"You don’t have a vote, but you do have a voice"

[Humerous Vegetable]

You are talking complete rubbish. Any patient, throughout the UK, will have to travel to a central point for treatment, unless the NHS is prepared to pay for specialists in every general hospital in the country. My partner had to have a CABG 15 years ago, which involved a round trip of 140 miles to Kings College hosp from where we lived at the time. That's how it works. If you decide to live in Caithness, you accept that that the main specialist services will be in Inverness. The Scottish government has ensured that prescriptions are free, which they are not in England. They are doing their best to ensure services are maintained to the highest possible standards with the money they are graciously "given" by Westminster.
What proof do you have that the NHS in Scotland will not improve after independence?

[squidge]

So there you go more hypocrisy one minute you claim I'm putting your private details out when I just mention the third sector with no reference to you, now your blasting your own private Info out for all and sundry to see.

Its my info to share - not yours to use to cast aspersions.

Try sticking to the debate its about independence not you :0))

I am glad you have finally remembered that

Where is all the Money going to come from ????

Where does the money come from now? All the money raised in Scotland goes to Westminster just now. All that money will stay in Scotland. VAT, road Fund tax also will stay in Scotland. Money from borrowing will stay in Scotland. Money saved from not paying ATOS, not funding the massive number of benefit appeals, not mitigating the effects of the Bedroom Tax, money saved from Trident, money saved from the high speed rail link, money saved from London Sewer Projects will stay in Scotland; Money from the high performing industries that we have will stay in Scotland - food and drink, tourism, creative industries. Money from business growth and inward investment will stay in Scotland. Money from oil and Gas will stay in Scotland. That money will be available to spend on Scotland's priorities. This is set out here in http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/05/4084 Check it out for yourselves.

Couple of figures for you - Scotland has 8.4 percent of the population and accounts for 9.9% of all UK Taxes collected.
If we look at Welfare, Scotland currently spends less on Welfare as a percentage of GDP than the UK and most other European Countries.

How will Voters influence MPs anymore than they do now

An Independent Scotland will not have MPs nor will there be the house of Lords.

If you are asking how will the Scottish Voters Influence the Parliament of n Independent Scotland anymore than they do now then there are several ways that this is proposed. Firstly there will be prior to the date of Independence a Written Constitution.(i know i know Rags you HATE the idea of written constititution but this is what is planned - just cos you dont like the answer does not mean there is no answer.) A written Constitution will set out how our Democracy will work. It will be drawn up by the people of Scotland and work is already underway to explore the issues and how they will be represented in written constitution. The White Paper has a whole section devoted to what a written constitution means, how it will be drawn up and what is planned to include.(page 351 - if you want a copy then pm me and i will see you get one) A written constitution will bind future governments to standards set out from day one of an Independent Scotland.

Contrast this with the plan to give rights to Constituents to get rid of MPs found to be doing something wrong which was summarily dumped recently by the UK government. Finally, as it stands now, Scotland's voters are unable to make any difference to the result in Westminster. In all but two or three of the elections since the war, the result of each General Election would have been the same without Scotland's votes. in an Independent Scotland if the result is for a Green Party Majority Government then that is what we will get; if for a Tory/LibDEm coalition then that is what we will get. If we vote for a Labour Government then we WONT get a Tory/LibDem Coalition. That instantly improves voter influence in one fell swoop because if we can vote a government Scotland Chooses IN then we can vote a government OUT too.

What will low cost immigration do to the average wage of Scottish workers ???

A report today suggests that the biggest threat to Scotland's financial sector is not the lack of a currency union but the lack of skilled IT specialists over the next few years. We cannot meet those needs without immigration and the main change that is proposed in an Independent Scotland is that we reintroduce the post study visa - therefore encouraging more skilled and talented people to finish studying and go on to stay and work here. The effect of an influx of lower paid workers on other lower paid workers will really depend on how much they are paid - the plan to ensure the minimum wage is increased in line with inflation ( not happening now) and to work towards introducing a living wage will ensure that ALL workers' wages improve. I certainly dont agree that the only immigrants coming to Scotland will be low skilled and and low paid workers. That is the same sort of argument that suggested we would be standing room only when Bulgaria and Romania were able to travel and work freely within the EU - that hasnt happened.

You do get more like Mr Salmond when asked a difficult question attack rather than answer.

I will have to draw the conclusion you have no answers.

[Rheghead]

Whatever happens, yes or no, everyone should get behind the decision of the nation. If it is a No then the SNP should dissolve itself, independence is proving a costly distraction from the real problems already without being dragged up every 20 years or so.

[squidge]

just reading through the thread and noticed this post, I had missed! I find this remark very patronizing. I am starting to build a clear picture of the personality of the poster. and you have the nerve to suggest that ragnar is making personal comments!!! I see what ragner means, when he says that if you can't win the argument just accuse the opposition of bullying, and call them thick! it doesn't matter how much you simplify it, it won't make sense! you have still not answered how this new "utopian Scotland" is going to be paid for!

I am truly sorry if you thought I was being patronising - you asked questions and I answered them. You said that you did not understand what I had said so I made a suggestion that you say what you dont understand and let someone else answer them. These ARE complex issues and I may not be the right person to help you find your way through the issues. At no point did I say you were thick or suggest that you ( or indeed anyone else) is bullying me. I was not sure whether you were REALLY saying you did not understand or you dont agree with me. I humbly and utterly apologise if your feelings were hurt even though I have no idea why an offer to help would make you feel that way.

As for utopia - sigh - just like i never suggest that independence will be a land of milk and honey, I have never suggested an Independent Scotland would be utopian. Just that it offers the opportunity to change things and have something better than we have now. As for how it would be paid for - see above.

[ducati]

Whatever happens, yes or no, everyone should get behind the decision of the nation.

I don't think that will happen. If there is a yes vote and interest rates rocket, as is widely forecast, then rents will increase drastically along with mortgages, reposessions will hit an all time high as (mostly English) lenders panic and try to get out of the market. Homelesness will became much more of a problem than it is now. Scotland like everywhere else hasn't kept up with demand for social housing. Result? Civil unrest on a scale akin to Greece, etc.

In short, anyone with any kind of a life now will be ruined.

50 years from now, Eck will be as big a historical villain as you can think of.

You may think this is unlikely, I don't and I am defo. not willing to risk it.

[RagnarRocks]

An article on SNP centralisation and how it likes silence dissenters ...
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/to...wned-scotland/

God help us all if this lot get their own way .

[squidge]

Are you sure?

Edit - Thanks for changing the link - I was wondering what South Carolina's Evangelicals, a catholic and a mormon have to do with anything - There might actually be a joke in there

There was a South Carolina Evangelical, a catholic and a mormon..........

[Phill]

You are talking complete rubbish. Any patient, throughout the UK, will have to travel to a central point for treatment, unless the NHS is prepared to pay for specialists in every general hospital in the country. My partner had to have a CABG 15 years ago, which involved a round trip of 140 miles to Kings College hosp from where we lived at the time. That's how it works. If you decide to live in Caithness, you accept that that the main specialist services will be in Inverness. The Scottish government has ensured that prescriptions are free, which they are not in England. They are doing their best to ensure services are maintained to the highest possible standards with the money they are graciously "given" by Westminster.
What proof do you have that the NHS in Scotland will not improve after independence?

What a stunning statement. "If you decide to live in Caithness"
So the bairns that have been born and bred from a long line of Caithnessians must now be forced to travel many hundreds of miles for basic healthcare that has previously provided in the county is acceptable?

Where as anywhere else in Scotland and the UK its not!

Specialist centres are one thing, and to be applauded but rudimentary community healthcare should be just that, delivered in the community not over 100 miles away.

[ducati]

An article on SNP centralisation and how it likes silence dissenters ...
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/to...wned-scotland/

God help us all if this lot get their own way .

That link goes to a different article I think.

[RagnarRocks]

You mean it mentions The SNP and its apparatchiks are behaving as if they owned Scotland.

Nope its the right article does make you wonder who these paid to post people might be though.

[ducati]

You mean it mentions The SNP and its apparatchiks are behaving as if they owned Scotland.

Nope its the right article does make you wonder who these paid to post people might be though.

No, it's about Americans voting for Mormons. Unless I'm completely thick (which is quite likely).

[squidge]

No, it's about Americans voting for Mormons. Unless I'm completely thick (which is quite likely).

#


Its working now Ducati - I got the mormons catholics and evangelicals too initially

[ducati]

#


Its working now Ducati - I got the mormons catholics and evangelicals too initially

Ta......................

[ducati]

but keep one thumb firmly on the top of your head with the other hand wielding the whip

I know I know I'm only quoting a very small part of your post. But.. How long has this been going on? I have lived in Scotland for over 20 years and I've never even noticed this behaviour of the oppressors. Do they reserve this treatment solely for native born Scots? Or is it evident in particular areas because I've lived in the Borders, East Linton, Edinburgh, Lanarkshire and more recently Caithness? Or... are you imagining it?

[RagnarRocks]

Should be fairly easy to tell them by the small indentation on the top of their heads and the lash marks on their backs unless of course its all a figment of their imaginations.

[Rheghead]

The independence question should be "which is bigger, the chip or the shoulder?"

[Oddquine]

The independence question should be "which is bigger, the chip or the shoulder?"

The shoulder of the Scots is bigger...the chip on the shoulder of Westminster who can see the possibility of their place in the world being damaged by Scottish Independence and the consequences of no Trident, no oil income, an increased Balance of payments deficit etc is unimportant. They are reaping what they have sown from the days of the Union of the Crowns...and the only entity to blame for where we are now is Westminster.

[RagnarRocks]

The shoulder of the Scots is bigger...the chip on the shoulder of Westminster who can see the possibility of their place in the world being damaged by Scottish Independence and the consequences of no Trident, no oil income, an increased Balance of payments deficit etc is unimportant. They are reaping what they have sown from the days of the Union of the Crowns...and the only entity to blame for where we are now is Westminster.

Wow oddquine you're older than I thought you can remember the Union of the Crowns, that's pretty impressive what do you credit your longevity to ?

[Rheghead]

It looks like the Yes Campaign has finally collapsed, there was a poll in the P&J and only 17% were prepared to vote Yes

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/3587342

[Humerous Vegetable]

What a stunning statement. "If you decide to live in Caithness"
So the bairns that have been born and bred from a long line of Caithnessians must now be forced to travel many hundreds of miles for basic healthcare that has previously provided in the county is acceptable?

Where as anywhere else in Scotland and the UK its not!

Specialist centres are one thing, and to be applauded but rudimentary community healthcare should be just that, delivered in the community not over 100 miles away.

I think most medical and nursing staff working in Caithness would rightly be very offended that you consider they are not delivering rudimentary community health care. You appear to have a problem differentiating between "specialist" and "rudimentary". "Anywhere else in Scotland and the UK" is subject to exactly the same physical constraints, as I have already indicated in my previous post, where we had to travel into London to get specialist heart surgery, from where we lived at the time.
I think most of those who have lived in Caithness for a while, are probably a bit more realistic about what procedures should be available to them at their GP surgery or local District General.

Deathly silence on the free prescriptions then.