Scotland

I am super confused about this as well. I did some reading and found out that the proposed 'independence day' would not be til march 2016. The Scottish government are proposing that independent Scotland would keep the pound and enter into a formal currency union with the UK, so no currency issues. (This article explains more: http://yesscotland.net/news/common-sense-currency.) Last night I asked H2B if passports would be needed to get into Scotland and he laughed at me, so I think that's a no.

I don't think it's a stupid question to ask if we will need a passport. Surely we will need one? I'm very dumb about it all but if they become independent I'm assuming it would be no different to us crossing borders in the rest of Europe. My dad is Scottish but has lived in England for most of his life, will he be given a Scottish passport and will I have dual nationality? I really have no idea how it all works. Not quite sure why Scotland gets to keep the pound either. Wonder what will happen to the nhs in Scotland, assume they won't have it anymore? I have so many questions haha

I'm confused about all this too, my OH is scottish and still lives in Scotland and I plan to move up after the wedding but have no idea what it all means, not sure my OH does either!!

Google is your friend here. It's slightly more difficult with political issues as obviously you will come across sites that are biased, but you can still find most of the answers. With regard to the NHS, Scotland already has an independent NHS - Scottish parliament took control of it after devolution in 1999. So that won't be affected. Regarding citizenship, yes if you so desire you will be able to apply for dual nationality if you have a parent or grandparent who was born in Scotland. Here's the article on that: http://www.yesscotland.net/answers/who-will-be-eligible-scottish-citizenship-independence-and-future

I think if you live or plan to live in Scotland, you need to start educating yourself. It will impact you in a lot of ways and it might affect your decisions as to where to live, have kids etc. I am generally interested in this stuff, but have woefully neglected reading up on it, probably cos I'm wrapped up in wedding stuff (ironic as I'm getting married in Scotland). The differences that exist already, like the fact that the justice system has a third verdict we don't have, are fascinating.

Ah didn't know that about the nhs

Yeah, I guess an article from Yes Scotland is bound to be biased. It's the only one I could find that explained it simply. So many of them assume a degree of knowledge already! I admit I don't know what the consequences would be if the UK refused a currency union.

It's very unlikely you'll need a passport to visit Scotland, we'll probably remain part of the Common Travel Area and you currently don't need a passport to travel between Scotland, England, Wales, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.

There are no plans to change any time zones. Timezones are based on how far East/West a country is relative to London. At a push England could chose to stop changing the clock by an hour twice a year but that decision would be nothing to do with us.

The currency is a big issue. Many people believe Westminster are denying a currency union as a scare tactic so in reality we won't know what will happen until after the vote and the 18 month negotiation period begins. Either way Alasdair Darling confirmed there is nothing stopping us using the pound.

The flag, maybe they'll have a competition for a new one

I used to be a no but now I'm a very passionate yes. There are lots of reasons for my change in opinion but basically it comes down to the principle of democracy. A Scottish vote means nothing at a general election and no one votes for the House of Lords. Scotland makes up 8.5% of the population but we are only represented by 3.5% of the MPs in Westminster and the House of Lords combined. As a consequence we are often subject to policies we don't agree with even if every Scottish MP votes against them, for example the Poll Tax and more recently the Bedroom Tax were particularly unpopular up here but we were powerless to stop it. In turn poor people are being disproportionately punished for the mistakes of the rich and greedy which led to the recession. Westminster cares very little about anyone outside of London and as a consequence a growing number of Scottish voters are ready to go it alone. Lib Dems promised us voting reform and sold us up the river to the Tories. I genuinely feel like I have no choice but to vote yes if we ever want anything to change. I have yet to hear one good reason why we should stay that isn't based on fear. There will no doubt be some short term teething problems but I believe long term it is best that Scotland is run by the people who live in Scotland.

I agree with a lot of the points Kriek has made in fact she has been a source of help to me in coming to my decision.

I used to be a very determined no, to the point where the very thought of 'Alex Salmond getting his way' made me so angry that I made off the cuff remarks like 'I'll leave then' ? I don't think I ever would have, but I felt that way.

I know they say 'oh but a Yes is not a yes for Salmond, it's for Scotland' etc etc, but even still I remained unconvinced, the man infuriates me but it wasn't him alone that made me wary.

I must admit part 1 of me starting to doubt myself was in fact seeing and hearing people that I knew were once No voters, including Kriek, turning to Yes. This made me question Why? Intelligent people were changing their tune, there had to be something in it. I am angry and annoyed by a lot of the tactics on both sides, and I hate the Braveheart mentallity in a lot of the Yes voters. I wish instead of stupid debates and shouting at each other, that Salmond and Darling could just sit down and do a programme explaining their own side, answering the FAQs without drama, shouting and avoiding the questions. Why should I have to go looking for answers, they are paid to be giving the answers!!

But, sad to say this is politics, and do my own footwork I must. (Even if it is just PM'ing a few folk on facebook to get pointers of where to look!) the posts made by Yes Scotland and Better Together for the most part do not help me, they are more than biased! Megabiased? Slanging matches, just trying to discredit the other side.

I refuse to let that influence me either way. My H and I discussed this a few times over the last 2 weeks, and both did some reading. the facts are out there as I say, it's just finding them that is a pain.

Yesterday was the first time we both came out to each other and said we think we will vote yes. I have no intention of making this public knowledge, our parents are both determined No's, I know the mothers especially will not be swayed, and I didn't want to 'get into it with them'.

I won't be branding my facebook profile with a Yes sticker, or proudly putting it as my status, as much to stop arguments with my passionate No family, as to not let on to the smug Yes people (not a generalisation but a small set of friends I have that have always been Yes, but annoyingly so) but it's looking very much like I will be voting Yes, unless something drastically changes again within 18 days.

Firstly, I have to admit to a fair bit of ignorance myself. I have not read up on anything to do with either side. Whilst I agree with some of the points that Kreik and TT have made, I am a No.

Discussing this between myself and three friends we were an equal split. This scares me. Up until recently I hadn't spoken to anyone (apart from FIL) who was a Yes. He himself admitted it was only because he'd like to see it in his lifetime, but wouldn't be around for the 'fall out'. Now there are many more people who I've spoken to who say they are voting yes. I never thought that would happen!

One of my friends who is voting yes seemed to have a very narrow, selfish view of it. She believed both her and her husband's job will be safe, so that was her main concern. Not the bigger picture. When I've been thinking about it, my first concern is the country as a whole, not my job personally.

My second friend works for a bank, and since money has the central role to play, she had an interesting (and based on the facts) opinion of things. There is only one Scottish bank that is fully based and owned in Scotland now. It's a small, local one. It would technically become our central bank! The company she works for aren't based here, but would have to pull their branches out of Scotland, so their credit rating would go down. Similarily with all other banks who have premises here. It would be a huge mess. Regardless of us having the pound or not, this would happen. I don't know enough about that financial side, but creating a new central bank with no credit rating, building it up etc. etc. would cripple any industry that remain here.

We just don't have the means to sustain it. Yes, being part of the UK has disadvantages and it seems at time as though Scotland gets a raw deal but I don't think the solution is independence. I don't think the arguments against come from fear, but from reality.

I guess this is where people's opinions are split on what is fear and what is fact. I genuinely believe we do have the means to sustain it and there are plenty of financial experts who agree, including Sir George Mathewson (former Chief Executive of RBS), Professor Sir Donald MacKay former Chairman of Scottish Enterprise and Jim Spowart the founder of Standard Life. All of whom signed a list of 200 businesses in support of a yes vote.

I've read a lot of articles arguing both ways, and was very skeptical up until a few months ago, but I have yet to read anything convincing that suggests things would fall to rack and ruin. Even Cameron and Darling haven't tried to lie and say we couldn't manage on our own, they just say we're "Better together", whatever that means. I don't believe we'll be rolling in gold but equally we won't fail miserably. It's normal for a country to be independent, no country has ever left the British Empire and come crawling back a few years later. Scotland has a lot to offer in terms of food and drink industry, tourism, renewable energy, life sciences and engineering etc. We've always punched above our weight and this is more than enough to sustain our small population. We might not be richer but we'll be more in control of our local services.

I never thought we'd see a yes but the polls are getting closer and closer. If it's a no I never want to hear anyone bitching about the Tories or UKIP again

Would be a definite NO from me. Apart from being a very sad day if it came to that, I think from a financial perspective it would be a catastrophy for Scotland. I agree with the points raised in this article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnicholson/2014/03/05/5-reasons-why-scottish-independence-would-be-an-economic-disaster/

I think the term used there that Salmond 'thinks he still has the right to use the gym equipment despite giving up his membership' is it in a nutshell.

I found this document really helpful, and it tries to be as fair as it can be, and posts independent sources.

http://wingsoverscotland.com/weebluebook/

Ha yeah Ravioli I'm really not a Salmond fan either ?

Although to comment on the gym equipment remark, I think it's more a case of we're only paying for the treadmill, because that's all we ever used out of the whole gym, and it's mutually beneficial for the gym to continue to let us do so......

I genuinely respect people's choice to vote no if they firmly believe in the Union, but for the undecideds I ask this - if you were to vote no, and then the next general election left us with a Tory-UKIP coalition, would you regret voting no?

Scotland heavily relies on immigration. If England feel they need UKIP then that is up to them, but it would devastate Scottish industry if we were subject to UKIP's anti-immigration policy.

I think RR is right: On the morning of an independent Scotland the main thought would be "Oh F*ck." The reason being because by that time, I believe that many companies will have pulled their operations out of the country.

Kreik: When you mention immigration, I agree, but do you not think that if we become independent we wouldn't be as attractive an option for immigration? The best skilled people would not want to 'risk it' by coming here, surely if we are newly independent?

Salmond likes to bang on about Scotland's engineering industry, yes he's right, it is grand BUT sitting looking at our engineering department 80% of them are not born and educated in the UK. If these people no longer immigrate to Scotland, we'd have to fill the roles with people who are Scottish educated, which is great in one respect, but if they were of the right calibre they would get these jobs in the first place? What it comes down to is that we aren't producing a high enough standard of graduates as it is, before independence! If extra jobs are created, who says we will be able to get skilled people to fill them? Does he propose just shifting some folk who used to work in a bank into our engineering department?

Our American parent company wouldn't be very happy, I'd imagine because of the (at best precarious, at worst catastrophic) financial situation Scotland will be in if it becomes indepenedent. Our customers wouldn't really care either way I don't expect.

When you mention the jobs that wouldn't be lost intantly but 'relocated' etc. what if people don't want to be relocated or change jobs? Just because you have a job, doesn't make the situation perfect. I don't understand where these extra jobs will be found from? If the major banks all pull out of Scotland (as I mentioned in my earlier post) there would be tens of thousands of people out of work (or relocated - lucky them eh!?) so we'd be on a huge negative before they'd even started creating new jobs.

I think the Yes campaign is relying a lot on the in-built Scottish patriotic spirit. My pro friend said "Vote with your heart, not your head" which was one of the most stupid things I've ever heard in this whole campaign. My heart said I wanted to stay in bed this morning, but did I do it? No, because my head said I've got to get up and go to work!

I agree it's no use for those people put out of jobs that don't want to relocate, and I would also be genuinely sad for those people who would effectively be collateral damage and I don't have a definate answer for them obviously.

I did just want to say that where I work it's all about decomissioning and there are not loads of immigrants being brought in to do the job, local people have had the training and jobs have been created out of it - to do a job which will take many many years, as said earlier it's not an instant thing where the doors are shut and everyone goes away.

Yeah I too was amazed so many people weren't registered! I don't know if it was apathy, or they were a lot of youngsters, or they just don't normally care!!

All the immigrants who I have spoken to at my work think independence is a good thing. They all come from independent countries, they can't understand why people here are clinging to the remains of the British Empire when we have so many resources to support ourselves.

I studied science and engineering and now work for a massive international medical engineering company. Scottish engineering and science graduates are amongst the best in the world, this is why international students pay outrageous fees to study here at postgraduate level. All my friends who wished to continue with this field after university are in well paid jobs and many of them were snapped up to work abroad. I absolutely reject the idea that the standard of our graduates isn't good enough, it's a population issue. We simply don't have enough skilled people to fill these roles in certain areas. I believe we need more investment to increase the numbers of apprenticeships to help fill these roles. With full control of our own finances the Scottish government could offer more incentives to private companies to fund apprenticeships.

I honestly don't believe the idea that all the banks will pull out. The former head of RBS, the founder of StandardLife and others have come out pro-independence, surely they know about these things? I have a few friends who are bankers too and none of them have said all the banks will pull out. The banks themselves cannot come out as pro- or anti independence as they have to remain impartial.

I work for a huge American company and they have told us outright they could not care less what the result of the referendum will be, they are here to stay. Gas and oil won't pull out either given that the resources are physically located here. The only group I've heard of outright saying they'll leave is the Orange Order!

When I said the nuclear submarines will be relocated I didn't really mean that 8000s people's jobs will physically move to England, only 520 people are actually based at Faslane full time, the other roles are support from different organisations in different locations. All these organisations have interests in other defence and energy production projects. The decommissioning process will take years within Scotland and there's no reason why some of the people involved cannot keep working in decommissioning roles by advising other countries in future projects for both nuclear weapons and nuclear power generation. Many of the skills are also applicable in nuclear medicine. This is not equivalent to closing a coal mine where no one in the town knows how to do anything else.

With the money saved from ditching Trident we can have massive investment in things like renewable energy, better transport links and scientific research. All of which will require skilled engineers and will generate massive profit. Jobs come from investment. Alastair Darling could not name any job creation schemes that will come from a no vote and that scares me.

I too was pleased but a bit sad at the number of people registering. Why aren't they on the electoral register, are they mainly people who are from sectors of society like the homeless? I thought even if you didn't vote, you still had to be registered? I thought it was pretty similar to having a national insurance number, you were on the electoral roll? I got that all a bit wrong in my head!

My H is voting Yes,

I am swaying between yes and no.

I don't want to vote yes for the reason that i just don't think Scotland would cope on it's own at the moment.

I believe that we could be independant one day, but i don't think now is the right time. I think a more devolved parliament where we are given powers to control what matters to us whilst still having the UK as one. - I don't understand why we couldn't have had this as an option on the ballot paper.

But i don't want to vote no because as we stand just now, we're clearly not happy with the UK government and the way Scotland is controlled. We don't really have enough man power down there where it's needed.

I don't want the country to be run by a Tory-UKIP coalition either, but that's not for certain either, so it really is difficult for me to really decide.

(there is more to my thoughts, but It would take me all afternoon to write them down)

Homeless people do account for some of these newly registered voters but the majority are just people who have voted before. It is not mandatory to be on the electoral roll, you have to actively sign up and keep it updated when you move home. A great many people have never voted because they weren't interested, they though their vote didn't make a difference or, perhaps saddest of all, they didn't know how to fill out the form. Britain has a terrible literacy problem in poorer areas and these people couldn't read a form or fill it out themselves. Grassroots campaigners took the time to visit houses and set up stalls in the city centre to help people fill out the forms and post them for them.

Regardless of the outcome of the referendum, come general election time I'll be voting for whoever promises to actively create new jobs and actively help unemployed people into work rather than just squeezing their benefits and driving them further into poverty.

I am a definate No. Far to many reasons to list. The Propaganda up here at the moment is horrendous!

The fact that 16 year olds are getting to vote really winds me up - ridiculous!

We are having issues in my home village with signs being defaced!

16 year olds getting the vote is a desperate measure by Salmond. I think it's ridiculous too. Yes, perhaps if you are old enough to get married, have a full time job and children etc, you should be allowed to vote - but not when it was brought in specifically by someone who hopes the young minds will be easier to influence.

JoJo - I love how you're worry about the wee Queen!

I received an invitation to a party on Friday 19th - to celebrate our independence. ?

The measures the government have suggested in the last couple of days seem to be a bit knee jerk. I believe it's because they are worried we are going to vote yes, so are trying to bargain with us to stay.

The opinion polls are getting closer and closer. As I said before, in the past year or so I've not given it a second thought but recently I've thought "Oh sh*t, this could happen". Which is exactly how I think the government are feeling!

Please will you take Lorraine Kelly with you?

(Facetious remark alert)