Scottish independence

ColdIron

black_taxi wrote: »

When SNP won Scottish elections,gordon brown as PM never contacted the 1st minister Scottish Parliament for weeks

I wouldn't put too much store by that, Brown didn't contact the legislature (HoC) much either preferring to make his announcements on the BBC or YouTube

colsten

black_taxi wrote: »

When SNP won Scottish elections,gordon brown as PM never contacted the 1st minister Scottish Parliament for weeks

It will be months and years for similar to happen in the case of a Yes vote. To expect that Scotland would be more important to rUK after independence than they are now is not rational.

Although I think it would be lunacy for Scotland to split from the UK, I do now wish there will be a Yes vote, just so we can see how Scotland will cope with the consequences, and how Salmond will implement all his promises. It's a bit like you have to eventually let go an overly rebellious and pig-headed teenager and let them learn from their own mistakes.

Borrowedtune

What happens under a scenario where the Scots vote Aye and then Labour with 40-odd Scottish MPs narrowly win the 2015 Westminster election ?

ColdIron

colsten wrote: »

Although I think it would be lunacy for Scotland to split from the UK, I do now wish there will be a Yes vote, just so we can see how Scotland will cope with the consequences, and how Salmond will implement all his promises. It's a bit like you have to eventually let go an overly rebellious and pig-headed teenager and let them learn from their own mistakes.

Not forgetting the end of the Barnett Formula, resolution of the West Lothian Question and 41 fewer Labour MPs. What's not to like? The major down side personally will be I lose a cheeky £100 with Betfair but it's a price I am willing to pay. Go for it Scotland

DavidF

Now I know fine well that Scotland is not "in the clear" here BUT can I just point out something to all these people who feel they will move all their cash out of scottish companies in the event of a Yes vote.
1. The Uk as a whole has a £750 BILLION pension black hole....Not great
2. The Uk as a whole has - just over £1 TRILLION worth of deb to its name ....if you take in future liabilities it is actually closer to £4 Trillion
Now the old currency argument is going towards a "let us use the £ or we have no debt as part the "divorce" - So the UK looses all the Scottish tax and cost's its own businesses 500m (estimate) to just continue to sell goods and services to Scotland.
Still looking good to move all your cash to R-UK ?
In reality all of this is just hysteria by people who frankly don't have much of a clue about what will happen and what choices they will have even if the wanted to move all their cash/pensions ect. It really is pretty tiresome seeing people continually threaten to spit their dummy out over a vote that may or may not effect them personally.
Abby National is owned by one of them silly Euro using companies and they are the Spanish santander group.....so the currency issues don't seem to have frozen their £££ in their cashpoints, Is having your cash in a Scottish institution going to be any different ? What happens when Martin Lewis comes on here in 5 years time declaring Scotland to have the best return for investments ect ? Will you write to your pension provider whoever they are and demand they do not touch Scottish business with your pension pot ?
All the while the majority of the UK still think they subsidize Scotland.....So why not get us off the books then lol....after all it's pure business sense isn't it ?

IronWolf

When people say they are moving cash out of Scotland, may I ask how? Surely any bank you choose will have an address for you, and if you're in Scotland then they will just put you into a Scottish subsidiary if need be and do any forced currency conversion.

The only safe way I can see is to either withdraw saving in cash, or go into either bonds or equities (or gold). Or move to England.

IronWolf

Borrowedtune wrote: »

What happens under a scenario where the Scots vote Aye and then Labour with 40-odd Scottish MPs narrowly win the 2015 Westminster election ?

Either the government would be dissolved as the majority was lost and a new one formed from the remaining MPs, or (more likely imo) they'd call another general election.

Chadsman

DavidF wrote: »

Now I know fine well that Scotland is not "in the clear" here BUT can I just point out something to all these people who feel they will move all their cash out of scottish companies in the event of a Yes vote.
1. The Uk as a whole has a £750 BILLION pension black hole....Not great
2. The Uk as a whole has - just over £1 TRILLION worth of deb to its name ....if you take in future liabilities it is actually closer to £4 Trillion
Now the old currency argument is going towards a "let us use the £ or we have no debt as part the "divorce" - So the UK looses all the Scottish tax and cost's its own businesses 500m (estimate) to just continue to sell goods and services to Scotland.
Still looking good to move all your cash to R-UK ?
In reality all of this is just hysteria by people who frankly don't have much of a clue about what will happen and what choices they will have even if the wanted to move all their cash/pensions ect. It really is pretty tiresome seeing people continually threaten to spit their dummy out over a vote that may or may not effect them personally.
Abby National is owned by one of them silly Euro using companies and they are the Spanish santander group.....so the currency issues don't seem to have frozen their £££ in their cashpoints, Is having your cash in a Scottish institution going to be any different ? What happens when Martin Lewis comes on here in 5 years time declaring Scotland to have the best return for investments ect ? Will you write to your pension provider whoever they are and demand they do not touch Scottish business with your pension pot ?
All the while the majority of the UK still think they subsidize Scotland.....So why not get us off the books then lol....after all it's pure business sense isn't it ?

I personally would not have a problem buying Scottish assets but I would have a problem buying those assets through a Scottish financial services provider that was not regulated and headquartered in rUK.


Robert Peston suggested "EU law may require RBS and Lloyds [and presumably others] to become English" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26455655

latecomer

The more I research and think about it the more i'm leaning towards a change of mind and a possible yes vote. I work for a foreign company which is unlikely to be affected way by independence and the management has no concerns regarding it. My OH works in the NHS and this is what is currently causing the most concern. Currently no pay rise for about 6 years, increased pension contributions etc and of most concern is the current privitisation of NHS services in England. The Yes campaign have stated that they will not privitise NHS services and will protect funding for it.

Its not the only consideration but its a big one for us personally. The majority of issues will only be resolved after a Yes vote should that happen and only then will true negotiations begin.

On the bright side there is always the option of emigrating in the event of independence not working out (not to England )

colsten

IronWolf wrote: »

When people say they are moving cash out of Scotland, may I ask how?

Simple enough for me. Any of my money will only be with any institutions that are / remain authorised and regulated by the UK PRA/FCA. It might be a bit of an inconvenience to have to move the money but move it I will if the circumstances of the financial institutions I have money with will change. I am pretty sure that other people will do exactly the same.

There is just no way I would ever have a penny of my money in a foreign country - not after the Iceland debacle.

DavidF wrote: »

.....In reality all of this is just hysteria by people who frankly don't have much of a clue.....
Abby National is owned by one of them silly Euro using companies and they are the Spanish santander group.....so the currency issues don't seem to have frozen their £££ in their cashpoints,

Perhaps you shouldn't be accusing other people of not having much of a clue as you seem to be falling into that category yourself. Santander UK plc is authorised by the UK PRA and regulated by the UK FCA and the UK PRA. Part of their UK licence is that they cannot remove capital out of the UK without the prior agreement of the FCA. Santander UK plc also are part of the UK FSCS, meaning customer funds are guaranteed up to £85K. Therefore it is irrelevant for the normal customer that they are part of Banco Santander.

DavidF wrote: »

Is having your cash in a Scottish institution going to be any different ?

it is not at present, due to them being authorised and regulated by the UK PRA/FCA. Post independence, they would need to set up UKsubsidiaries and seek UK PRA/FCA approval. They would only receive this if they agree, like Santander, to have minimum amounts of funds domiciled in the UK, not to remove funds from the UK, and to be part of the UK FSCS scheme.

DavidF wrote: »

What happens when Martin Lewis comes on here in 5 years time declaring Scotland to have the best return for investments ect ?

even if that were the case, Martin Lewis will probably remember to the end of his days the flack he got after listing ICESAVE ISAs as a best buy. Since that experience, he has been warning people of the perils of having money outside the UK FSCS. More than that, customers will remember the Icelandic debacle, the Euro crisis, and the Cyprus debacle, and will have very little to no appetite to hand over their funds to institutions that are outside the jurisdiction they live in.

If Scotland wants to keep the savings and investments of UK people, there's an easy answer to it: vote no. If you vote yes, substantial amounts of money will move South, perhaps even with a whole host of jobs. But you probably won't notice this as you are such a prosperous nation.