m. without falling over
get your excuses in now ;-)
I very much look forward to it Mr. Brooke. Brighton is, as you probably know, pretty much a dump these days but there are still a few decent watering holes around if you know where to look. I suggest we start in the Nelson in Trafalgar Street (just down from the Station and a Harvey's pub) at about midday and take it from there. Just let me know the date.
"Scot goes Pop has similar thoughts about the Survation poll as I do"
Just read James's blog and its very good. A great shame that he was lost to this site and i'd suggest if at all possible he's encouraged to come back at least for the next week and then when it's over perhaps a guest article?
Unlikely given the articles slaughtering the PB mods personally
I went over to the site the other day. He seems to have a mild obsession with Mike - and me. "A certain Cornish sex memoirist", is his oft-repeated phrase.
He is, however, quite astute, albeit biassed, as others have pointed out.
Certainly gives far better reports and dissection of polls than anyone on here by a country mile.
Comments
Very North Korean
Don't worry, we still regurgitated tweets every few seconds to keep us abreast of the situation.
The evidence suggests a verdict of culpable homicide ( manslaughter), the reason being that all four shots fired were in one direction downwards. There does not appear to have been a deliberate act of shooting someone directly. But firing shots at a locked door would be considered a negligent act and would not be seen as reasonable by anyone.
I think the case has been adjourned because the Judge had other things to attend to and there would not be enough time today to reach a final conclusion.
Unless you have sat through all the evidence and are an expert in SA law, it is difficult to comment. I go by what the legal experts say, who are watching the proceedings.
And we all thought that you were in the NO camp !!!!!!!!!
Old faint resentments from the clearances of the 18th century, romantic views of past rebellions - the Jacobites, Bonnie Prince Charlie and so forth - were an ideal fertilizer to foster dislike of anything south of the border and it worked. It was spectacularly successful. It ignored facts, it ignored the lessons of history, it ignored the changes in England and it become a wonderful starting point for the YES brigade to waltz in and promise a modern rebellion, snatching the legend out of Labour's control with a modern Bonnie Prince Charlie coming back from
exileretirement and leading the way.It has not worked on every Scot, but it has worked on enough people to give YES a credible chance of winning.
That said, their offering can hardly be described as generous with a full 2% spread on both the YES and NO percentage share of the votes, when realistically both can be assessed with probably a 90% accuracy within a 10% range (i.e. Yes 42% - 52%, No 46% - 56%)
Leave well alone is what I say!
Now - behave yourself....
Agree wholeheartedly - but what really gets me is that whilst Scotnats have their heads up their kilts there are countries and communities being torn apart in the most murderous fashion in the Middle East and the Ukraine for irreconcilable ethnic and religious reasons. All it seemingly takes to sway votes here are a couple of ill-chosen words from third rate politicians. Shallow, selfish, myopic, stupid and unnecessary - and doomed for failure. Scotland - don't f**k up my country!.
PS It's weird being able to predict polls by the financial markets. The fact that we don't usually do it show how little difference there is between the parties in normal elections.
'cult of leadership' - yes I suppose. Maybe that first 'l' should be an 'n'.
But leader worship rarely ends well. Just transalte the word into German!
http://news.postimees.ee/2916787/evidence-border-was-violated-from-russia-into-estonia
Salami slices.
When he realised how unpopular this had made him, rather than realise the impact of his own behaviour, he decided to see himself as the victim instead - he thought everyone else were the ones with the problem. He therefore left of his own accord.
He probably suffers from mild Aspergers.
The worrying thing is that the more banks and other large institutions say they will relocate to London, the more the typical Scot is likely to respond by saying "fcuk you" and do the opposite i.e. vote YES.
Now it really comes down to GOTV. I suspect that if next Thursday is as sunny a day as today has been throughout most of Scotland, there will be a bumper turnout and the higher the turnout the more likely YES will win.
It would be interesting if there is any information on the % of postal votes already returned. Mine apparently arrived on Tuesday while I was away so it went back today.
- Shetland islanders overwhelmingly rejected devolution in 1979, but recent times have seen a shift towards independence. http://news.sky.com/story/1333933/scotland-yes-vote-gaining-ground-on-islands
In Scotland there is also a historic Highland league and now a Lowland League but I don't think this means we need to split into two.
For roughly three decades the Conservative Party's obsession with the union has struck me as a weakness, and I still cannot see much logic behind it. Apart from mushy sentimentalism such as Cameron came out with (albeit eloquently) yesterday, and Tartan Tories from either Morningside or Pitlochry, I still cannot see much coherence to beating a union drum. OK, so we speak the same language but then that's now true of most of the world.
Was Mrs T much of a unionist, I forget?
Turnip Punt?
I'm not sure you're being entirely serious, and IANAE, but in the case of soccer I guess it dates back to the formation of organised football.
For the first twenty years the players were part-timers, and could not be expected to travel too far if they had to be back at work on a Monday. Travel from London to Newcastle took far longer than it did today in Victorian times, yet alone through the wild expanses from there to the central belt.
The English FA was formed in 1863 by a series of London clubs, most now extinct., using modified versions of the Cambridge rules (note, not Oxford rules, for Oxford never rules). Ten years later, some clubs in Scotland bandied together to form the Scottish FA. Again, they were local affairs. It also explains why Berwick lay in the Scottish league: it was easier to travel to east of Scotland competitors than north of England ones.
It is the nature of the beast that, once established, such organisations protect their turf with religious zeal. There were still cost and travel time issues, and merging them made little sense, even as transport links improved.
I know little about the various rugby codes, but I bet the same sort of things happened there.
Basically, if the sports were being started nowadays with modern communications and transport, there would probably be a GB-wide national league. But that isn't where they started.
I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum today with 3 people all fairly well placed in the financial community and one with a subsid in Scotland. Straw poll said :
1. astonishment that Scots have suddenly lost their senses and take Salmond at face value
2. If a Yes , Fk 'em and a hard negotiation, no CU, no Mr nice guy, protect our interests
3. If No, sod Devo Max if we can't get a similar deal
4. Any Scot imagining no consequences will have a shock when money moves south and anybody leaving cash in iScotland is mad. Scoittish notes will be as welcome as ebola
5. Really , aside from just hating the English, have Scots really lost their marbles ?
Cornish, Yorkshire and Northumbria demands for more regional autonomy can simply be addressed by devolving more powers to traditional English counties.
http://www.comres.co.uk/poll/1209/itv-border-south-of-scotland-independence-referendum-poll.htm
Will be intersting to see their next results
http://www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/Election4castUK
Betfair too short on Lab most seats if this proves correct
As regards the Scottish voter the late Tim used to more or less end his contribution on the Indy Ref debate with the word women. So is the typical "fcuk you" Scot you mention likely to be a man while their more level headed women will worry about the job implications and vote No. Incidentally do you reside in a more Nationalist area than average?
Scotland had invested around half its liquid assets in the Darien project as we know. Queen Anne's London government was determined to ensure Darien would not succeed and therefore prohibited any English colony in the Americas from coming to the aid of the Darien pioneers, even as they were dying of starvation and malaria.
The English navy also blockaded many of Scotland's ports to restrict the access of Scottish merchants to their traditional markets in France and the Netherlands.
By 1706 the English government had brought Scotland to its economic knees and at that point the English parliament in effect offered to pay-off the losses of the members of the Scottish parliament if they voted YES to what became the Act and Treaty of Union 1707. Even at that stage the overwhelming majority of the Scottish people opposed the union and we know the writer Daniel Defoe acted as an English spy and reported about the riots in Scotland against the Union.
It was blackmail and bribery which persuaded the Scots to sign up. Certainly thereafter Scots thrived in the new politically unified country, so much so that the majority of Scots opposed the Jacobite Risings and supported the Hanoverian cause, either actively or passively.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
I can only imagine the consternation in Cardiff if the handout economy of Wales suddenly had to pay for itself.
Trust me, they'd never forgive you for that west of the Severn.
In reality, of course, it won't happen. But once Scotland kills the UK the best thing for England would surely be to go it alone. We could leave the Celtic fringe to the EU perhaps.
1/3 The Govt has published its Recall Bill. As before, it is a weak pretence at reform: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2014-2015/0094/150094.pdf …
Expand
Full Bill can be read above.
"I had a delightfully liquid lunch in Brum"
And yet you are posting at 16:44. Liquid lunches have obviously been tamed since my day.
While she was PM I met PM Thatcher on many occasions. She annually came to Moray to visit her friend and ally Lord Laing (of the biscuit empire) and I was one of a number who were summoned to meet her for 1-2-1 discussions about "how things were in Scotland".
People conveniently forget that under Margaret Thatcher's premiership, the greatest transport improvements in Scotland in the past 40 years took place. Almost all the current sections of the A9 which are dual carriageway were built as were all the bypasses between Stirling and Inverness. The Dundee to Aberdeen road was largely made up to dual carriageway and the M8 became a full dual carriageway. She also spent £billions on Glasgow's housing with such initiatives as GEAR (Glasgow Eastern Area Renewal). When she became PM Glasgow had a greater % of council housing than Moscow and only 25% of Glasgow's 130,000 council tenants paid full (subsidised) rent.
Mind you I should warn you the last time I had a liquid lunch and took the train back to Leamington I woke up in Paddington !
But I was young then. ;-)
I honestly see no need for regional assemblies in England. You do not need political identity to have local/regional identity or cultural traditions. Any variations in those can be dealt with through strengthened counties - which have been under attack ever since 1972 - and possibly before.
Better to be frenemies within the UK when our Dad is bigger than yours.
+More than 80% of the voters at GE2010 voted for left leaning parties.
+Public spending in Scotland typically is 7% to 10% higher as a % of GDP in Scotland.
+Public sector employment as a share of workers is much higher in Scotland than England.
+Govt spending per head is £1,500 higher there than England.
Now, Conservatives may view this as economic madness, but most in Scotland do not and most of their Leaders do not. It is just an irresistible drive to create a socialist paradise.
So let them.
Some facts from
http://conservativewoman.co.uk/nick-wood-england-scotland-separated-years-ago-union-empty-shell/
Rules was wonderful about that, the waiters just work round you and then hand you another menu about 6pm...
get your excuses in now ;-)
There were English threats and refusals to trade but it was the Spanish who seem to be the main cause of Darien's downfall.
By-Election forecast
I have learned that PM met supermarket bosses at No.10 this afternoon & urged them to go public on how prices would rise in indie Scotland
Good anecdote.
@chrisdeerin: 2. picks fight with BBC political editor to avoid answering tricky questions;
Make of that what you will.
"There were English threats and refusals to trade but it was the Spanish who seem to be the main cause of Darien's downfall. "
That's what the b*stard English historians say!!!
Seriously, I always thought the main cause of Darien's downfall was the half-arsed nature of the project itself.
can't see the Spanish being overkeen to help iScotland
In rememberance of 9/11 and other sad times.
Nothing yet from Rupert Murdoch.