Westminster and Europe are imo two cheeks of the same arse, true sovereignty means we would be free from the two of them, as you alluded to earlier, getting oil without deep sea drilling has maybe a decade or two left, deep sea drilling is expensive and dangerous and very risky for the environment.
The Norwegians didn't piss their oil revenues against the wall, putting money away every year for a rainy day.
They also have the best vessels in Europe to get rid of the ageing rigs and guess what, they will be making a healthy profit for their services. You are spot on when you talk about the huge benefits in renewable energy, it's the greed of the UK government that is keeping this at bay, who cares about pollution when the oil revenues are coming in.
I've long accepted that when Scotland becomes independant we will be applying for European membership on day one, while hardly filling me with joy, the fact that we are no longer ruled by the warmongering monsters of Westminster will make it easier to swallow, but the only way we will get a deal is to give up sovereignty over our waters for fishing rights.
I laugh at UK fishermen complaining about Europe and fishing rights, these were given away in the 70's by the extremely dodgy Ted Heath.
Hats off to the Norsemen, B.......
Forget this nonsense about the Swiss being the Neutrals. They're tied up in far too many banking trysts.
The true neutral country of Europe is Norway and they have built up a huge cash deposit without having heavy industry to sustain them. They have succeeded by forming alliances independent of the EU and being at the sharp end of the infrastructure in oil and shipping.
Quietly going about their business without having to be accountable to anyone but themselves. The triage they have formed with their neighbours means they trade at cost and while there is genuine wealth among the elite of their population, it is nowhere near as extreme as the wealth divide which exists here.
They have also embraced migration and are turning a profit in regions that were uninhabitable not so long ago.
It's not a transferable model though. This has been an ongoing project for at least two centuries and it was no overnight success.
Like yourself, B........I would happily accept any hardship as long as we weren't exposed to the influence of America, Russia, China or England
Totally against independence. Truth is that we are subsidized to the tune of approximately £1,200 for every person that lives here as we can't generate enough ourselves. Yes it sticks in my throat to admit it.
Last time we took a vote it was largely based in income from oil. The price went through the floor.
The SNP bang on about Scotland staying in the EU. Impossible as we would essentially be a new country and if we applied it could take years for our application to be considered as per their rules.
Nicola Sturgeon is only out to make a name for herself. Cannot stand her.
HH?
That's the problem though, Stevie.
The union-facing media have painted it as an SNP thing and it then came down to a popularity contest.
I don't have any time for Sturgeon, but independence to me would only be the first step in getting shot of her and reclaiming our country.
We would have to take a bit of shrapnel and quite a few hits. There probably won't be any signs of real progress in our lifetime, but if we plant the seeds now, there is a chance that our grandchildren will be in a position to take the country forward in future.
The EU may be fairly benevolent to Scotland, as it gives it some kind of foothold on the island and keep tabs on English relationships with the US, Saudis and Israelis
