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So recently I heard that there will be a vote soon to see whether Scotland will secede from the United Kingdom, as well as a vote to see whether they will still recognize Queen Elizabeth. Full Story Here.

Personally I think this is a good idea. When I went to Scotland and England last year, I felt that Scotland felt a lot different (read: better cultured) than England, though that might be because I only visited the "Oop North" part of England. They may have problems switching to a new currency though, because launching a new currency is difficult, the Euro is failing. But still, good luck to them!

If it's not Scottish, it's CRAP! ~Mike Meyers

If they keep making scotch whiskey. They do what they want.

I know that the Scots are tired of the British parliament and would rather have things run on their own with a government that's more attentive to Scottish needs but I'm struggling to see how independence won't introduce as much problems than it will solve.

We're talking about Desynchronising Scotland away from the rest of the UK. Away from commonwealth standards, currency standards, legal standards, border policies, rates. That carries big implications that could potentially cost a lot of money and make life a lot more complicated. Especially for those that have to go between both Scotland and England.

If they become an independent state, I hope they only use the opportunity to make their own necessary political changes and not make too many massive alterations to their existing economic infrastructure

Snowie_98 wrote:

I felt that Scotland felt a lot different (read: better cultured) than England, though that might be because I only visited the “Oop North” part of England.

Wow, so now even non-British people are adopting the anti-North sentiment. Awesome.

If you'd like to know why the Northern cities in England seem run-down and 'uncultured', look into the industrial decline in the 70's and 80's. We were half screwed-over by our own government and half screwed-over by our own worker's unions. The region never really recovered, and with more and more businesses migrating to London and the government doing nothing to stop it for the sake of 'economic recovery', there's no sign of improvement in the near future.

The people are mostly lovely though. People from Newcastle have a national reputation for being friendly, and there's a lot of regional pride in the area. The landscape surrounding the Northern cities is easily the most impressive in England too (see: the Lake District, the Pennines, Northumberland).

So yeah, the North doesn't suck. Moving on…

I'm largely against Scotland seceding from the UK. A large campaign fighting against the split is called 'Better Together', and the title seems fitting to me. It just looks like every country in the UK will stand to lose something if Scotland becomes independent. For example, Scottish universities are currently free for Scottish students and students from the EU, but due to some loophole in European law they can get away with charging students from elsewhere in the UK. If they become independent, UK students will technically no longer be part of the same EU state, and therefore will benefit from the same laws as EU international students. It's expected that UK students will flock to Scottish universities to avoid tuition fees, and the problems it'll cause are likely to force Scotland to start charging their own students.

Another issue is the future of the British Armed Forces. Our military is currently very influential despite it's relatively small size, and the departure of all Scottish personnel will severely weaken it. The Scottish don't win in this situation either, as they'll be left with a very small, very underfunded military that'll cost billions just to get up-and-running.

I understand the desire for Scottish people to have more say in the policies that affect them, but there has to be a better way of going about it than weakening both Scotland and the remainder of the UK.

I actually do descend from a Scottish-Irish and English family and my Grandad lives in Scotland (I did live with him for a few years in early childhood) he personally is against the idea and the general feel is that most people don't want it to happen. It seems less beneficial to both countries.

Also one thing that bugs me is that some want independence but with the same monarch, currency and army. This is not independence.

Also historically Scotland has tired to be an independent empire around the early imperial age but it didn't go so well.

P.S Southern England is better then the North and it would be unfair to call the country as a whole to be less cultured.

They're going to vote, but it's not likely that they'll actually secede.

This is a dumb question to ask, but if they do somehow secede, would the flag of the U.K remove Scotland, or would it remain?

Yes the Union Jack would have the white removed from it.