Should Scotland be an independent country?

Personally I think there is little to gain for the average Scot, the people who seem to be most interested in independence are corporate interests in the oil/energy industries trying to suck the as much money as possible out of that resource before it goes goes dry.
There are some who think the NHS in the UK will collapse soon and that an independent Scotland would be able to keep its social programs in a more vigorous state.

People I know in Glasgow aren’t too interested in independence and they think it will cost them more than it’s worth to rejigger the government after division.

I think the only difference is that you will see more or different people in government positions but if that is what the majority want, I say go for it!

I haven’t researched the pros and cons in any detail, but I have read a few news articles over the last new months. One of my worries when this topic has been raised has been, how will an independent Scotland be resourced? How will it fund education, medical and social welfare programs into the long term future. There’s security in having the contributions of many going into a pot, although I can understand the Scots may not feel they’re getting their fair share. I know you have North Sea oil but that’s a finite source of funding. I’d be sad to see Scotland choose to become independent, but I’m glad the Scots are having an opportunity to choose.

What do you think @flutherother? Are you for or against independence?

@Earthbound_Misfit Scotland’s economy is strong and similar to the UK economy with the addition of oil and gas resources. The main issue is that Scottish voters consistently vote differently from UK voters as a whole (the joke is that there are more pandas in Edinburgh zoo that Tory MP’s in Scotland) and we would like to see this reflected in our government. I am very much in two minds about independence but I will be voting yes.

@dabbler Corporate interests don’t seem keen on independence and most would prefer the stability of the status quo but of course they don’t get a vote. It is an emotional issue as much as an economic one. The ‘no’ voters have a sizeable majority but the gap is narrowing.

My gut feeling is they shouldn’t do it, but that is just my gut based on nothing really. I don’t know the projected consequences if they do. Since it is part of the European Union maybe it doesn’t matter as much as it would have in years past.

My BIL is Scottish, I’ll have to ask him about it.

Good points @flutherother, thanks for your view on it.
I think your first point is a strong one, if Scots consistently vote differently to the rest of the U.K. then yours would be a different country over time, and if you like those differences then more power to you.

I don’t think independence for Scotland is a good idea. There is no certainty that Scotland can join EU, nor is the track record of the economies of small countries very good (Greece, Ireland, Iceland). There is also the uncertainty of the currency and whether that would be different or shared.

Scotland would be better staying with the rest of the UK and having the partial devolution that they currently have. This consists of a funded NHS, education, local government, legal system and more. This is really positive as the way these are run is down to the scottish people and the scottish government. If I still lived in Scotland I would definitely be voting no

I worry that they will vote yes, and find themselves financially worse-off. It could be an expensive price to pay for a bit of national pride. If I lived in Scotland I too would be voting no.

My Scottish BIL said his brothers are against it and the wives are for it, so they cancel each other out. My BIL doesn’t live there so he can’t vote. He said from what he understands Scotland wants to be like Norway, so they would not be a part of the EU, but he also said that he did not read up on it much so he doesn’t know all the details.