Scotlands Referendum could be NO vote
Scotland’s Independence vote is fast approaching, and the signs are that it could well be a ‘NO’ voteAn analysis by the UK Treasury revealed that an independent Scotland would have the second highest deficit among “advanced economies” in its first year.
The fiscal deficit of 5.5 per cent in 2016-17 would be equivalent to £9.5billion, or £1,760 for every man, woman and child in Scotland, the calculations suggest. The total would be about £1,000 more than the UK ¬deficit per head in the same year.
The prediction contradicts Scottish Government estimates of a deficit between 2.5 per cent and 3.2 per cent.
Earlier this week the National Institute for Economics and Social Research warned that an independent Scotland would immediately have to repay a £23billion first installment of its share of UK National Debt in its first year.
The £9.5billion, added to the £23billion totals £32.5billion – more than the Scottish Government’s annual budget.
Alex Salmond is still confident he will be able to use the British pound in the event of a ‘Yes’ vote, but that is only because he expects he won’t be able to use the Euro.
A recent survey covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland found that 53% of the public are opposed to Scotland using the British pound.
Only 18% of those polled believed that Alex Salmond had a plan ‘B’
BBC Scotland headed to Orkney to give voters a chance to quiz politicians and commentators at the heart of the debate on Scottish Independence on 18th September.
Sally Inkster, chief executive of Orkney Housing Association, asked: "A recent poll shows less than a third of women support independence. Does the panel have any theories on why this might be?"
"Could it be that less women want independence because they are the more intelligent sex?"
Caz Dodds on the issue of female voters.
"Wonder what Wilson and Carmichael would cut to pay for childcare reform under the Union?"
How the panel responded to Sally Inkster's question on support for independence among women
Alistair Carmichael: "I think that women are more drawn to arguments of the head rather than the heart."
Angela Constance: "Irrespective of whether you're a woman who stays at home to look after your children or whether you're a working mother, quite often you've got quite a lot on your plate as it is in terms of childcare."
Brian Wilson: "I think women are better at recognising bluff, bluster and bad patter."
Lesley Riddoch: "The utter game-changer that surely must come, whichever vote, 'Yes' or 'No', wins and whichever party wins the next election: we have to get childcare, affordable childcare as an absolute benchmark of society in Scotland because we're lagging so far behind."
Meanwhile in America former Nato secretary general Lord Robertson, addressing a meeting in Washington DC said that the “forces of darkness” would love to see the UK torn asunder, and pleaded with Scots to think long and hard about separation.
He told a Washington DC audience: “The loudest cheers for the break-up would be from our enemies. For the second military power in the West to shatter would be cataclysmic in geopolitical terms.
“If the United Kingdom was to find itself embroiled for several years in a torrid, complex, difficult and debilitating divorce, it would rob the West of a serious partner, just when solidity and cool nerves are going to be vital.”
The loudest cheers for the break-up would be from our enemies. For the second military power in the West to shatter would be cataclysmic in geopolitical terms.
Lord Robertson pleaded with other countries to speak out and added: “If people are worried about it, and I know they are, then I would hope that they would give the message that they would like the United Kingdom to stay together.”
He said Scottish Government plans to remove Trident nuclear submarines could make it “very difficult” for Nato to accept them as a member.
“They wouldn’t just be disarming an independent Scotland, they would effectively be disarming the remainder of the United Kingdom,” he said.
“I don’t think that would be viewed with any great satisfaction by those in the alliance who believe Britain’s nuclear deterrent is part and parcel of the West’s security.”
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