Link to BBC Scotland referendum coverage

[Ken Burch]

http://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-scotland-29130277

[Starboard Tack]

1. Looks like it's all over, and we're still a union, which makes me happy.

But it was good to shake things up a bit. Keep the bastards in Westminster on their toes.

[T_i_B]

2. I'm very relieved

I don't think that an independent Scotland would any sort of a success, and a lot of the promises and assurances from the "Yes" camp didn't add up at all.

I can understand people being pissed off by the way the 3 main parties carry on, but nationalist charlatans like Salmond and Farage really aren't the solution. As the rest of the UK actually has very similar gripes about the state of Westminster politics, it's very important that we all work together to sort things out.

[Starboard Tack]

3. Yep, I agree completely.

We already have too many borders in this world, without creating another.

[T_i_B]

4. All the Scots I know round here...

...were very strongly against independence.

English people seemed divided into those who think they are mad for wanting independence and that it's no solution to Scotland's problems, and those who want to kick Scotland out of the union out of spite (a view more common with Daily Mail reading types)

[Starboard Tack]

6. Sad! I don't blame them one bit for wanting independence.

But I'm glad they didn't get it. It's a wake up call, though. If they had got independence, I would've seriously considered moving there, except for the bloody rain.
Fact is, if we lost Scotland or Wales or N. Ireland, it would be like losing a limb. Not that we are hobbling a bit to start with, but the Scots are such an addition, and they need the rest of us just as much as we need them. Our differences are what make us a bloody good team, when push comes to shove.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

5. When I lived in the north east

BBC Look North and Tyne Tees news crews often approached Salmond to speak on the whole issue of centralisation of power in Westminster. The north east did have its own referendum on devolution and local news crews looked north to Scotland for comparison and context.

Whenever Salmond was interviewed, he'd usually act irritated and disinterested at the line of questioning by these north east local news crews. This is because it propositioned that Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Durham could have similar concerns with Scottish people. The idea undermines the argument of Scottish nationalism in that Scots are especially oppressed, on the basis of their culture and nationality.

The working class Scot has more in common with the working class English and the working class Welsh, than any of them have with big corporations and the most wealthy (wherever they live)

[non sociopath skin]

7. Couldn't agree more.

I can't forgive Blair for killing off the chance of a NE regional assembly with faint praise.

I hope that the Left will take the opportunity to revive the idea of a federation including the English regions as a counterpoint to the "English Paliament" idea which Cameron, channeling Farage, seems to be gunning for.

The Skin

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. As a matter of interest, do you think the EU election regions are a reasonable division of England?

(I could put this as a separate topic, just for fun)

It does seem to me they're not too bad, for something between counties and England. I'd move Cumbria in with the north-east (and rename it North of England or something) - I think it may have more in common with that area than Liverpool and Manchester, and NE England is a bit small, population-wise. I also might move Oxfordshire from SE England into West Midlands, because it's a fair way from Kent, and SE England is a rather large population.

[LeftishBrit]

10. At least that would get me out of Farage's and Hannan's turf!

Not that West Midlands MEPs are that great, but I think I'd marginally prefer them to the SE England lot.

(I realize I'm looking at it from a somewhat selfish perspective!)

[T_i_B]

9. The current political climate in Britain....

....is ideal for the likes of the SNP and UKIP to exploit, with the 3 main parties disappearing up their own behinds as they are and the media only to happy to blame the perceived "foreigner" for anything.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

11. I agree

There was a large majority in support of a North East Assembly and the Blairites scuppered it of any real power and UK government departments fought tooth and nail not to devolve anything.

What was left was an elected chamber with little power and the North East said "no" in response.

The question needs to be revisited but something substantial needs to be offered, something approaching Welsh Assembly-like powers.