This isn’t a message board where controversial ideas by themselves are going to shock anyone, but since I see that you’re new I’ll mention it’s convention if you have an issue like this that you want to discuss you should start a thread of your own. While vaguely related to the United Kingdom, your topic is so far away from the topic of the UK’s splitting up that most would see it as a thread hijack to discuss it here.
If I was English I’d probably just let the Scots break off. I’d put certain stipulations in place, though. I don’t know enough about the UK’s military to speak intelligently, but any seriously important military facilities I’d demand 99-year leases or some such.
Over the years the goal would be to move these important facilities out of Scotland, but I wouldn’t want to dick up the military effectiveness of the UK over Scotland having a temper tantrum, so I’d insist on a very long period in which the UK essentially had full use of its current military bases in Scotland. The phase out would basically give the UK a long time (more than a generation) to build bases elsewhere. The deal could also provide for the Scots buying the bases out but it would have to be at some fair price (and thus unlikely tiny independent Scotland could afford it…but the option would be there.)
As for North Sea oil, since Scotland is a relatively small part of the UK relative to England, I see no reason Scotland should get some huge section of the North Sea Exclusive Economic Zone currently given to the UK.
Right now the North Sea EEZ of the UK is divided into blocks and licenses are given out for those blocks. I would firstly require that any licenses currently given must be respected going forward, Scotland will have no right to just unilaterally nationalize blocks and take things from established companies that have developed these fields.
Secondly, I would divide up the EEZ in blocks relative to the population of the two countries. So the UK would get some 92% of the blocks in the current EEZ and Scotland would get the remaining 8% of blocks. However I would mandate that Scotland’s 8% be North of whatever latitude Scotland starts at–so Scotland’s blocks would be closer to Scotland and also I believe the most oil rich parts are north as well so this would be to Scotland’s economic benefits.
It may seem harsh to Scotland, but I see no reason why a country of some 57m (the UK minus Scotland) that has invested heavily in the North Sea should have socialists up in a country of 5.5m people take a bunch of EEZ rights that have mostly not been developed by Scottish companies and persons but British ones.
The idea of independence has come up before. And didn’t go anywhere (obviously)
I think that the more people learn about the complexity and pitfalls of independence, the more people will get put off the idea.
Agreed. Given the British budget crunch and the Euro economic crisis, as well as the dwindling significance of North Sea oil, this seems a particularly inopportune time for any part of the UK to consider secession.
I would suggest that most of the great British public and even a little ol country like oz is aware of this, the East India Company is taught about in schools, both sides.
Also why limit it to the British? Spain, Portugal, Russia, China, Japan, USA etc etc etc are all guilty of what you say.
Salmond’s proposed the referendum question today (Burns Night — coincidence, not):
Seems reasonable. What’s not reasonable, in my view, is tacking on the option of devo-max to the question. The referendum should be a straight yes/no question on independence. Devo-max for Scotland is a massive change for the structure of the UK which the English, Welsh and Northern Irish should have a say in. If Scotland goes devo-max, it basically leaves the rest of the UK supporting Northern Ireland whilst Scotland gets to keep all its tax revenue, enjoying the benefits of the Union whilst not paying anything for it (like using a currency that’s backed by the full faith and credit of 60 million English below the border), or the other home nations have to follow suit, setting up their own autonomous Parliaments with tax collecting powers, along with a federal government.
I can’t see how anybody can support Scotland, a tiny fraction of the UK, being able to “wag the dog” on the structure of the Union like this.
What makes you think the Bank of England would support the currency of a fully autonomous and politically independent Scotland? I think it kind of goes without saying that Scotland would be on its own, currency-wise.
What? They’d be on their own currency wise if they went independent. But I’m talking about “devolution max”, the proposition that Salmond is trying to get tacked on to the referendum ballot, and most Scots support (as far as I can tell), which basically allows Scotland to keep all of its own tax revenues. In other words, they become a virtually independent state within a state, but with the UK government still controlling defence, foreign and monetary policy.
Well, yeah… and who else would benefit from that? I highly doubt Westminster is going to allow Scotland to dictate the terms on which it remains in the Union.
That was my point. There’s a big debate over it at the moment, with Cameron trying to force a yes/no question and Salmond trying to paint this as Westminster interfering in Scottish affairs.
Oh, I see. Um… I agree!
Which he has a right to do - Scotland is still a part of the UK and Cameron is the head of the UK government.
I don’t see this going too well. I like the flag. Would we have to redesign the flag for Britain if Scotland got independence?
Probably, but I’m not sure the British flag is really the main reason why we would or wouldn’t have independence for Scotland.
It’s their obsession with deep frying things that’s the critical issue here.
I think the key point is that our two peoples, collectively, would have twice the chance of winning the Eurovision Song Contest in future. Of course, two times zero is still a very small number, but at least we would expand the Anglo-Irish-Maltese voting bloc by one member.
Hey we don’t need your help. We’ve won it seven blasted times.
I say they start flying this flagin Scotland.
I’m fairly sure I have never deep-fried anything, although perhaps you know better.
Heheh - I remember a good “Father Ted” episode that addressed that very problem. 
Of come on hen, it was some good natured ribbing. 
And in other news, apparently Wales could be next. Don’t see it happening myself, Wales just doesn’t have a strong enough economy to give it the standard of living it has in the UK.