DC has about the same population as Delaware, slightly less, so if it did become a state that means it would have only 1 US House Representative as Delaware does anyway and 3 EC votes as Delaware does, so unlikely to make much difference at the House and Presidential level.
The main difference would be in the Senate if it got 2 out of 102 Senators in an expanded Senate
Bigger population than Vermont or Wyoming. Just saying.
Who also have only 1 US Representative but 2 US Senators, so that does not change the point
Mr. Divvie, it is ironic to hear Brown come out with that, given the divisions have been increased (cemented?) by the devolution Labour thought would give them a fiefdom forever, and the system they contrived is now making it easier for the SNP to retain their dominance of Holyrood.
It is, given Brown seems to think that the Kilbrandon Commission initiated in the 60s was the last considered examination of the constitution and devolution. That he had the opportunity to do similar in his 11 years as chancellor and then pm seems not to have occurred to him.
That is true.
But he is right, we don need to rethink the whole system of government from the guts up. Local government is a mess, national government is a bigger mess, and the devolutionary settlement is a complete failure. Removing the House of Lords, on its own, is an urgent matter and yet it's not the most serious problem.
And that's true whether or not Scotland becomes independent.
Not sure that there’s a great record for ex PMs getting anything much done (aside from writing crappy, self excusing memoirs) let alone root and branch constitutional reform of the UK.
Oops, I forgot about the Middle East peace envoy.
I'm not saying he should chair it. But I'm saying one is needed, preferably chaired by a senior non-party or at least independently minded figure. Betty Boothroyd would have been ideal, but is probably too old. The problem is I can't think of an obvious alternative. It couldn't be combined with the Speakership, which lets out Hoyle.
A beautiful if very cold morning. Nice to see the sun up already; fifteen minutes earlier than in December which, added to the forty five minutes in the evening, means already an hour’s extra daylight. Spring is coming!
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Win or lose this test, this tour is a personal triumph for Joe Root. Averaging over a hundred, managing a weak spin attack like they're Warne and Laker, and superb outfielding except he dropped a couple himself this morning.
He's answered every doubter about as emphatically as it's possible to do.
And Chris Silverwood should be pretty smug as well.
DC has about the same population as Delaware, slightly less, so if it did become a state that means it would have only 1 US House Representative as Delaware does anyway and 3 EC votes as Delaware does, so unlikely to make much difference at the House and Presidential level.
The main difference would be in the Senate if it got 2 out of 102 Senators in an expanded Senate
"unlikely to make much difference at the House and Presidential level" - especially true at Presidential level where it is already covered by the EC
Yes you are correct it already has 3 EC votes, so the only difference of any relevance would be in the US Senate and hence McConnell will remain strongly opposed as it would be a safe Democratic state
England need 164 to win. Can Crawley and Sibley hang in there for a bit this time?
Who needs Ben Stokes?
We can but hope. Their problem is they're great against seam but spin obviously came as a big surprise to them. Have they ever played in the subcontinent before? It doesn't look like it.
Again, Lawrence looked very organised against spin in the last Test, which is unusual and encouraging for an English player.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
The Redwood hath pronounced on the issue of the day. Can we expect a rendition of Address to a Haggis in strangled Scotchness? I wonder if the indiscriminate weird double spacing in his tweets reflects his dislocated thought processes?
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
Hadrian's Wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
England need 164 to win. Can Crawley and Sibley hang in there for a bit this time?
Who needs Ben Stokes?
We can but hope. Their problem is they're great against seam but spin obviously came as a big surprise to them. Have they ever played in the subcontinent before? It doesn't look like it.
Again, Lawrence looked very organised against spin in the last Test, which is unusual and encouraging for an English player.
England need 164 to win. Can Crawley and Sibley hang in there for a bit this time?
Who needs Ben Stokes?
We can but hope. Their problem is they're great against seam but spin obviously came as a big surprise to them. Have they ever played in the subcontinent before? It doesn't look like it.
Again, Lawrence looked very organised against spin in the last Test, which is unusual and encouraging for an English player.
Nets with Simon Harmer, of course.
Yes - that would make total sense.
Although Sibley must have had nets against Jeetan Patel.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hopefully the British negotiating team have learned something from the EU and their sequencing of talks, so the first two items on the agenda would be the debt and the border.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hopefully the British negotiating team have learned something from the EU and their sequencing of talks, so the first two items on the agenda would be the debt and the border.
What about the currency? That's much the thorniest issue for an independent Scotland however you cut it.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
At that point the bitterness would be such that both sides would welcome it. The English will be vindictive in the extreme in the separation negotiations and the Scots will exercise their legendary capacity for taking umbrage.
The remaining part of D.C. used to be part of Maryland. Until the 1860s the District was a square, but the half south of the Potomac was retroceded back to Virginia. I would have thought the historical precedent would be to return what is left to Maryland - save for the small Federal area proposed. Puerto Rico has a far more obvious claim to statehood - it is hard to describe the island as anything but a US colony.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
Such borders are only necessary as long as they are needed in the Irish Sea and at Dover.
The Anglo-Scottish border is only a nightmare if England chooses for it to be a nightmare elsewhere.
The remaining part of D.C. used to be part of Maryland. Until the 1860s the District was a square, but the half south of the Potomac was retroceded back to Virginia. I would have thought the historical precedent would be to return what is left to Maryland - save for the small Federal area proposed. Puerto Rico has a far more obvious claim to statehood - it is hard to describe the island as anything but a US colony.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
The Romans did. Their influence extended beyond the Wall, which was more designed as a customs post and linear barracks than a boundary
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hopefully the British negotiating team have learned something from the EU and their sequencing of talks, so the first two items on the agenda would be the debt and the border.
What about the currency? That's much the thorniest issue for an independent Scotland however you cut it.
Maybe, but that’s an entirely Scottish problem that doesn’t require the rest of the U.K. to agree anything.
A beautiful if very cold morning. Nice to see the sun up already; fifteen minutes earlier than in December which, added to the forty five minutes in the evening, means already an hour’s extra daylight. Spring is coming!
It happened like that last year as well
Any predictions for next year?
Aye - the sun won't be seen again in Scotland. Unless there's independence.....
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
Hadrian's Wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
A beautiful if very cold morning. Nice to see the sun up already; fifteen minutes earlier than in December which, added to the forty five minutes in the evening, means already an hour’s extra daylight. Spring is coming!
It happened like that last year as well
Any predictions for next year?
Aye - the sun won't be seen again in Scotland. Unless there's independence.....
Why? Has it finally decided to go into a prolonged sulk and leave the SNP line to the National?
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
At that point the bitterness would be such that both sides would welcome it. The English will be vindictive in the extreme in the separation negotiations and the Scots will exercise their legendary capacity for taking umbrage.
The Scots could also take umbrage on their own 8% deficit, which the English would leave them to deal with without a penny more from the Treasury if they voted for independence
The Redwood hath pronounced on the issue of the day. Can we expect a rendition of Address to a Haggis in strangled Scotchness? I wonder if the indiscriminate weird double spacing in his tweets reflects his dislocated thought processes?
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
I suspect the border could be south of even Hadrian's wall - there are a lot of Northern Brits who regard themselves as having little to do with the rest of England due to lack of investment.
Boris is going to have to give Teesside and the North East a lot of money or else the boundary could be Scotch Corner (which feels appropriate)
Dr. Foxy, the NI situation is brought out about to avoid a land border, effectively. Scotland leaving the UK would create one, unless it stayed more closely tied to the UK than EU member states.
If it didn't, the NI situation might rear its ugly head as people wonder why it is that the UK gave ground to try and ease tensions whereas the EU doesn't for Scotland.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
The Romans did. Their influence extended beyond the Wall, which was more designed as a customs post and linear barracks than a boundary
The Romans also built the Antonine Wall across the central belt
DC has about the same population as Delaware, slightly less, so if it did become a state that means it would have only 1 US House Representative as Delaware does anyway and 3 EC votes as Delaware does, so unlikely to make much difference at the House and Presidential level.
The main difference would be in the Senate if it got 2 out of 102 Senators in an expanded Senate
"unlikely to make much difference at the House and Presidential level" - especially true at Presidential level where it is already covered by the EC
Yes you are correct it already has 3 EC votes, so the only difference of any relevance would be in the US Senate and hence McConnell will remain strongly opposed as it would be a safe Democratic state
It will make a difference though since aren't the 3 EC votes from DC in addition to the others at the moment, whereas if it becomes a State it's votes will be calculated as number of Representatives + Senators. So the number of EC votes will decrease by one to 537 (102 Senators + 435 Representatives).
Some other State will lose a Representative and an EC vote (though they will be reapportioning these soon anyway).
No more possibility of a tie in the Electoral College.
I suspect the border could be south of even Hadrian's wall - there are a lot of Northern Brits who regard themselves as having little to do with the rest of England due to lack of investment.
Boris is going to have to give Teesside and the North East a lot of money or else the boundary could be Scotch Corner (which feels appropriate)
That wouldn't exactly help the Scottish deficit, would it?
I have no problem with coining new words providing they're not execrable. That's a good example of the latter.
I have a number of other pet hates. 'Connectivity' is the kind of geek-speak I loathe and 'optics' is another as in, 'the optics of this don't look good.' Yuck.
Oh and another which really grates is the waffly and self-important phrase, 'That said,' beloved of some thread writers on here.
The art of good prose is not to cause the reader to stop and think about the writer.
agreed on optics.
search back for its use on here and see how many situations where 'the optics of this don't look good' had any affect on absolutely anything.
When several Welsh assembly members were having their recent naughty drink? Bad optics....
The Redwood hath pronounced on the issue of the day. Can we expect a rendition of Address to a Haggis in strangled Scotchness? I wonder if the indiscriminate weird double spacing in his tweets reflects his dislocated thought processes?
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
I suspect the border could be south of even Hadrian's wall - there are a lot of Northern Brits who regard themselves as having little to do with the rest of England due to lack of investment.
Boris is going to have to give Teesside and the North East a lot of money or else the boundary could be Scotch Corner (which feels appropriate)
Actually most Cumbria MPs and most Northumberland MPs and indeed most Scottish border MPs are now Tory
Dr. Foxy, the NI situation is brought out about to avoid a land border, effectively. Scotland leaving the UK would create one, unless it stayed more closely tied to the UK than EU member states.
If it didn't, the NI situation might rear its ugly head as people wonder why it is that the UK gave ground to try and ease tensions whereas the EU doesn't for Scotland.
In fairness, Scotland may be politically turbulent right now but it didn't have an 83-year actual civil war on the subject of union or independence.
A beautiful if very cold morning. Nice to see the sun up already; fifteen minutes earlier than in December which, added to the forty five minutes in the evening, means already an hour’s extra daylight. Spring is coming!
Noticed it so much at the weekend - sunset roughly 1700, i.e. if we'd been at the football, it wouldn't have got dark until *after* the match.
Or, if I was still working in the office, I could leave in daylight and get home before it got fully dark.
TP2 2019, I didn't commute in daylight until the last week of the term
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
Such borders are only necessary as long as they are needed in the Irish Sea and at Dover.
The Anglo-Scottish border is only a nightmare if England chooses for it to be a nightmare elsewhere.
Whole point of discussing it first, would be to get agreement that there will not be a physical border between England and Scotland.
That’s not a problem for England, but is a potential problem for Scotland if they wish to join the EU.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
Hadrian's Wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
St James Park is north of the wall; you may see this as an acceptable casualty of course.
The Redwood hath pronounced on the issue of the day. Can we expect a rendition of Address to a Haggis in strangled Scotchness? I wonder if the indiscriminate weird double spacing in his tweets reflects his dislocated thought processes?
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
I suspect the border could be south of even Hadrian's wall - there are a lot of Northern Brits who regard themselves as having little to do with the rest of England due to lack of investment.
Boris is going to have to give Teesside and the North East a lot of money or else the boundary could be Scotch Corner (which feels appropriate)
If Scotland does vote for independence there will be a lot of money not being sent north of the border the day after the vote....
The Redwood hath pronounced on the issue of the day. Can we expect a rendition of Address to a Haggis in strangled Scotchness? I wonder if the indiscriminate weird double spacing in his tweets reflects his dislocated thought processes?
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
I suspect the border could be south of even Hadrian's wall - there are a lot of Northern Brits who regard themselves as having little to do with the rest of England due to lack of investment.
Boris is going to have to give Teesside and the North East a lot of money or else the boundary could be Scotch Corner (which feels appropriate)
Actually most Cumbria MPs and most Northumberland MPs and indeed most Scottish border MPs are now Tory
The Redwood hath pronounced on the issue of the day. Can we expect a rendition of Address to a Haggis in strangled Scotchness? I wonder if the indiscriminate weird double spacing in his tweets reflects his dislocated thought processes?
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
I suspect the border could be south of even Hadrian's wall - there are a lot of Northern Brits who regard themselves as having little to do with the rest of England due to lack of investment.
Boris is going to have to give Teesside and the North East a lot of money or else the boundary could be Scotch Corner (which feels appropriate)
Actually most Cumbria MPs and most Northumberland MPs and indeed most Scottish border MPs are now Tory
Isn't there just one non-Tory - Tim Farron?
He is the sole non Tory Cumbrian MP but on current polls even that could go Tory given the collapse in the LD polling since GE19
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
'Pre-planning' is intensely irritating. Although not quite as stupidly irksome as 'pre-prepared'.
What other kind of sodding prepared is there? The prefix is already in the damned word!
Etymology is not really on your side. "Paro" means "prepare," and there's a perfectly good word praeparo meaning, prepare in advance. The example given by Lewis and Short is Livy "praeparaverat ante naves," "he had pre-prepared the ships in advance." Nothing wrong with a bit of recursion.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
Such borders are only necessary as long as they are needed in the Irish Sea and at Dover.
The Anglo-Scottish border is only a nightmare if England chooses for it to be a nightmare elsewhere.
Whole point of discussing it first, would be to get agreement that there will not be a physical border between England and Scotland.
That’s not a problem for England, but is a potential problem for Scotland if they wish to join the EU.
Indeed, England could correctly say that if Scotland wishes to stay part of the UK single market and stay out of the EU and EEA and EU Customs Union a hard border could be avoided.
However if Scotland voted for independence to rejoin the EU, the EEA or Customs Union, the border guards and razor wire would be sent to Berwick the next day
The Redwood hath pronounced on the issue of the day. Can we expect a rendition of Address to a Haggis in strangled Scotchness? I wonder if the indiscriminate weird double spacing in his tweets reflects his dislocated thought processes?
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
I suspect the border could be south of even Hadrian's wall - there are a lot of Northern Brits who regard themselves as having little to do with the rest of England due to lack of investment.
Boris is going to have to give Teesside and the North East a lot of money or else the boundary could be Scotch Corner (which feels appropriate)
Actually most Cumbria MPs and most Northumberland MPs and indeed most Scottish border MPs are now Tory
Isn't there just one non-Tory - Tim Farron?
No. Wansbeck is in Northumberland and that has a Labour MP.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
Hadrian's Wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
St James Park is north of the wall; you may see this as an acceptable casualty of course.
I suppose that if we played in the Scottish League there's a chance we might actually win something so...
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
At that point the bitterness would be such that both sides would welcome it. The English will be vindictive in the extreme in the separation negotiations and the Scots will exercise their legendary capacity for taking umbrage.
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender the home of the Archers to the porridge w*gs.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
Mr. Divvie, it is ironic to hear Brown come out with that, given the divisions have been increased (cemented?) by the devolution Labour thought would give them a fiefdom forever, and the system they contrived is now making it easier for the SNP to retain their dominance of Holyrood.
If the Sunday Times is right from Yesterday - the pro independence parties are going to have 2/3 of the seats come May. In the same way that HYUFD states that the Tories 80 seat majority is enough to stop a referendum, the 40 seat majority independence will have (216 if you expended to to Parliament's 650 seats) is enough to say that Scotland wants one.
It would not matter if the SNP won every seat at Holyrood Westminster is sovereign and we have a UK Tory majority government and when Boris righly refuses a legal indyref2 any referendum Sturgeon attempts to hold will not only be illegal but will be boycotted by Unionists. Madrid showed in Catalonia illegal referendums can be ignored as will this one. Plus the latest polling has the SNP on about 51% and 46% on the constituency and list votes, which is below where it was in the autumn and the poll yesterday had 35% for the status quo and 18% for devomax and 47% for independence, so more back devomax than independence
We already know your opinion HYFUD. Trouble is that it´s bollocks. I do not support the break of of the UK, but nothing could drive the complete rejection of the common state more than some shrill declaration from a 10 year old in Kent that the clearly expressed votes of the Scottish people should carry less weight than some self-serving Tory nonsense. You try to duck the fight by hiding behind constitutional fol-de-rols then you will get steam rollered. Scotland is mightily pissed off that ultra-hard Brexit was forced on them without a by-your-leave, and trying to force Scotland to stay in the UK would guarantee an immediate end to Westminster legitimacy.
I suppose you would then declare war on any country-say France- that de facto recognized Scotland? Your whole uncompromising position is absurd and also highly counter productive, as is noted every time you try to open up on it. The only way now to keep the common state together is to offer a joint conversation on how the country should modernize. Offering a few fig leaves, or even devo-max will fail, if there is not reform in London too- precisely because, for example, you and other right-wingers think the unwritten constitution as you choose to interpret it over-rides the Sovereign rights of the Scottish government. A Federal Britain, with codified rights being granted to English local government or governments as much as Scotland, Wales, Northern Island and maybe overseas territories is now firmly on the agenda, whether or not our Circassian Turk PM writes pro and con columns to persuade himself or not.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
So what? You said there would be a hard border along "Hadrian's Wall" with customs posts and border guards which is total crock.
The Redwood hath pronounced on the issue of the day. Can we expect a rendition of Address to a Haggis in strangled Scotchness? I wonder if the indiscriminate weird double spacing in his tweets reflects his dislocated thought processes?
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
I suspect the border could be south of even Hadrian's wall - there are a lot of Northern Brits who regard themselves as having little to do with the rest of England due to lack of investment.
Boris is going to have to give Teesside and the North East a lot of money or else the boundary could be Scotch Corner (which feels appropriate)
Actually most Cumbria MPs and most Northumberland MPs and indeed most Scottish border MPs are now Tory
Isn't there just one non-Tory - Tim Farron?
No. Wansbeck is in Northumberland and that has a Labour MP.
My original quote was referring to Cumbria, not Northumberland. Hyufd edited his after I posted.
Wish Wansbeck had fallen, as Lavery is a nasty piece of work, but he just clung on.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
Mr. Divvie, it is ironic to hear Brown come out with that, given the divisions have been increased (cemented?) by the devolution Labour thought would give them a fiefdom forever, and the system they contrived is now making it easier for the SNP to retain their dominance of Holyrood.
If the Sunday Times is right from Yesterday - the pro independence parties are going to have 2/3 of the seats come May. In the same way that HYUFD states that the Tories 80 seat majority is enough to stop a referendum, the 40 seat majority independence will have (216 if you expended to to Parliament's 650 seats) is enough to say that Scotland wants one.
It would not matter if the SNP won every seat at Holyrood Westminster is sovereign and we have a UK Tory majority government and when Boris righly refuses a legal indyref2 any referendum Sturgeon attempts to hold will not only be illegal but will be boycotted by Unionists. Madrid showed in Catalonia illegal referendums can be ignored as will this one. Plus the latest polling has the SNP on about 51% and 46% on the constituency and list votes, which is below where it was in the autumn and the poll yesterday had 35% for the status quo and 18% for devomax and 47% for independence, so more back devomax than independence
We already know your opinion HYFUD. Trouble is that it´s bollocks. I do not support the break of of the UK, but nothing could drive the complete rejection of the common state more than some shrill declaration from a 10 year old in Kent that the clearly expressed votes of the Scottish people should carry less weight than some self-serving Tory nonsense. You try to duck the fight by hiding behind constitutional fol-de-rols then you will get steam rollered. Scotland is mightily pissed off that ultra-hard Brexit was forced on them without a by-your-leave, and trying to force Scotland to stay in the UK would guarantee an immediate end to Westminster legitimacy.
I suppose you would then declare war on any country-say France- that de facto recognized Scotland? Your whole uncompromising position is absurd and also highly counter productive, as is noted every time you try to open up on it. The only way now to keep the common state together is to offer a joint conversation on how the country should modernize. Offering a few fig leaves, or even devo-max will fail, if there is not reform in London too- precisely because, for example, you and other right-wingers think the unwritten constitution as you choose to interpret it over-rides the Sovereign rights of the Scottish government. A Federal Britain, with codified rights being granted to English local government or governments as much as Scotland, Wales, Northern Island and maybe overseas territories is now firmly on the agenda, whether or not our Circassian Turk PM writes pro and con columns to persuade himself or not.
Wrong, the conservative government in Madrid refused the nationalist Catalan government even one legal independence referendum in 2017 and 4 years later Catalonia remains part of Spain. We Tories will follow the example of our PP cousins if needed.
I do however agree with you an English Parliament within a Federal UK would be a good idea
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
So what? You said there would be a hard border along "Hadrian's Wall" with customs posts and border guards which is total crock.
There would be, at Bowness that would certainly be a natural point for the border guards and razor wire, you could just move the rest a few miles north of the wall
The Redwood hath pronounced on the issue of the day. Can we expect a rendition of Address to a Haggis in strangled Scotchness? I wonder if the indiscriminate weird double spacing in his tweets reflects his dislocated thought processes?
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
I suspect the border could be south of even Hadrian's wall - there are a lot of Northern Brits who regard themselves as having little to do with the rest of England due to lack of investment.
Boris is going to have to give Teesside and the North East a lot of money or else the boundary could be Scotch Corner (which feels appropriate)
Actually most Cumbria MPs and most Northumberland MPs and indeed most Scottish border MPs are now Tory
Isn't there just one non-Tory - Tim Farron?
No. Wansbeck is in Northumberland and that has a Labour MP.
My original quote was referring to Cumbria, not Northumberland. Hyufd edited his after I posted.
Wish Wansbeck had fallen, as Lavery is a nasty piece of work, but he just clung on.
He is a bit of a knob.
But Wansbeck is my girlfriend's constituency and she's happy to still have a Labour MP!
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
So what? You said there would be a hard border along "Hadrian's Wall" with customs posts and border guards which is total crock.
There would be, at Bowness that would certainly be a natural point for the border guards and razor wire, you could just move the rest a few miles north of the wall
As in, about sixty miles from Wallsend to Berwick.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
So what? You said there would be a hard border along "Hadrian's Wall" with customs posts and border guards which is total crock.
There would be, at Bowness that would certainly be a natural point for the border guards and razor wire, you could just move the rest a few miles north of the wall
As you've been told, it's a good 60 miles from Wallsend to Berwick.
Mr. Divvie, it is ironic to hear Brown come out with that, given the divisions have been increased (cemented?) by the devolution Labour thought would give them a fiefdom forever, and the system they contrived is now making it easier for the SNP to retain their dominance of Holyrood.
If the Sunday Times is right from Yesterday - the pro independence parties are going to have 2/3 of the seats come May. In the same way that HYUFD states that the Tories 80 seat majority is enough to stop a referendum, the 40 seat majority independence will have (216 if you expended to to Parliament's 650 seats) is enough to say that Scotland wants one.
It would not matter if the SNP won every seat at Holyrood Westminster is sovereign and we have a UK Tory majority government and when Boris righly refuses a legal indyref2 any referendum Sturgeon attempts to hold will not only be illegal but will be boycotted by Unionists. Madrid showed in Catalonia illegal referendums can be ignored as will this one. Plus the latest polling has the SNP on about 51% and 46% on the constituency and list votes, which is below where it was in the autumn and the poll yesterday had 35% for the status quo and 18% for devomax and 47% for independence, so more back devomax than independence
We already know your opinion HYFUD. Trouble is that it´s bollocks. I do not support the break of of the UK, but nothing could drive the complete rejection of the common state more than some shrill declaration from a 10 year old in Kent that the clearly expressed votes of the Scottish people should carry less weight than some self-serving Tory nonsense. You try to duck the fight by hiding behind constitutional fol-de-rols then you will get steam rollered. Scotland is mightily pissed off that ultra-hard Brexit was forced on them without a by-your-leave, and trying to force Scotland to stay in the UK would guarantee an immediate end to Westminster legitimacy.
I suppose you would then declare war on any country-say France- that de facto recognized Scotland? Your whole uncompromising position is absurd and also highly counter productive, as is noted every time you try to open up on it. The only way now to keep the common state together is to offer a joint conversation on how the country should modernize. Offering a few fig leaves, or even devo-max will fail, if there is not reform in London too- precisely because, for example, you and other right-wingers think the unwritten constitution as you choose to interpret it over-rides the Sovereign rights of the Scottish government. A Federal Britain, with codified rights being granted to English local government or governments as much as Scotland, Wales, Northern Island and maybe overseas territories is now firmly on the agenda, whether or not our Circassian Turk PM writes pro and con columns to persuade himself or not.
I do not think we politically align but I congratulate you on an excellent piece and it is time HYUFD grows up or shuts up.
He does not represent my views as a conservative, and he is running a great risk of prejudicing any hopes he may have of a standing for election as a conservative as all his absurd quotes are going to come back and haunt him
I listened to Gordon Brown just now on Sky and he was excellent in defending a reformed union and rejecting narrow nationalism in Scotland
Mr. Divvie, it is ironic to hear Brown come out with that, given the divisions have been increased (cemented?) by the devolution Labour thought would give them a fiefdom forever, and the system they contrived is now making it easier for the SNP to retain their dominance of Holyrood.
If the Sunday Times is right from Yesterday - the pro independence parties are going to have 2/3 of the seats come May. In the same way that HYUFD states that the Tories 80 seat majority is enough to stop a referendum, the 40 seat majority independence will have (216 if you expended to to Parliament's 650 seats) is enough to say that Scotland wants one.
It would not matter if the SNP won every seat at Holyrood Westminster is sovereign and we have a UK Tory majority government and when Boris righly refuses a legal indyref2 any referendum Sturgeon attempts to hold will not only be illegal but will be boycotted by Unionists. Madrid showed in Catalonia illegal referendums can be ignored as will this one. Plus the latest polling has the SNP on about 51% and 46% on the constituency and list votes, which is below where it was in the autumn and the poll yesterday had 35% for the status quo and 18% for devomax and 47% for independence, so more back devomax than independence
We already know your opinion HYFUD. Trouble is that it´s bollocks. I do not support the break of of the UK, but nothing could drive the complete rejection of the common state more than some shrill declaration from a 10 year old in Kent that the clearly expressed votes of the Scottish people should carry less weight than some self-serving Tory nonsense. You try to duck the fight by hiding behind constitutional fol-de-rols then you will get steam rollered. Scotland is mightily pissed off that ultra-hard Brexit was forced on them without a by-your-leave, and trying to force Scotland to stay in the UK would guarantee an immediate end to Westminster legitimacy.
I suppose you would then declare war on any country-say France- that de facto recognized Scotland? Your whole uncompromising position is absurd and also highly counter productive, as is noted every time you try to open up on it. The only way now to keep the common state together is to offer a joint conversation on how the country should modernize. Offering a few fig leaves, or even devo-max will fail, if there is not reform in London too- precisely because, for example, you and other right-wingers think the unwritten constitution as you choose to interpret it over-rides the Sovereign rights of the Scottish government. A Federal Britain, with codified rights being granted to English local government or governments as much as Scotland, Wales, Northern Island and maybe overseas territories is now firmly on the agenda, whether or not our Circassian Turk PM writes pro and con columns to persuade himself or not.
Wrong, the conservative government in Madrid refused the nationalist Catalan government even one legal independence referendum in 2017 and 4 years later Catalonia remains part of Spain. We Tories will follow the example of our PP cousins if needed.
I do however agree with you an English Parliament within a Federal UK would be a good idea
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
Controlling borders = sovereignty. All countries have an external border of course. But we can go further. The more borders within one's country, the more sovereignty. See Kent, Irish sea.
Mr. Divvie, it is ironic to hear Brown come out with that, given the divisions have been increased (cemented?) by the devolution Labour thought would give them a fiefdom forever, and the system they contrived is now making it easier for the SNP to retain their dominance of Holyrood.
If the Sunday Times is right from Yesterday - the pro independence parties are going to have 2/3 of the seats come May. In the same way that HYUFD states that the Tories 80 seat majority is enough to stop a referendum, the 40 seat majority independence will have (216 if you expended to to Parliament's 650 seats) is enough to say that Scotland wants one.
It would not matter if the SNP won every seat at Holyrood Westminster is sovereign and we have a UK Tory majority government and when Boris righly refuses a legal indyref2 any referendum Sturgeon attempts to hold will not only be illegal but will be boycotted by Unionists. Madrid showed in Catalonia illegal referendums can be ignored as will this one. Plus the latest polling has the SNP on about 51% and 46% on the constituency and list votes, which is below where it was in the autumn and the poll yesterday had 35% for the status quo and 18% for devomax and 47% for independence, so more back devomax than independence
We already know your opinion HYFUD. Trouble is that it´s bollocks. I do not support the break of of the UK, but nothing could drive the complete rejection of the common state more than some shrill declaration from a 10 year old in Kent that the clearly expressed votes of the Scottish people should carry less weight than some self-serving Tory nonsense. You try to duck the fight by hiding behind constitutional fol-de-rols then you will get steam rollered. Scotland is mightily pissed off that ultra-hard Brexit was forced on them without a by-your-leave, and trying to force Scotland to stay in the UK would guarantee an immediate end to Westminster legitimacy.
I suppose you would then declare war on any country-say France- that de facto recognized Scotland? Your whole uncompromising position is absurd and also highly counter productive, as is noted every time you try to open up on it. The only way now to keep the common state together is to offer a joint conversation on how the country should modernize. Offering a few fig leaves, or even devo-max will fail, if there is not reform in London too- precisely because, for example, you and other right-wingers think the unwritten constitution as you choose to interpret it over-rides the Sovereign rights of the Scottish government. A Federal Britain, with codified rights being granted to English local government or governments as much as Scotland, Wales, Northern Island and maybe overseas territories is now firmly on the agenda, whether or not our Circassian Turk PM writes pro and con columns to persuade himself or not.
I do not think we politically align but I congratulate you on an excellent piece and it is time HYUFD grows up or shuts up.
He does not represent my views as a conservative, and he is running a great risk of prejudicing any hopes he may have of a standing for election as a conservative as all his absurd quotes are going to come back and haunt him
I listened to Gordon Brown just now on Sky and he was excellent in defending a reformed union and rejecting narrow nationalism in Scotland
I disagree, Big G.
He's not 'running a risk,' he's made it a stone certainty.
Mr. Divvie, it is ironic to hear Brown come out with that, given the divisions have been increased (cemented?) by the devolution Labour thought would give them a fiefdom forever, and the system they contrived is now making it easier for the SNP to retain their dominance of Holyrood.
If the Sunday Times is right from Yesterday - the pro independence parties are going to have 2/3 of the seats come May. In the same way that HYUFD states that the Tories 80 seat majority is enough to stop a referendum, the 40 seat majority independence will have (216 if you expended to to Parliament's 650 seats) is enough to say that Scotland wants one.
It would not matter if the SNP won every seat at Holyrood Westminster is sovereign and we have a UK Tory majority government and when Boris righly refuses a legal indyref2 any referendum Sturgeon attempts to hold will not only be illegal but will be boycotted by Unionists. Madrid showed in Catalonia illegal referendums can be ignored as will this one. Plus the latest polling has the SNP on about 51% and 46% on the constituency and list votes, which is below where it was in the autumn and the poll yesterday had 35% for the status quo and 18% for devomax and 47% for independence, so more back devomax than independence
We already know your opinion HYFUD. Trouble is that it´s bollocks. I do not support the break of of the UK, but nothing could drive the complete rejection of the common state more than some shrill declaration from a 10 year old in Kent that the clearly expressed votes of the Scottish people should carry less weight than some self-serving Tory nonsense. You try to duck the fight by hiding behind constitutional fol-de-rols then you will get steam rollered. Scotland is mightily pissed off that ultra-hard Brexit was forced on them without a by-your-leave, and trying to force Scotland to stay in the UK would guarantee an immediate end to Westminster legitimacy.
I suppose you would then declare war on any country-say France- that de facto recognized Scotland? Your whole uncompromising position is absurd and also highly counter productive, as is noted every time you try to open up on it. The only way now to keep the common state together is to offer a joint conversation on how the country should modernize. Offering a few fig leaves, or even devo-max will fail, if there is not reform in London too- precisely because, for example, you and other right-wingers think the unwritten constitution as you choose to interpret it over-rides the Sovereign rights of the Scottish government. A Federal Britain, with codified rights being granted to English local government or governments as much as Scotland, Wales, Northern Island and maybe overseas territories is now firmly on the agenda, whether or not our Circassian Turk PM writes pro and con columns to persuade himself or not.
Wrong, the conservative government in Madrid refused the nationalist Catalan government even one legal independence referendum in 2017 and 4 years later Catalonia remains part of Spain. We Tories will follow the example of our PP cousins if needed.
I do however agree with you an English Parliament within a Federal UK would be a good idea
I agree with you on Scotland, but the constant references and comparisons to the events in Catalonia really only seek to antagonise, rather than advance the debate.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
Controlling borders = sovereignty. All countries have an external border of course. But we can go further. The more borders within one's country, the more sovereignty. See Kent, Irish sea.
I, for one, welcome our new Cumbrian-Northumberland sovereign entity. Newcastle United are almost certain to win something there, never-mind the SPL.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
Such borders are only necessary as long as they are needed in the Irish Sea and at Dover.
The Anglo-Scottish border is only a nightmare if England chooses for it to be a nightmare elsewhere.
Whole point of discussing it first, would be to get agreement that there will not be a physical border between England and Scotland.
That’s not a problem for England, but is a potential problem for Scotland if they wish to join the EU.
Indeed, England could correctly say that if Scotland wishes to stay part of the UK single market and stay out of the EU and EEA and EU Customs Union a hard border could be avoided.
However if Scotland voted for independence to rejoin the EU, the EEA or Customs Union, the border guards and razor wire would be sent to Berwick the next day
Your comments re razor wire at Berwick are obnoxious and unacceptable
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
Controlling borders = sovereignty. All countries have an external border of course. But we can go further. The more borders within one's country, the more sovereignty. See Kent, Irish sea.
I, for one, welcome our new Cumbrian-Northumberland sovereign entity. Newcastle United are almost certain to win something there, never-mind the SPL.
Surely this would depend if Sunderland were also within the border of the new entity?
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
Controlling borders = sovereignty. All countries have an external border of course. But we can go further. The more borders within one's country, the more sovereignty. See Kent, Irish sea.
I, for one, welcome our new Cumbrian-Northumberland sovereign entity. Newcastle United are almost certain to win something there, never-mind the SPL.
Surely this would depend if Sunderland were also within the border of the new entity?
Aren't Sunderland that small and inconsequential third division club? I forget.
Have to take some comfort that two nuclear powers are resolving matters with a fist-fight.....
I would take more comfort if China didn't seem hell bent on pushing and pushing for advantage.
Good job they are not expansionist or they might cause real trouble .......
The current Chinese government is beginning to remind me of MBS in Saudi Arabia - an unpleasant regime that used to be level-headily nasty, but is starting to become aggressive and a bit nutty.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
You can never concede a point can you?
Given he still hasn't admitted getting the EU Ref turnout in Scotland wrong yesterday I think it is safe to say it is a vanishingly rare event.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Why would we put the border inside England?
Controlling borders = sovereignty. All countries have an external border of course. But we can go further. The more borders within one's country, the more sovereignty. See Kent, Irish sea.
I, for one, welcome our new Cumbrian-Northumberland sovereign entity. Newcastle United are almost certain to win something there, never-mind the SPL.
Surely this would depend if Sunderland were also within the border of the new entity?
Aren't Sunderland that small and inconsequential third division club? I forget.
However Blyth Spartans might be the danger.
Blyth Spartans are in trouble anyway - as their season is suspended pending cancellation.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
You can never concede a point can you?
Given he still hasn't admitted getting the EU Ref turnout in Scotland wrong yesterday I think it is safe to say it is a vanishingly rare event.
And his chances of standing for an mp are also vanishing
Mr. Divvie, it is ironic to hear Brown come out with that, given the divisions have been increased (cemented?) by the devolution Labour thought would give them a fiefdom forever, and the system they contrived is now making it easier for the SNP to retain their dominance of Holyrood.
If the Sunday Times is right from Yesterday - the pro independence parties are going to have 2/3 of the seats come May. In the same way that HYUFD states that the Tories 80 seat majority is enough to stop a referendum, the 40 seat majority independence will have (216 if you expended to to Parliament's 650 seats) is enough to say that Scotland wants one.
It would not matter if the SNP won every seat at Holyrood Westminster is sovereign and we have a UK Tory majority government and when Boris righly refuses a legal indyref2 any referendum Sturgeon attempts to hold will not only be illegal but will be boycotted by Unionists. Madrid showed in Catalonia illegal referendums can be ignored as will this one. Plus the latest polling has the SNP on about 51% and 46% on the constituency and list votes, which is below where it was in the autumn and the poll yesterday had 35% for the status quo and 18% for devomax and 47% for independence, so more back devomax than independence
We already know your opinion HYFUD. Trouble is that it´s bollocks. I do not support the break of of the UK, but nothing could drive the complete rejection of the common state more than some shrill declaration from a 10 year old in Kent that the clearly expressed votes of the Scottish people should carry less weight than some self-serving Tory nonsense. You try to duck the fight by hiding behind constitutional fol-de-rols then you will get steam rollered. Scotland is mightily pissed off that ultra-hard Brexit was forced on them without a by-your-leave, and trying to force Scotland to stay in the UK would guarantee an immediate end to Westminster legitimacy.
I suppose you would then declare war on any country-say France- that de facto recognized Scotland? Your whole uncompromising position is absurd and also highly counter productive, as is noted every time you try to open up on it. The only way now to keep the common state together is to offer a joint conversation on how the country should modernize. Offering a few fig leaves, or even devo-max will fail, if there is not reform in London too- precisely because, for example, you and other right-wingers think the unwritten constitution as you choose to interpret it over-rides the Sovereign rights of the Scottish government. A Federal Britain, with codified rights being granted to English local government or governments as much as Scotland, Wales, Northern Island and maybe overseas territories is now firmly on the agenda, whether or not our Circassian Turk PM writes pro and con columns to persuade himself or not.
Wrong, the conservative government in Madrid refused the nationalist Catalan government even one legal independence referendum in 2017 and 4 years later Catalonia remains part of Spain. We Tories will follow the example of our PP cousins if needed.
I do however agree with you an English Parliament within a Federal UK would be a good idea
I agree with you on Scotland, but the constant references and comparisons to the events in Catalonia really only seek to antagonise, rather than advance the debate.
It's also worth remembering that their hardcore stance on Catalan independence didn't do the PP much good in the 2019 elections. Neither did their approach to preserving controversial monuments, come to think of it.
This government could really do with someone to whisper "remember you are mortal" in their ears.
I can remember when Neil Ferguson's prediction of 500,000 UK dead, if we made NO attempt to suppress the virus, was met with total derision on here
A horrific total. Possibly the worst, per capita, in the world. Tho we will be comfortably beaten, in total numbers, by India, Mexico, Brazil and the USA
I didn't think you were around then, Leon? There was another poster fond of posting those estimates... What many on here pointed out was that those figures were a worst case do-nothing scenario. We didn't say the estimate was wrong, we said they would not happen because the worst case 'do nothing' would not happen. And much has been done and so we are where we are.
I've been a defender of Ferguson's estimates, as - I think - has @Philip_Thompson and some others. The estimates (100k under a more realistic scenario with a lockdown, then easing) have been shown to be at least the right ball park. You never expect them to be right on because at least some of the assumptions are not met - we didn't lock down and lift in the way described in the 100k estimates.
Also, as others have pointed out, the Washington model really was junk early on. Partly due to garbage in garbage out. I don't know whether it's got any better. It looks to me like an overestimate - cases are now coming down and while we'll see deaths continue high for a while due to lagging, they'll come down too. If the vaccines are anywhere near as effective as trialled at preventing severe disease, it's hard to see how we get to that figure.
Great vaccine news, with U.K. now over 10% of population, well ahead of the whole world bar two small and rich countries.
Israel over 40% now, and UAE over 25%, should start to see some useful data on effectiveness in the next few weeks.
What a stunning success story by the UK.
I do wish all my fellow remainers, who are so wont to leap on every little Brexit problem, would have the good grace to acknowledge this. And the massive contrast with the shambles in the EU.
Usual jingoistic gloating , pretty despicable as ever. Try boasting about your topping of the death table perhaps and maybe the public corruption league.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
You can never concede a point can you?
Given he still hasn't admitted getting the EU Ref turnout in Scotland wrong yesterday I think it is safe to say it is a vanishingly rare event.
And his chances of standing for an mp are also vanishing
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
You can never concede a point can you?
Given he still hasn't admitted getting the EU Ref turnout in Scotland wrong yesterday I think it is safe to say it is a vanishingly rare event.
And his chances of standing for an mp are also vanishing
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
You can never concede a point can you?
Given he still hasn't admitted getting the EU Ref turnout in Scotland wrong yesterday I think it is safe to say it is a vanishingly rare event.
And his chances of standing for an mp are also vanishing
why do you say that?
I agree, they vanished long ago.
Or to put it another way, would anyone be mad keen to see Hyufd in Parliament?
Many sterling qualities - good manners, intelligence, an understanding of polling and polling methods matched by few on this board (and certainly better than mine) - but neither the flexibility of mind nor the intellectual courage to make proper policy based on evidence, because he simply refuses to see evidence that doesn't fit his theories. That's not what you want in an MP.
Gordo Brown on R4 saying the UK will endure if the argument in defence of it is made properly followed by ‘we need a constitutional commission’ & some Orwellian ‘I’m a patriot not a nationalist’ guff. This fresh, new thinking is bound to do the trick.
The problem with the Union is that there is an ever decreasing sentiment for it, even if there is an economic case.
Union was largely driven by external threat, either because England felt threatened by the back door, hence conquest, or by the threat from France, Germany or Soviet Union giving a more positive reason to stand together.
There is simply little reason for it anymore other than accidents of history.
No nothing at all except to stop Customs Posts at Berwick, inevitable in the event of Scexit or to ensure our place in the G7 and as permanent members of the UN Security Council and protect our place in the world.
Plus of course Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland all have large deficits, only London and the SE raises more in revenue than it spends so if Scotland went independent that would mean deep spending cuts and tax rises would be required from Edinburgh to avoid Scotland going bankrupt. Dublin has also ruled out a border poll for at least 5 years as it does not want to have to fund NI anytime soon
Having now left the EU CU, the Berwick border is going to be a feature of another Scotland referendum in a way that it wasn’t in 2014.
If an independent Scotland were to join the EU, is there any possible way that we don’t have physical border infrastructure on the M6 and A1, and a rebuilding of Hadrian’s wall in barbed wire?
No there isn't, there would be a hard border along Hadrian's Wall with customs posts and border guards
Hadrian's wall is in England you pillock.
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
The wall is just 0.6 miles from the Scottish border at Bowness-on-Solway
You can never concede a point can you?
Given he still hasn't admitted getting the EU Ref turnout in Scotland wrong yesterday I think it is safe to say it is a vanishingly rare event.
And his chances of standing for an mp are also vanishing
why do you say that?
His comments on Scotland
He has only reiterated govt policy and explained the technicalities involved in it.
Comments
He's answered every doubter about as emphatically as it's possible to do.
And Chris Silverwood should be pretty smug as well.
England need 164 to win. Can Crawley and Sibley hang in there for a bit this time?
We can but hope. Their problem is they're great against seam but spin obviously came as a big surprise to them. Have they ever played in the subcontinent before? It doesn't look like it.
Again, Lawrence looked very organised against spin in the last Test, which is unusual and encouraging for an English player.
https://twitter.com/johnredwood/status/1353591535766560773?s=21
https://twitter.com/ShivAroor/status/1353570059189276672
Although Sibley must have had nets against Jeetan Patel.
The Anglo-Scottish border is only a nightmare if England chooses for it to be a nightmare elsewhere.
The highest successful chase at Galle is 268-4 by Sri Lanka.
The second highest is 99-3.
The highest by a touring side is, er, 76.
Nine.
Boris is going to have to give Teesside and the North East a lot of money or else the boundary could be Scotch Corner (which feels appropriate)
If it didn't, the NI situation might rear its ugly head as people wonder why it is that the UK gave ground to try and ease tensions whereas the EU doesn't for Scotland.
Some other State will lose a Representative and an EC vote (though they will be reapportioning these soon anyway).
No more possibility of a tie in the Electoral College.
Christ, weak lemon drink of a post.
Bruising.
That’s not a problem for England, but is a potential problem for Scotland if they wish to join the EU.
" I smiled to see that Roger Daltrey, the Leave-supporting lead singer of the Who, has joined the chorus of rock stars furious that the post-Brexit visa rules will ruin their prospects of touring across the Channel. Mr Daltrey will have to sing Won’t Get Fooled Again to himself before moving on to Boris the Spider and I Can’t Explain."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/24/bill-for-boris-johnson-brexit-is-coming-punishingly-steep?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR03LEJKoBoVe79XJ4XfRon8tdzdGpHTq-LjtTiifUkkR9LckKIfElG47qA
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-55793112
I live north of Hadrian's wall and there's another 50 miles of England north of me.
At least he scored a few runs first.
Edit - I can only find 7 scores of above 170 in the fourth innings at Galle. This is a tough ask.
However if Scotland voted for independence to rejoin the EU, the EEA or Customs Union, the border guards and razor wire would be sent to Berwick the next day
I'd agree with you if we were speaking (well, typing) in Latin.
I suppose you would then declare war on any country-say France- that de facto recognized Scotland? Your whole uncompromising position is absurd and also highly counter productive, as is noted every time you try to open up on it. The only way now to keep the common state together is to offer a joint conversation on how the country should modernize. Offering a few fig leaves, or even devo-max will fail, if there is not reform in London too- precisely because, for example, you and other right-wingers think the unwritten constitution as you choose to interpret it over-rides the Sovereign rights of the Scottish government. A Federal Britain, with codified rights being granted to English local government or governments as much as Scotland, Wales, Northern Island and maybe overseas territories is now firmly on the agenda, whether or not our Circassian Turk PM writes pro and con columns to persuade himself or not.
Wish Wansbeck had fallen, as Lavery is a nasty piece of work, but he just clung on.
I do however agree with you an English Parliament within a Federal UK would be a good idea
If we're to win, Bairstow, in what may well be his last Test, needs to come to the party.
But Wansbeck is my girlfriend's constituency and she's happy to still have a Labour MP!
60 miles =/= "a few miles".
Rein in the rhetoric will you?
He does not represent my views as a conservative, and he is running a great risk of prejudicing any hopes he may have of a standing for election as a conservative as all his absurd quotes are going to come back and haunt him
I listened to Gordon Brown just now on Sky and he was excellent in defending a reformed union and rejecting narrow nationalism in Scotland
https://www.ft.com/content/2b0dbba3-6fe8-4c2d-8cca-90e87261d436
https://twitter.com/loveeutoo/status/1353617995235528704?s=21
But we can go further. The more borders within one's country, the more sovereignty. See Kent, Irish sea.
He's not 'running a risk,' he's made it a stone certainty.
Good job they are not expansionist or they might cause real trouble .......
However Blyth Spartans might be the danger.
This government could really do with someone to whisper "remember you are mortal" in their ears.
I've been a defender of Ferguson's estimates, as - I think - has @Philip_Thompson and some others. The estimates (100k under a more realistic scenario with a lockdown, then easing) have been shown to be at least the right ball park. You never expect them to be right on because at least some of the assumptions are not met - we didn't lock down and lift in the way described in the 100k estimates.
Also, as others have pointed out, the Washington model really was junk early on. Partly due to garbage in garbage out. I don't know whether it's got any better. It looks to me like an overestimate - cases are now coming down and while we'll see deaths continue high for a while due to lagging, they'll come down too. If the vaccines are anywhere near as effective as trialled at preventing severe disease, it's hard to see how we get to that figure.
Or to put it another way, would anyone be mad keen to see Hyufd in Parliament?
Many sterling qualities - good manners, intelligence, an understanding of polling and polling methods matched by few on this board (and certainly better than mine) - but neither the flexibility of mind nor the intellectual courage to make proper policy based on evidence, because he simply refuses to see evidence that doesn't fit his theories. That's not what you want in an MP.