theduke

RBS was bailed by the British Government whic so happens to have been under Scottish control since our spy in the camp got into control Mr Tony Blair, then we rubbed it in by putting another Scot in and he even had a Scottish accent.

As for Scotland and Iceland having good friends, well you make me laugh, it doesn't actually say where you hail from on your avatar, but you do sound ................. no I am not getting drawn in!

AH30

Well if its any consolation, Scotland is actually one of my favourite countries in the world. But where would it be without England? Probably the same as Ireland used to be 30-40 years ago. But that doesn't distract it from being such a beautiful country with friendly people.

bcworld

Who knows? Well you apparently....

But, who's to say it would be any worse or better off than it is now.

I remember the figures theduke is referring to, but can't find them for reference. Essentially Scottish GDP per capita is 95% of the UK average. That's lower than London, the South East & East Anglia but higher than all other regions of England & Wales e.g. the Midlands, South West, North West, North East etc etc.

So really Scotland is not an underperformer in the UK...areas of England are far worse.

bdclayton

[QUOTE=bcworld;8592855]Who knows? Well you apparently....

But, who's to say it would be any worse or better off than it is now.

I remember the figures theduke is referring to, but can't find them for reference. Essentially Scottish GDP per capita is 95% of the UK average. That's lower than London, the South East & East Anglia but higher than all other regions of England & Wales e.g. the Midlands, South West, North West, North East etc etc.

So really Scotland is not an underperformer in the UK...areas of England are far worse.[/QUOTE

A voice for Scotland cries


WHERE DID ALL OUR OIL GO ???

Perry Groves

Not sure I like this analogy! I think the U.K. is more like Liverpool, was o.k. in the 70's and 80's but needs a boost

theduke

Sorry Perry just an upto the moment comment, withdrawn

theduke

where did all our oil go and whiskey which is another of the biggest exports from the UK, what is exported from England.

No offence to any English people on here at all, I do believe that Great Britain would not be Great without every part. This is not a we are better than you thing. Just listening to someone who hasn't the fogiest idea of what actually goes on outside their bubble and comes out with hardline comments people have been killed for in the past just gets on my goat.

bro69

Totally agree although Great Britain is a bit arrogant, bit late to change it now though I suppose, similarly New Zealand is not so new any more (even for a 3rd world country).

I think we could afford to lose Wales no one would miss it.

AH30

Actually I work in the oil industry so am well aware that Scotland has oil. But it's not just about having the oil physically it's also about finding it and getting it out of the ground which is down to the international oil companies. It's who finds the oil that benefits the most.

I don't understand why you are upset, just saying that like NZ, Scotland wouldn't be in the premiere league if it was a football team, are you saying you disagree with me? This is coming from someone who likes Scotland and I even have Scottish blood in me. Edinburgh is also my favourite city in the world.

bcworld

There's a bit of a difference between

and

...hence why some people disagree with your views.

Here's those GDP figures, 1999 granted, however no reason to believe the order of things will have changed since then.

Maybe NE England, NW England, Yorkshire & the Humber, E Midlands, W Midlands, the SW & Wales would be bankrupt without Scotland's contribution...or maybe not.

AH30

Maybe I was exagerrating a little regarding the bankrupcy but my question to you is how would Scotland have bailed out their banks on their own? See related link.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle7022678.ece

So maybe I'm wrong about bankrupcy but you tell me how Scotland could afford this on their own? I'm not an economist so I don't know.

Scotland is a great country, but it's not a big or important country, neither is NZ.

bcworld

There are too many 'what-ifs' to answer your question.

Principally, if Scotland were independent, would RBS be what it is today anyway? I suspect not.

AH30

It seems this is turning into a very nationalistic argument which was not my intention. All this talk of killing people is a bit too much for me.

Droidling

Well if it is 3rd World,two of it's cities feature in the top twenty of this report. :-

http://money.uk.msn.com/msn-local/ph...ntid=153545482

I don't notice Manchester,Liverpool or any other UK city mentioned though. Quelle surprise.
They seemed to have overlooked Crewe as well,an oversight surely ? (Could have been mistaken for Beirut ?)

AH30

Perhaps Scotland's GDP would drop quite a bit as well, what's does 3 years of GDP convert to on an overall basis? But in any case, neither Scotland or NZ are third world countries and neither would be in the premiere league if they were football teams. That said, I love both countries, to me I don't need to feel like I'm in the center of the world and I love the outdoor lifestyles of both countries.