isgraham

From my personal experience the No campaign were nowhere to be seen in dalkeith just outside Edinburgh until last weekend. What happened 2 weeks ago was that westminster realised that there was a real danger of Scotland going actually voting Yes. Since then there has been a fear campaign the likes of which I have never seen before. I know people who votes No because of the vows that were made to change the deal that Scotland gets and I'm 100% sure they will be bitterly disappointed with what they get. The agreement between the 3 main parties is already falling apart and it will be blocked by Labour. The Tories have played a blinder by stating that English votes for English issues go hand in hand with more devolution because it effectively destroys labour in England. You could also hear the likes of Hague saying that as Scotland gets more tax raising powers the Barnett formula becomes less relevant and he said that before 7:30am so the No voters I know are going to get a nasty shock.

tartankoala

Sorry but that's piffle. The Scots have known about and been debating/discussing this for months. What you actually mean is that the London based media and politicians didn't really pay any attention until the last 2 weeks when they suddenly noticed the polls suggesting an upsurge in the Yes vote (that subsequently dissipated by the 18th).

tartankoala

Yes this, apart from the "suddenly" bit. Sorry read this after I replied to your other post.

OzTennis

I'm a 'foreigner' living in Scotland (but married to a Scot and lived here for over 3 decades so not a 'johnny come lately'). I voted No but frankly there's a lot of sh*te being spouted about Salmond and the Yes campaign IMHO.

Did you read - Scotland's Future 'Scotland's Future' had 670 pages of the detail you craved for but which you said wasn't provided.

He has had a dream of independence all his life and when the chance came in 2011 when the SNP got majority power in Holyrood he went for it. The fact that the Yes campaign came up about 30 points in the polls since the referendum was set in my view is testament to a job quite well done by the Yes campaign and it certainly put the wind up the 3 pro-Unionist parties.

What has happened is a mini-victory because Scotland has been 'guaranteed' considerably more devolved powers than were on the table until the Yes campaign hit the lead in one poll a fortnight before R day. I see that as a mini victory for the Yes campaign. Welsh, Northern Irish, English and maybe even Cornish and North of England citizens will also in time feel the spin-offs from that.

The No campaign was largely about fear of the unknown vs the passion of the Yes campaign. As in an earlier post, the analogy was of a man being told his wife was going to leave him - instead of pointing out the good times and how he loved her and tried to woo her back he used the approach of denying her access to the kids and maintenance if she left. It was only a week before the referendum that the No side chose the real better together option by offering sweeteners not to go instead of scare tactics.

scottishcelts

I'm totally heartbroken, shattered and deflated.

bcworld

In all the talk here about why people would vote no, nobody seems to entertain the notion that many of us are happily Scottish & British and see no need to change that. Many were not scared of anything, they didn't bottle it, they were simply on balance happy to stick with the status quo.

bcworld

Yes Paul...when the UK has a referendum on its EU membership it'll have a far higher chance of staying in with Scottish voters in the mix!

commonwealth

Yes, especially when their standards of living are actually better than many parts of the Kingdom.

paulry

Indeed.

Yes I agree, the approval of the Scottish 8.4 percent of the UK population could make a big difference to the outcome. Would be interesting to know what the opinion on the EU is among that section of the UK. Personally, I think the break up of the UK would have made it more likely that we'd all end up in the EU so that is one battle that's won in my book.

OzTennis

As Charles Kennedy said, 'I'm not just Scottish; I'm a Highlander, I'm Scottish, I'm British, I'm a European (sorry Paul!) and a Liberal Democrat. People don't have to feel just one thing'. Or words to that effect.

OzTennis

It's well documented and accepted that Scots are more pro European than their friends in the other 3 parts of the UK. It was stated during the referendum campaign that David Cameron would find his Euro referendum much easier to get through if it was just English, Welsh and Northern Irish voting on it. Whether Cameron will still be around and whether the blue/yellow alliance will still be in power when the referendum proposed for 2016 or 2017 is another moot point with 2015 elections to be held and now the big Scottish Labour vote against him. Even whether the referendum will be held or not is another moot point, both constitutionally and should Labour get back in power. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/poli...s-trouble.html

bcworld

I'm not sure what you mean? Cameron will be seeking to stay in the EU not leave it...so surely having Scottish voters included will make that more likely?

scottishcelts

Why on earth would anyone want to leave the EU anyway?

paulry

Here's half a dozen or so good reasons:

Political Reasons for Leaving the EU | The Libertarian Alliance

OzTennis

Yep, Cameron is a Europhile and wants a referendum to endorse membership; Labour is opposed to having a referendum (they believe there are too strong economic arguments in favour of membership that in their view it's a 'no brainer' and doesn't require a referendum to put it simply, Milliband has said no referendum on EU if we win in 2015).

Labour has 40 of the 59 Westminster seats currently so with the No vote that could be 40 decisive votes against Cameron getting his referendum; however if there is a referendum the people of Scotland are likely to vote in favour of endorsing membership. SNP only has 6 Westminster MPs but they would be in favour of a referendum.

It's the Labour MP's against referendum part which I was referring to in saying the No vote could make some aspects more difficult for Cameron.

Meanwhile a significant faction within the Tory party want a referendum on the EU but for different reasons to Dave. If there is a referendum it will be crucial how the question is worded - EU, Yes or No? I don't think it will be that leading.