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  1. #201
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    Quote Originally Posted by dirk diggler View Post
    Losing Scotland would be very bad for the Rest of UK.
    don't worry, you'll always have your share of the UK debt mountain to remember us by

    Quote Originally Posted by dirk diggler View Post
    We want to live, work and trade freely in the EU sector.
    as a net contributor?

  2. #202
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    Quote Originally Posted by malmomike77 View Post
    don't worry, you'll always have your share of the UK debt mountain to remember us by
    Yer no gettin' it.



    Quote Originally Posted by malmomike77 View Post
    as a net contributor?
    We only care about us.

  3. #203
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    ^ I know but its the other 27 you'll have to convince

    I think you'll have another go once this generation has got over Jimmy's woke trans agenda, NHS blunders and if you can produce a car ferry once every 2 decades.

  4. #204
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dirk diggler View Post
    Losing Scotland would be very bad for the Rest of UK.
    And it would be a disaster for Scotland, especially as the squealing SNP have already proven what a epic economic disaster they would have been dragging Scotland out of the union.

  5. #205
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    Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but as a racist and a bigot, your opinion is nothing flatulence to me.

    If Scotland was a burden to the crown, you would have dropped us like a bad habit a long, long time ago.

    Come get your submarines.

  6. #206
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    If was was born on the wrong side of the border, I would probably resent my Scottish neighbours like you.
    Yes, we had a shite leader but you have Will Carling, Gary Linnekar and other smug arseholes.

  7. #207
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    I've tried really hard to make sense of that.

    I give up.

  8. #208
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dirk diggler View Post
    Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but as a racist and a bigot, your opinion is nothing flatulence to me.

    If Scotland was a burden to the crown, you would have dropped us like a bad habit a long, long time ago.

    Come get your submarines.
    Au contraire, I support the majority of Scots who like being British.

    If that irks you, tough shit.

  9. #209
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    Quote Originally Posted by dirk diggler View Post
    I give up.
    don't give up Dirk, we have Jimmy II waiting in the wings, a new improved Jimmy.

    SNP’s Ash Regan threatens to declare Scottish independence without a referendum

    Leadership candidate to replace Nicola Sturgeon says majority of seats and votes in an election is enough of a mandate to split the Union


    SNP leadership candidate Ash Regan has said she would unilaterally declare Scottish independence if the party wins a majority of votes and seats north of the border in an election.


    The Edinburgh Eastern MSP pledged to fight every future Westminster and Holyrood election on independence and claim a mandate for splitting the Union if nationalist parties win the most seats and votes.


    Asked what she would do if the prime minister refuses to enter talks, Ms Regan said it has “nothing to do with the UK Government” and that she would declare independence anyway.


    Ms Regan, who launched her leadership campaign shortly before nominations closed on Friday, said Scotland is “not going to be asking anyone’s permission in order to become self-governing”.


    She insisted that a unilateral declaration would be recognised by the international community. She pledged to abandon Nicola Sturgeon’s plan to take legal action over the UK Government’s decision to block the legislation, saying: “The public will not forgive us as a party for using taxpayers’ money on something they are clearly opposed to.”


    'Voter empowerment mechanism'


    Ms Regan said the “referendum mechanism” for achieving independence has been “exhausted”, thanks to the UK Government’s refusal to allow a rerun of the 2014 vote. She also said Ms Sturgeon’s plan to make the next general election a “de facto” referendum on independence does not go far enough.


    Instead, she said a “voter empowerment mechanism” at every election would allow the Scottish people to decide when they want to leave the Union.


    “This will be a clear declaration from the people of Scotland about their intention,” said Ms Regan. “I’m sure that that will be regarded well by the international community.”


    She later accepted there would have to be negotiations with the UK Government, but added: “I want us to move past this feeling where Scotland is always feeling that they have to go and ask for permission to do things. We're a proud nation.”


    She floundered when asked to explain how an independence settlement could be reached with the UK Government over issues such as trade, the state pension, benefits, reserved taxes and defence if one side refuses to negotiate.


    Both Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, and Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, have made clear they would not regard a general election result as a mandate for independence.


    Ms Regan insisted the prime minister would go along with her plan. Asked what would happen if the UK Government refuses to negotiate, she said: “Next question.”


    In a plea to “unite the Yes movement” and “get the band back together”, Ms Regan said she can unite warring nationalists split between the camps of Ms Sturgeon, the First Minister, and Alex Salmond, her predecessor.


    In an olive branch to Mr Salmond, she said she would establish an independence convention on day one of her premiership to “unite our movement”, with all nationalist parties invited to take part, including Alba.


    Asked if there is a place for Mr Salmond “back in the fold”, she said: “He’s got his own party. But absolutely, I want to work with all the pro-independence parties.


    “We need to get the band back together. We are not going to achieve our aims as a political party that wants self-governance for Scotland if we are all fighting each other.”


    But Ms Regan argued that Peter Murrell, Ms Sturgeon's husband, should stand down as the SNP’s chief executive because of a “conflict of interest”.


    Launching her campaign in North Queensferry, Ms Regan admitted that she is the “outsider” in the contest. The other two candidates are Kate Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, and Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Health Secretary.


    SNP members will decide the winner through a single transferable vote system. The result will be announced on March 27.


    Ms Regan, who resigned as community safety minister over Ms Sturgeon's self-identification gender reforms, said she respects the First Minister's achievements but said: “Recently we have lost our way.”

    SNP’s Ash Regan threatens to declare Scottish independence without a referendum

  10. #210
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    SNP frontrunner Humza Yousaf vows to break up Britain by 'any means necessary'

    The frontrunner in the SNP leadership contest has pledged to use "any means necessary" to break up the UK if he becomes First Minister, ahead of voting opening on Monday.


    In a last-ditch attempt to woo party members before they start casting their ballots, Humza Yousaf said he would consider a snap Holyrood election to try and demonstrate public support for independence.


    He said nothing should be "off the table" and cited Nicola Sturgeon's alternative plan to use next year's Westminster election as a 'de facto' referendum.


    Under both blueprints, the nationalists would attempt to open independence talks with the UK Government if they received a majority of votes.


    But Ben Macpherson, the SNP's Social Security Minister, urged his party "go down a gear" in its separation campaign and warned "anyone suggesting there are shortcuts is not being upfront about the practical realities."


    He said it would take "potentially decades" to transfer from the UK all the necessary powers and services a separate Scotland would oversee and warned against "wishful thinking".


    Highlighting lengthy delays in the transfer of devolved welfare powers from the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), he said Scotland lacked the infrastructure to "quickly transition" to independence "in the short-to-medium term."


    'Unfit to be First Minister'


    The Tories said Mr Yousaf's intervention in a BBC interview showed he was "nothing more than a continuity candidate for Nicola Sturgeon’s failed approach", while Labour said it was "a greatest hits album of why Humza Yousaf is unfit to be First Minister."


    It came as a poll showed support for independence has fallen to 45 per cent, the same level achieved by the losing Yes campaign in the 2014 referendum, amid a bitter SNP civil war.


    In a blow to the 'de facto' referendum strategy, it found that support for the SNP in a Westminster election had fallen to 40 per cent, the lowest level in five years. The Nationalists are on course to lose 12 seats, with Labour gaining 13.


    The Survation survey, commissioned by the Charlotte Street Partners public relations agency, also suggested that Kate Forbes would be the candidate best placed to increase support for independence by winning over No voters.


    It found that Labour and Conservative supporters had a much more positive view of Ms Forbes's abilities than those of Mr Yousaf, who has faced widespread doubts about whether he is up to the job of First Minister.


    The contest will be decided on a single transferable vote system, meaning the second preferences of those supporting the third candidate, Ash Regan, may be crucial. The winner will be decided on Mar 27.


    'Any means necessary'


    Asked about how he would go about breaking up the UK, Mr Yousaf told BBC Scotland's Sunday Show: "To achieve independence, we will use any means necessary that is within a legal framework, of course."


    Referring to a pledge to let SNP members decide the route, he said: "So I've said within the first week we're going to set up those regional assemblies, empower our membership. Let's take nothing off the table, whether it's a de facto referendum, whether it's using a Holyrood election."


    Asked what bringing forward the 2026 Scottish Parliament election would achieve, the Health Secretary said: "It would be about demonstrating the fact that we have a consistent majority for independence."


    Pledging to "inspire people with our vision" for a separate Scotland, he said the taxpayer should take a stake in the next round of offshore wind leases and buy up empty homes that could be made available for the social rented sector.


    But Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour's deputy leader, said: "It couldn’t be clearer that despite the SNP machine attempting to force him on Scotland, he is unfit to hold high office.


    'Inexplicable self-promotion'


    “His threat to achieve independence ‘by any means necessary’ will be chilling words for anyone who has already seen the price patients and staff have paid for Mr Yousaf’s unearned self-confidence and inexplicable self-promotion."


    Craig Hoy, the Scottish Tory chairman, said: "Scotland has had 16 years of SNP Governments putting their endless pursuit of independence above the public’s real priorities – and all three leadership candidates have made it clear they offer no change."


    Mr Macpherson told Scotland on Sunday that the SNP should instead work “with others to build consensus, and responsibly deliver more of a gradual process of further constitutional change”.


    He wrote: "Many in the population, including in the independence movement, reasonably question if Scotland is ready, yet, to transition to full statehood. I’m not afraid to admit that such honest and important concerns have some justification.


    "The fact is – and facts matter – Scotland doesn’t yet have all the necessary 21st-century state infrastructure to quickly transition to a successful, modern independent country in the short-to-medium-term."


    'Constitutional change takes time'


    He said his experience overseeing the troubled transfer of devolved benefits from the DWP to Social Security Scotland demonstrated "the practical implementation of constitutional change takes time if it is to be done securely and effectively."


    Mr Macpherson said: “Wishful thinking and good intentions will not change that, and anyone suggesting there are shortcuts is not being upfront about the practical realities."


    He added: "Following a negotiating period, we would be in a long transitional process with the UK Government for many years, and potentially decades regarding some matters and system transfers."


    The minister concluded that it was "better to go down a gear and take the journey at a reasonably safe speed, than crash trying to rush things."


    But Pete Wishart, the SNP's longest-serving MP and chair of the Scottish affairs select committee, said this approach would "risk demotivating our core indy support."


    He tweeted: "I said earlier this week that if we are now de-emphasising independence as a short-term priority we must be honest with the party about it. It now looks like that ‘honesty’ is on its way."

    SNP frontrunner Humza Yousaf vows to break up Britain by 'any means necessary'

  11. #211
    last farang standing
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    Have a plebiscite on weather there is support for a referendum on Scottish independence. Once that's sorted let the rest of Britain have a referendum on the EU to put it to bed either way once and for all. Britain is fooked anyway and will slowly sink beneath the waves it once ruled either way. Totally self inflicted by a series of shite governments and corporate greed and an apathetic population. America will go the same way, again the victim of their own corporate greed which fueled the rise of China and will be their own downfall.

  12. #212
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    Unilateral independence might well be popular among SNP MPs, but the voters who do not want independence will simply vote with their feet and become economic migrants.

    Leadership based on independence is a convenient hiding place for nationalists who do not wish to be questioned about heath, welfare, education, defence and the economy!

    I am currently negotiating a ‘proof of life certificate’ with the UK DWP. When I informed them by email that their proof of life letter took 12 weeks to reach me, they said that international post can take up to 2 weeks to reach me. It took them 10 days to acknowledge my email, using their own email!
    Imagine transferring this system alone to SNP management?

    If the Brexit vote was predicated on a poorly informed public, what chance do the Scots have?
    Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned.

  13. #213
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hugh Cow View Post
    Britain is fooked anyway and will slowly sink beneath the waves it once ruled either way. Totally self inflicted by a series of shite governments and corporate greed and an apathetic population...
    ...dumb enough to vote for BREXIT.

  14. #214
    Isle of discombobulation Joe 90's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cyrille View Post
    ...dumb enough to vote for BREXIT.
    Remoan, remoan, remoan, get over it

  15. #215
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    God Lord! what has she done, and now a Paki Islamist is likely to get the First Minister role. It would be hilarious if it didn't pose such a threat to Independence.

    Nicola Sturgeon's gender reforms blamed for SNP losing 40pc of its membership

    Nicola Sturgeon has denied the SNP is in crisis as the party was forced to admit that more than 40 per cent of its members have quit and her self-ID gender reforms were blamed for a recent mass exodus.


    After weeks of refusing to provide the figure, the SNP said only 72,186 members were eligible to vote in the leadership contest - a drop of more than 50,000 on the 125,000 total the Nationalists boasted of in 2019.


    In an astonishing decline, the total is believed to have dropped by more than 10,000 in this year alone as Ms Sturgeon became embroiled in a toxic political scandal over her self-ID gender reforms.


    The membership tally also represents a drop of more than 30 per cent (31,698) on the last published count of 103,884 at the end of 2021, barely 14 months ago.


    Ms Sturgeon insisted her 89-year-old party was experiencing "growing pains" during the contest.


    Campaign for disclosure
    The SNP was forced to disclose the membership fall after two of the three leadership candidates wrote to Peter Murrell, Ms Sturgeon's husband and the party's chief executive, challenging him to release the figures.


    Kate Forbes and Ash Regan demanded the disclosure after their previous calls for the information were met with silence.


    Speaking after the number was finally released, Ms Regan said there had been a "significant reduction" since October last year and blamed the "fiasco" over Ms Sturgeon's Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill.


    The former Community Safety Minister, who quit over the legislation, argued the membership drop "must have been what quickened the out-going First Minister's resignation”.


    Ms Forbes' campaign team argued the sharp drop demonstrated the need for change and that "continuity won't cut it", in a pointed attack on the “establishment” candidate, Humza Yousaf.


    The leadership ballot is being carried out by elections firm Mi-Voice, with most of the voting done online. In its statement, the SNP said there were 72,186 eligible ballots in the contest, with the total excluding anyone who joined after February 15.


    An SNP spokesman said: "After many years of delivering for people across Scotland and working towards a better future as an independent country, the SNP remains the biggest - and indeed the only mass membership - party in Scotland.


    "We remain grateful to our large and committed membership for all their support which has done so much to fuel our electoral success."

    Nicola Sturgeon's gender reforms blamed for SNP losing 40pc of its membership

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