Nor will it damage other countries. The sun will continue to rise and set, even while George Robertson mutters on about the @forces of darkness"
The U.K. is definitely NOT an island. Strong navy? No surface ships based in Scotland. Not much strong defence going on there. Sending a ship up from Portsmouth because you’ve (not you personally - you as in Navy chaps/chapesses) heard about it via Twitter isn’t enormously impressive.
Actually 59 M.P.s in Westminster who wield not very much influence at all, being, you know, 59 out of 650 M.P.s
I suspect that if the ships can be built cheaply in Scotland, BAe will build them in Scotland. If they can be built cheaply in Portsmouth (somewhat questionable) then they will be built in Portsmouth. Economics and EU regulations will seeto that whether or not Scotland is independent.
But as I say, it is a flea bite on the whole economy, easily made up for by extra industry gained by cutting corporation tax and re-industrilising with modern industry.
So far as its own defence goes, in the same way that Europe and the UK hide behind the might of the US because the US needs to protect Europe, smaller European countries will be shielded by the larger ones because of their strategic interests. I doubt that we will be as neutral as Ireland, but we will be Nuclear free eventually, and will mainly require oil and fishery protection and peace keeping troops. If we do not protect the North Atlantic with our own interceptors and surveillance, Rump UK and France and Germany will still have to, because it will still need to be done. Additionally we will not need any troops for foreign adventures such as Iraq, Afghanistan or whatever the next Great Game invasion is.
I was alluding to the habit of the SNP leadership in Scotland to dismiss any claim that some of these independence issues might be difficult to solve as ‘not a problem’. This is plainly not the case and when the consequences become clear I would expect a good deal of resentment to surface.
The Scottish temper is quite famous. I would like to see some of these guys return to give the SNP the benefit of their wisdom.
Now lets see, which nation has been banned from European Soccer competition because they are a load of vengeful thugs, and which are widely welcomed as men in skirts.
If you want to trade stereotypes…take care. Glass houses etc.
How, exactly do you think it works? They don’t all turn up at once for every vote. The Scots MPs have significant influence as is clear from the number of ministers that have found their way to highest political offices in the UK including the former Prime Minister.
I see, nuclear submarines, don’t count then? Ship building and repair capacity is a major defence asset.
The UK is one big island and lots of smaller ones.
The fact is there is a land border between England and Scotland, so the defence policy of one has a direct bearing on the other.
NATO/UK Military protect Scotland from whom? Who, other than the US or maybe the rump-UK could invade Scotland? For that matter, what conventional army is going to attack England any time soon?
You may not have noticed, but those old foes, the Russians, are getting a bit leary again.
Continental Europe regularly goes through periods when one power or another tried to take over the whole gaff.
The UK has been threatened twice by Germany and once, most recently, by Russia in the last century. In previous centuries we had France, The Dutch and Spain.
It kind of happens from time to time and it is the job of defence strategists to predict and mitigate these threats. Being a maritime nation whose prosperity depends on the continuity of free trade, these considerations are important.
Moreover, I believe there are still a number of nuclear missiles pointed at the UK from the East and good number of them intended to devastate Scotland. Or at least that was the plan.
Maybe Mr Salmond could come to an agreement with Mr Putin and convince him that it is the best interest of Russia to engage with Scotland on a positive bi-lateral basis and come to an equitable agreement which would involve the removal of the UK nuclear deterrent capability from Scottish territory. I am sure he would get a considerate and sympathetic hearing. Best of luck with that one!
It is a nasty world out there, full of awful surprises. It is well advised to be prepared and be vigilant. Scottish Nationalist foreign policy seems to have a rather complacent view of the world which seems to ignore the lessons of history. The nuclear capability of the Trident submarines in Scotland is part of the balance of power that has preserved the peace in Europe for 50 years. If Faslane becomes unavailable, a new base will have to be found.
This is an issue that compasses rather more that just the parochial concerns of Scotland and the rather vain hope that this is a UK problem, in which they need not be involved.
Referring to Scottish concerns about Nuclear weapons and military adventurism as “parochial” is the sort of comment that makes Scots gnash their teeth at condescending outsiders- more grist for the mill of Scottish petty nationalism.
Every time an opponent of Independence uses such derogatory lanuage, the Yes vote increases.
Still doesn’t explain why Finland, a country that shares a border with Russia and has been invaded across the border before, doesn’t need to be a member of NATO. It seems to me that NATO membership is not essential if you can play your cards well
And we have the history of Ireland which also shares a land border with the UK and used to be seen as a key strategic asset to guard the western and Atlantic approaches.
The Scots can always be easily outvoted when Scottish interests differ.
The Atlantic Isles are an archipelago with two modern States- The Irish Republic and the UK. They share a land border. After independence there will be three modern states sharing land borders. [pedant] IOM, Jersey, Guernsey, Sark are not part of the UK [/pedant]. With the exception of the IOW most larger islands are Scottish- Hebrides, Western isles, Orkney, Shetland.
I dont’ think the Irish Republic would like the characterisation of their island as similar to the other British islands- careful!
I’m all for Scottish independence, as a way to weaken and humiliate the English.
I think they have been very naughty indeed for the last three hundred years or so, and am delighted about the fact that their strangehold on the world has been slipping since WWII. Scotland breaking free would seem like yet another step in the right direction.
"ALEX Salmond is on the brink of securing a historic victory in the referendum, according to an exclusive poll suggesting Yes Scotland needs a swing of just over 2 per cent to win independence.
A landmark ICM survey for today’s Scotland on Sunday reveals a decline in the No vote from 46 per cent to 42 per cent over the past month. Over the same period, the Yes vote has remained steady at 39 per cent, resulting in a significant tightening of the gap between the two sides.
When the 19 per cent “don’t knows” are excluded from the equation, the No vote stands at 52 per cent, with 48 per cent in favour of Scotland going it alone. This is the highest level of Yes support to be recorded by an independently commissioned opinion poll."
The Herald is grasping at straws. The Yes vote has increased by 30% over the past few months and the No vote has shrunk. Many many are still undecided- there is much to play for.
I do wish that the Better Together lot would admit that a decision for Independence would be honourable rather than some sort of fix. The Yes campaign at least trusts the people to make a decision and does not criticise the goal of the No campaign.
