Beoz

Wow. OK. That's a bit of a silly technicality as you call it.

knockoff nige

I wonder if Gillard gave up hers. Or if she even had British citizenship.

Swerv-o

She did, and it was well documented. There are, conversely, no documents relating to Abbott having given up his, which is what has piqued the interest of the keyboard commandos.

There are rumours that FOI requests for any Australian documentation are being blocked or rejected - however this information is all in the public arena in the UK, hence people following it up there.


S

knockoff nige

I wonder what the implications would be if it turns out he's still got his UK citizenship? I would imagine they'd rush it through, Truss would be acting PM and then they'd reinstate Abbot within a month or so. I think he's got about three weeks to go to qualify for the PM pension.

GarryP

The really silly thing is you can renounce you UK citizenship, but then take it up again (once) if you apply and meet the requirements.

So it's entirely symbolic.

And yes, I'd bet that Tone didn't fill in the form and pay the money till after he stood as an MP. 1994 was when he was elected and 1990 when he left Oxford after his masters. A relatively short timeframe with lots going on for him - he could well have neglected to given the short timeframe between the previous MPs resignation (18th Feb) and his election (26th March). Hell, do the UK civil servants do resignation of citizenship that fast anyway? Given the docs requested, etc. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it takes more (see http://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-5...iation-769402/ for someone trying to do it today - shortest time referred to is 2-3 weeks after application form received, but could be 6 months).

So I'd bet his formal date is after he got elected, which makes his standing very dodgy.

Does the UK want Tone to dance at all ?

Jon77

Scotland will never have 100% independence, assuming the people vote for it next month, if it retains the Pound as its currency in the long run. I really would be surprised if the SNP, assuming they are re-elected to power in the next Scottish Parliament election in 2016, were happy to still have London still pulling the strings wrt some of Scotland's affairs. If there is a currency union, as desired by Alex Samlond, it would mean that Scotland's tax, spending and borrowing would still be decided by Westminster, and the BoE would still be in charge of setting Scotland's interest rates. So it would really only be 90% independence, and I can see there being problems with that arrangement if Westminter imposed limits on Scotland wrt spending & borrowing that the government in Scotland didn't like!

knockoff nige

How's that when countries using the euro do not share a taxation system? Isn't the pound originally Scottish anyway?

Beoz

Could be entertaining if it dominates my ABC breakfast news. Could be a disaster if it costs tax dollars.

OzTennis

No, thought to be derived from Norman or Saxon coinage and the Romans referred to the currency as Libra, Solidus, Denarius - £'s, S's and D's. Maybe you're thinking about the Bank of England which was founded by a Scotsman (Sir William Paterson), whilst ironically the Bank of Scotland was founded by an Englishman (John Holland)? The former is a Central Bank for the UK financial system whilst the latter is of course a private bank.

To show how complicated things are, the Royal Bank of Scotland is currently about 85% owned by the UK taxpayer after the post GFC bailout. What would happen to RBS in the unlikely event of a Yes vote? The RBS board thinks they would have to relocate their head office from Edinburgh to London.

RBS just announced they are spending £1 BILL rebranding as ..... The Royal Bank of Scotland, to rid themselves of the public image of fat cats run by greedy Sir Freddy now plain Freddy Goodwin.

scot47

Do you think Mr Cameron had a word with him ? Or bunged him a few quid ?

Grayling

that usually works with LNP politicians

cresta57

Yeah sadly they don't have the benefits of these slush funds Slater & Gordon specialise in