What would you ask the SNP leader?

How soon can we leave the UK.

At what point do we adopt the euro.

What party will you join once Scotland is independent.

Do you believe in real people democracy, like they have in Switzerland.

When are we getting an independence vote.

How many immigrants is too many.

Who is your favourite cartoon character.

Would you ask all your SNP members who are MP's and MSP's to resign one of the two seats they have?

Will SNP members elected to the UK parliament be tasked to favour Scotland to the detriment of the UK as a whole? Or will they seek to serve the entire UK as members of the UK governing body?

If you achieve your goal of independence, will you repay the English taxpayer the vast sums we have had to pay to bale out the Scottish banks, notably RBS and HBOS (Lloyds)?

I accept your MP don’t vote on English business, but the same can not be said for all Scottish MPs. How would you address the West Lothian Question.

Why are the English keener on Scottish independence than the Scots are?

Does that fact bother Mr Salmond?

When will the Scots have a referendum on independence?

If they do have one, and get the wrong answer (i.e. choose to stay with England), can we English have a referendum and push them out anyway?

After Mr. Salmonds vision of an independent Scotland joining an "arc of prosperity", following the economic models of countries such as Iceland and Ireland, and Londons bailout of Royal Bank of Scotland, isn't his economic credibility in total tatters?

--If you achieve your goal of independence, will you repay the English taxpayer the vast sums we have had to pay to bale out the Scottish banks, notably RBS and HBOS (Lloyds)?--

That was your oil&gas money repayment guys.
We're quits on that front now, bar the shouting.

cheers

There's something fundamentally wrong with a people who apparently do not wish to rule their own country; why is that?

And if I vote SNP will you please invite Alison Lindsay (SNP)to step down with immediate effect.

She's very sincere and no doubt a very decent person but I watched her performance at the live debates in Stirling yesterday & was deeply embarassed by her incomplete grasp of basic facts & her inarticulate method of expressing opinions.

If the SNP is to convince the electorate that it has the intellectual capacity, gravitas & muscle to run an independent country, then it must attract & appoint candidates with an impressive portfolio that includes: working in the real world, charismatic personality, impeccable command of the English language, comprehensive knowledge of basic facts, a profile that is potentially widely known & well received & dresses like they are attending a job interview, not making a visit to pick up light bulbs at B&Q.

After the signing of the Lisbon Treaty / EU Constitution do you still believe that Scotland will ever be an independent entity?

Or will your "government" effectively become the Scotish District Council in a much more dominant federal Europe?

Is it fair that Scottish MP's (and Welsh/Northern Irish MP's) are allowed to vote on legislation that only affects England?

How can you protect Scotlands fishing grounds from complete annihilation via europe?

(Maggie flogged our fishing rights off so she could secure the european claw back payments.)

It's the main sticking point Iceland has about joining europe, natural resources like fishing have been a european bureaucratic disaster zone.
Somali fishing grounds have made a full recovery within 5-10 years because foreign trawlers are too afraid to fish that coastline.

I campaigned for SNP in Kilmarnock up till the 1992 election, each election saw Labour as the dominant force in Scotland but a Tory government in UK. 1997 Labour won in UK and 13 years on the deprived ares of Scotland are still the deprived areas, health in Scotland is still as poor, crime has got worse and many town centres are no go areas at weekends.
So the question I am asking is why you want a balanced parliament when this will at most give small concessions, where as the thought of the Scottish population voting for anyone other than the Tories but ending up with a Tory government will strengthen the SNP vote in the Scottish parliament and the thought of Tory government to many including myself till the end of their lives may just give us independence.

What are your plans for Scotlands vast water resources?

What are your plans for Scotlands vast wind power resources?

What are your plans for Scotland vast wave power resources?

How will you share any future oil and gas discoveries with England?

11. At 09:01am on 21 Apr 2010, Clive Hamilton wrote:
Is it fair that Scottish MP's (and Welsh/Northern Irish MP's) are allowed to vote on legislation that only affects England?

Get a grip, Salmond already acknowledges he doesn't think that's fair. THATS WHY THE SNP DONT VOTE ON ANY ISSUES IN PARLIAMENT THAT RELATE EXCLUSIVELY TO ENGLAND

My question would be simple:- What relevance would an independent Scotland really have in the real world?

How will you defend Scotland against the Tories if they win the upcoming election?

How do you justify not being a full-time MP after being elected to Parliament?

How soon can you go?
How quickly can we remove all the Scottish MP's from our Parliament, especially the Labour clan led by Brown that has wrecked the UK economy?
Are you prepared to replace the bail out money the UK gave to RBS and HBOS when we pull out the money the UK paid to bail them out?
Good luck !

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Why as an MP is he planning to accept bribes, in the form of benefits for scotland over the rest of the UK, for his vote?

Why did the scottish MPs vote for university top up fees for english universities, why did they not abstain? Had they not voted the act would have not been passed.

Was it to get back at the English for the Poll Tax.

Why do you want separation?
If you do get separation when will all the Scot require passports / work permits to enter / work in England?
At a time when talk about an EU Gov is on the cards the Scots & Welsh want to separate! What sence is there in that except a few Scots / Welsh MP's want to feather their own nests just like the UK MP's have done and got off scot free with fraud.

Why should TV viewers outside of Scotland - where you have no support, no chance of winning any seats and, frankly, nobody is really interested in anything you have to say - have to put up with your constant attempts to gain "equal" coverage with the various parties that most of us are intending to vote for? And your constant insinuations of "bias" whenever this isn't done?

If it's not fair to have debates shown in Scotland which don't include you (which I accept, is true), because that would give the other parties an unfair chance to criticise your policies and put their own forward without you getting the chance to rebutt... how on earth can it be fair for you to be in a National debate, criticising the bigger parties, when you have absolutely no chance of competing with them on a national level? You're not standing in England; your party isn't standing in England; nobody even likes you, in England. How is it fair that your opinions should be given equal footing with the rest of the English-based parties?

Or, in short - what, exactly, is it that you think the word "fair" really means, Mr Salmond?

--My question would be simple:- What relevance would an independent Scotland really have in the real world?--

That's easy.

We would supply 500 million europeans hungry for wind, wave, hydro-electric, oil and gas energy.
Loads of Water here too, we're dripping with the stuff while southern europe gasps.

A common sense fishing strategy would be useful too, before we destroy yet another resource.

Given an independant Scotland, what would be the national status of the many Scots in England and abroad?

In a future independant Scotland, what would be the national status of the English and other foreigners living permanently in the country? Would it be possible to keep a British passport?

Will EU membership be automatic for an independant Scotland?

Thank you!

--If you achieve your goal of independence, will you repay the English taxpayer the vast sums we have had to pay to bale out the Scottish banks, notably RBS and HBOS (Lloyds)?--

That was your oil&gas money repayment guys.
We're quits on that front now, bar the shouting.

cheers

------
Never realized that the North Sea is now in Scotland!

These OFF Shore (Not on shore) oil and gas reserves have been primarily exploited by London and New York registered Multi National Companies. Large areas of Scotland have benefited from thousands of extra on shore jobs created by the industry.

The fact remains that Scotland receives 15% per head more in Government spending than England or Wales.
I would like to ask Mr Salmond why he thinks that is fair?

I would say.... cut the rhetoric on independence - either put up or shut up.

If the vote is in favour of independence, do it quickly - sever all ties to the UK and slug it out on your own in the big bad world. Join the Euro comfort blanket if you feel you need another "sugar daddy".

Once done, we can also let the rest of the UK move to the European timezone and forcefully repatriate all Scots from the rest of the UK, especially those FREELY able to attend Universities south of the border.

The reality though is that the SNP do not want independence. They talk a good talk because they are a single-issue party but they know that independence would be the ruin of Scotland without the collective economy of the UK.

A strong UK is for all of the people living in these isles - we shouldn't focus on the Scots, the Welsh, the English, the Geordies, Cornish people or anyone that feels they have their own regional "identity".

The SNP came to prominence because of that black stuff, yes, oil. It was only when oil was found close to Scotland that the SNP mobilised, it was greedy politicians that saw a chance to make a fast buck for themselves and they're still at it. Politicians don't care a stuff about the electorate, if they did we would all be a lot better off than we are, particularly the poorer members of our society. What I would like to ask that fishy man is, how would you defend yourselves if you broke away from the rest of Britain? Have you discussed with the Scottish people just how much that would cost. The English people are subsidising Scotland and Wales to keep you safe and your only thoughts are the glory of being the man that split the union up making your nation much the poorer whilst you wallow in the limelight and the fast bucks that you've made out of it. Britain is a great nation, it's great because of the individual talents of the three main parts of our island, together we make a great team and that's how it should stay.

I would ask him if he is related to Napoleon, or does he mould his image on Napoleon.

Also, in Scotland 23% of all employed people are employed by the state. With declining REAL WEALTH tax receipts, moreso in Scotland, how does Salmond intend to improve the lives of Scots because Scotland ONLY has room for so many new golf courses (playthings of rich USA businessmen)which are not really wealth creation businesses and rely upon any wealth already generated by other businesses and as they do worse, so too will golf courses.

Why are you pursuing a policy of creating inequalities between Scotland & the rest of Britain?

Can you understand why, to some obeservers, some of your actions , such as ensuring that English students are the only students in the EU wh0 have to pay tuition fees in Scotland, appear to be vindictive & deliberately designed to create antagonism between English & Scots?

Is this part of a plan to make the English as eager to see Scotland leave the union as some Scots?

Do you not believe that Scotland can leave the Union amicably - Is that why you seem determined to stir up tensions?

Do you not think the average Scottish voter can see through your policy of promising the earth to Scotland, then blaming Westminster when you can't deliver?

Could Mr Salmond please hurry up, push through his referendum and leave the Union. This would not only help Scots to have the socialist state that they seem to want (although when they start having to foot the bill for it, they might get less keen) but would also stop the English from being run by a Labour government heavily reliant on Scottish MPs. Seems like a win-win to me.

Ive got a lot of friends in Scotland. I would like to know where the people who want to break away from the UK live non of the people I know or their friends want to split from the rest of the UK .

If we are a UNITED Kingdom why should Scottish MPs have the right to vote on issues which only affect England when English MPs do not have the right to vote on Scottish issues?

Why are you so snobby?

What assistance does he need to gain total independence from Britain.
I would also ask what arrangements he will make when I construct a canal across the border East to West and repatriate the millions of Scots including Brown,Blair(Edinburgh born) and Darling and in particular all the militant trade union officials.I suoppose Sean Connery will be Minister for the Arts but oops I forgot he doesn't live in Bonnie Scotland.Good riddance to the lot of them as the best thing that comes out of Scotland is the road south.

Alex,by what mechanism can we retain sovereign independence in Europe? What military reserves would an SNP government keep as a Scottish share of the British armed forces?Why should we scrap our nuclear deterrent?What effect do YOU think uncontrolled immigration is having/will have on Scottish society,on Scottish jobs,housing supplies,school-place availability,service provision,welfare budget etc.?What kind of "Nationalist" seeks "Independence" as a political vassal of the EU?Will the SNP scrap sterling and switch to the Euro?It is a prerequisite to full membership of the EU after all..Why do we not copy Norway? (your much quoted example from previous electioneering campaigns) They have trade with Europe but are not in political union with the EU and so have not had to lose any sovereign powers to Brussels.Independent Sovereign Nationalist Governments do not become part of a continent-wide federal super-state(which has just voted itself all the powers of government)..How does that qualify as Independence? I put it to you,Mr Salmond,that you are a liar and a charlatan,a deceiver of the Scottish people,your apparent nationalism is just that,not real,just apparent..you want to join the Euro-gravy-train,at our expense,to our political and national detriment.Yours is the worst kind of deception,you will destroy what is left of Scotland if you are returned to power,this you have made obvious.I hope that,a year from now,you have to compete with your beloved "diverse cultural representatives" for a job,a house etc.Come out of your ivory tower and see the reality of Scotland,meet real people,not just the sycophants that you are used to meeting because they've been organised and briefed on what to say,and what not to say..I don't think you are a Nationalist,if you insist that you are..Prove it!..Seek genuine Independence,not the charade you currently promote..And bring some semblance of self-determination back to Scotland.Until and unless you do,I will continue to regard you as a fraud,a fake and a man who cannot tell the truth about his political designs..

If Scotland got its independence and all of the revenue from Scottish oil fields, what would the SNP policies for Shetland be?

Would Shetland get it's independence from Scotland?
Would Shetlanders get all the revenue from oil fields around Shetland?

All these comments about the RBS / HBoS bail-out repayment display a gratifying level of economic illiteracy. In the event of independence, if the money had to be repaid, that would be fine, provided that the taxes paid by these banks to the UK Exchequer over the last 300 years or so were reimbursed as well. After that, we can start talking about how long England has to repay the oil money.

My fears that we Scots banging on about independence would only serve to make the English want it for us as well have come home to roost.

I am an Englishman living in Scotland and am generally in favour of Scottish independence.

One thing worries me - the question of currency. If we choose the euro, then, like Greece, we might be subjected to undemocratic pressure to adopt right wing economic policies. If we stick with the pound, then with a Tory government in England, there might be similar pressure.

What would Alex Salmond do about this?

I would like to ask Salmond how he would replace the 6000 jobs which would be lost if he scraps Trident and its successor.

6. At 08:57am on 21 Apr 2010, Apple-Eater wrote:
Why are the English keener on Scottish independence than the Scots are?

Does that fact bother Mr Salmond?

When will the Scots have a referendum on independence?

If they do have one, and get the wrong answer (i.e. choose to stay with England), can we English have a referendum and push them out anyway?

-----------

Depressing proof that Mr Salmonds policy of actively sowing dissent & mutual mistrust and even agression between Engish & Scots is working perfectly.

Give the Scots a referendum, if they want to stay in the union they'll be more than welcome, if they want to go , good luck to them.

I see no need for all this artificial animosity and politically engineered hatred thats recently come bubbling to the surface in forums, like this one.

I see no reason why the English and Scots can't part (or keep the Union) on friendly terms.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

A fully independent Scotland without one single penny of English or Welsh and NI money would be great.

Sadly they will want an independent Scotland paid for by the English and Welsh & NI taxpayer.

Have you polished your begging bowl to take to the EC and ask for a big handout?

Question to Mr Salmond

The view of the english taxpayer is that Scotland is treated preferentially under the 'Barnett formula'set in place by a previous labour government many years ago.

How do you feel that the English seem to want you to have independence more than your own people. If you get independence, who then is going to pay the extra needed to sustain your economy?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

--Ive got a lot of friends in Scotland. I would like to know where the people who want to break away from the UK live non of the people I know or their friends want to split from the rest of the UK.--

It's politeness and avoidance of a discussion which would only create bad feeling.
You've got to be nice to your visitors you know.

We won't be jumping with joy at cutting England loose(those of us with a braincell that is), an amazing country with an amazing people and an incredible history.

If we're all going to become vassals in a european superstate then we'd better get ourselves sorted up here, and be responsible for our own future decisions.

So the time has come for us to vote for our own set of thieving numpties.

Apple-Eater.......Are the"English",whoever they are,keener on Scottish Independence than the Scots?Are they really?Or are you just exposing your own wishful thinking,racist,anti-Scots bigotry for all to see?..I have lots of family in England,Scotland,Ireland,France,Norway,Canada,America and Australia..We Scots do get around you see..I am equally British and Scottish..You may have a problem with that,I don't know..Point is,what would England do without the North Sea Oil revenues currently propping up the British economy?Do you seriously think that the City of London Money Markets could support the entirety of England and all its expenditures?If you do,you are seriously deluded..The BILLIONS England gets every year from North Sea Oil revenues is what keeps y'all in relative comfort,and you quibble about a few million doled out as a national budget for an entire country?Do some homework and find out the truth of the matter,don't just parrot some right-wing "Little Englander"racist twaddle about how England subsidises Scotland,Its the other way round,We subsidise your profligacy,and sell you energy and water(that you'd otherwise not posses)..So,think again before you slate the Scots for your troubles..Alex Salmond is not MY choice,but he is not yours to choose either...

I should ask him who he thinks he thinks he is. He has no power to make promises to the Scottish electorate that can only be fulfilled when the PM in Westminster signs their maintenance cheque.

The continual fragmentation of Great Britain will swamp Scotland in a broader Euro-Massif: it has no money, qua power and a small population, qua influence, and should know that turning its back on England will make it a very cold dark place indeed.

P.S. I was born in Lerwick.

Many of your contributors appear to suggest that the SNP vote in the UK parliament, this is not the case, the abstain because they are English issues, The Scottish MP's who vote on English only issues are the Scottish Labour, Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Liberals, any complaints should be directed at them, however there are many Scottish issues in the UK parliament that are voted on by English and the other UK counties and this has been happening for hundreds of years but because of the population in England being 10 times that of Scotland the policies are always forced upon us, why do you think we got the Poll tax 1 year earlier that England, do you really think it was Scottish MPS that endorsed this.

I have nothing to ask this fellow.

However, as an Englishman, i would like to know exactly when he plans to hold a referendum on Scots independence? Frankly the sooner the better. The sooner we are rid of this mill stone of a country, the better.

Do you think it is healthy to make divisions and then unify people only in their segregated groups? Or do you think that we should be making a step towards one Earth where we can rid the notions of territorial and 'illegal' immigration?

What do you hope to achieve by making Scotland independent? Or is it just something to appease the shallow minded voters?

" 25. At 09:39am on 21 Apr 2010, ady wrote:

--My question would be simple:- What relevance would an independent Scotland really have in the real world?--

That's easy.

We would supply 500 million europeans hungry for wind, wave, hydro-electric, oil and gas energy.
Loads of Water here too, we're dripping with the stuff while southern europe gasps.

A common sense fishing strategy would be useful too, before we destroy yet another resource."

So in essence what you're saying is "we're more that happy to rape our environment and sell off our natural resources to the EU in order to buy the illusion of freedom...."

Not a brilliant election strategy really. You would need to cover scotland in windmills which would do nothing but churn the smog from the oil and gas refineries, surround the coastline with tidal power schemes (makes it pretty hard to fish if you can't get near a coastline for all the tidal generators) and flood the highlands to make hydroelectric power. Ultimately, scotland is a loss-making enterprise - more money goes in than comes out (even if you include the gas and oil money) and is only still in the union because it supports a labour government in London.

But still, the sooner I can stop subsidising scottish education and healthcare as well as my own the better. So good luck with that, I'm voting SNP.

What are you going to do to level the playing field for Scottish students applying to English universities? The admission criteria for Scottish students to English universities are well above the level required for English students. The same is not true English students applying to Scottish universities (which are welcomed).

39. At 10:11am on 21 Apr 2010, Alastair wrote:

"After that, we can start talking about how long England has to repay the oil money."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just what 'oil money' are you on about exactly?

Please do correct me if I am wrong here, but Scotland has no oil. The rigs are in the North Sea, are they not? And as I understood it, anything outside of 12 miles from the Scottish coastline, or any coastline for that matter is technically international waters and thus not subject to Scottish ownership.

I dare say I may have that totally wrong, so please do take issue with that, just trying to get my facts right if they are wrong...

--If you achieve your goal of independence, will you repay the English taxpayer the vast sums we have had to pay to bale out the Scottish banks, notably RBS and HBOS (Lloyds)?--

That was your oil&gas money repayment guys.
We're quits on that front now, bar the shouting.

cheers
There is also the small matter of writing off all the debts you incured with your invasion of South America, before the act of unoin!!!

In an independent Scotland what kind of new political parties do you think would spring up?

One thing I'd like to know is what the nationalist parties (SNP and Plaid Cymru) intend to do about their party members who occupy seats in the UK Parliament and in their own devolved assembly/parliament. They are fully entitled to draw the salary for both roles and have generous expenses allowances for each. In the current political climate it would be unwise of any politician to antagonise the electorate by abusing 'the system' so flagrantly.

If being an MP or an MSP/AM is a full-time job, how can they possibly be capable of doing both jobs competently? Does one role take a back seat effectively denying the voters a full voice in one of the political bodies? Or is it that being an elected official somehow grants the individual some supreme power to be in two places at once? What if the roles somehow developed a conflict of interest - would they be able to consistently represent the electorate while toeing their party line (to disrupt UK politics while their devolved institutions continue to function)?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Accepting that you will eventually gain independence from the rest of the Union, what do you see as the future purpose of that Union and will you commit revenue to fulfilling that purpose?

Why are you so insistant on breaking up GB?

I have a few Scottish friends who are fantastic and I pride myself as being the same nationality as them - I'm British but from England.

As far as I can tell we need all areas of GB to survive - the only exception of course is the football when the English seem to be hated through and through by the Scots & Welsh but it does provide good banter in the pub.

Does Alex Salmond think it's fair that MPs representing Scottish constituencies in Westminster were able to vote for legislation that forced English students attending English universities to pay tuition fees?

Why does he think that it is still acceptable that Scottish MPs are able to influence policies that have no impact on their own people, but that can have far-reaching financial and social implications for the rest of us?

Why does the Scottish First Minister believe Scotland (and Wales) should be protected from the cuts to public expenditure, when you consider 2 of the banks that were in trouble were the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS?

I am not a candidate,and I am an undecided voter,wavering between Labour,Green and LibDem.
I am an Englishman resident in Scotland and enjoy my life here very much. I recently filled in an online form in a national newspaper to see which way I should vote on general issues and it seems the SNP most matches my own views,This is strange because,whilst having respect for the SNP and their dream of independence,I have never thought of myself as an SNP supporter or voting for them. In some ways I worry that a rising tide of nationalism may make life difficult for me here,in that there may be a concomitant rise in anti English feeling. What assurances could Alex Salmond give me that his party respects and works for all the people who live in Scotland,and not just native 'True Scots'?

The current rates of fuel duty are crippling the haulage industry, driving many small businesses to the wall and actively supporting competing foriegn hauliers who fuel up cheaply on the continent prior to arrival in UK. These rises imposed by the Labour government effect everyone in Britain through increased costs of fuel, food, goods, manufacturing and travel to work. Thus leading to calls for higher wages to compensate for it. What are the political Parties views on this and if elected (re-elected) would the cancel the forth coming increases, in light of the rising cost of oil?

If Scotland is to become a fully independant country will this mean that there will be a Scottish Army, Airforce and Navy or a combined Scottish Armed Defence Force? If the Jocks were to leave the UK Armed Forces this would leave the English up a certain water course without the appropriate propelling implement.

When are you going to quit?

How many other party leaders do you think would continue as leader after failing to fulfill a single manifesto pledge?

Your 'successes' have been nothing more than a continuation of trends inherited form the previous Lib-Lab Holyrood Administration.

For those of you genuinely interested in seeing what an independent Scotland would look like take a ferry to Northern Ireland and drive down to the Republic of Ireland.

No border posts, nothing....except a beep from your mobile phone as it moves into another country.
A mile or two later the roadsigns change.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy guys.

Ask him why he treats his civil servants like they are his enemies.

And will he do the decent thing and resign from public life when the majority of voters in Scotland reject his proposals for destroying the United Kingdom?

Alex, as you get closer to your goal will the closet bigotry which seems to dog all nationalist parties become more apparent to the voters, or do you think you can keep it under wraps for the forseeable future?

I've just been having a little look on the 'Scotland' website which is the online resource for the Scotish Parliament. There are some extremely interesting pages there to do with oil revenues.

One of the sections of the report shows that over the last 20 years Scotland has been short changed of 'their share' of the oil revenues by about £230 billion in 2008 prices (conveniently prices have fallen by about 50% since then).

The report also indicates that UK tax receipts from Oil were around £10 billion for 2008/09.

The report doesn't consider the UK taxpayer grant to the Scotish Parliament (used to fund the devolved functions) is around £25 billion a year. That amount doesn't incude funding for pensions, unemployment benefit, regional development grants or defence spending - which all currently come from the UK central government.

It's just something worth considering and I thought I'd bring it to the debate. I'm sure Mr. Salmond with his extensive oil experience will be able to furnish you with better figures. If he says Scotland can afford to be independent then I'm sure he's right.

The question I have for Mr. Salmond is, if you are sure Scotland can afford independence then why don't you give us the figures and state your fully costed economic case? I wouldn't want Scotland to have to reconsider 20 years down the line when the oil revenues stopped.

I am English and I for one want Scotland to vote for independence. They keep on moaning and whinging but very little is done.

Will the Scots honour their debts created by their politicians / banker etc?

What will happen to the Scots in England and their descendants or vice versa if independance becomes a reality?

To be frank in my view it was a mistake for England and Scotland to unify in 1707.

When former supporter of Scottish independance, economist John Kay has changed his mind after world financial crisis, why havn't you & Sean Connery?
What is your next role model after Iceland? as no Scot(including me) wants his country endup in crisis like Iceland.
How we'll afford to pay our share of UK debt in case of seperation?
In crisis rich ppl like Fred Goodwin would move from Edinburgh to their villas in Chelsea or Spain, where common Scots like me would go?
How can you be sure that Hollyrood wont become Westminster for Scots not living in Edinburgh?

The Scottish Parliament has the ability to vary the basic rate of taxation by 3%. As the majority of your welfare benefits in Scotland are financed by Britain as a whole, why don't you increase income tax in Scotland to finance these?

Assuming you have a referendum on independence and are successful (I hope you won't be) how will Scotland finance itself in the future given that you expect the vast majority of public finances to come from the finite resources of oil and gas (these will run dry). What guarantee do you have that an independent Scotland would receive all taxes from North Sea oil and gas?

When are you going to hold this referendum? No date has yet been given. Or is it you know you are on a good thing staying in the UK and try and gain Brownie points by constantly complaining about Westminster.

Yes, I am Scottish.

36. At 10:08am on 21 Apr 2010, harkerboy wrote:
.... and repatriate the millions of Scots including Brown, Blair(Edinburgh born) and Darling

Its unlikely there are millions of Scots living in England. Why do you think Scotland would want to have Brown, Bliar and Darling back? Those three incompetent liars are just as unpopular up north.

If and when Scotland becomes an Independent nation again, i would like to know what my children's status would be. My family are Scottish, i was born in Lanarkshire but moved to England as a child. I have 3 children, all born in Devon to an English mother. I assume i would automatically be able to claim Scottish citizenship but would my children, and if not, why not?

Will any referendum on independence be open to Scots, like myself living in England or elsewhere? It is surely immoral to change the status of the Scottish state without consulting ethnic Scots. I would have to personally decide whether to take Scottish or English citizenship if independence was achieved.

With a population of 2m more than the whole of Scotland in London alone, my question as a Londoner would be "Who are you?"

If he came up with a compelling answer, I would ask why he is working so hard to stir up grievances where there currently are none.

If we are going to be obsessed about our birthplace and lineage, then peraps I need to establish the first Anglo-Hungaro-Germanic-Hugenot enclave. I know a nice spot just off the A3 south of Wandsworth...

As part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Scottish people have a loud voice on the world stage, as do the English, Welsh and Northern Irish. As an independant nation the only way to maintain that would be to join Ireland and go hook line and sinker into Europe. Then, however, you would only really have a small sway over European affairs. And you'll be wanting to frame a picture of Gordy at the G8 - there wouldn't be another Scottish leader there for a very long time indeed!

The biggest problem with independance is that the Scottish economy is not self sustainable. Without the UK funded welfare state system behind it, or massive subsidies from the EU, the economy would implode.

The Scots are a proud people, and with good reason. Scottish history is quite remarkable, although a constant source of trouble for anyone south of the border. Even the Romans tried to brick Scotland in, so bothersome were the Picts! Over the centuries there have been noble men fighting for nobler causes. This time, however, we must recognise a self serving politician for exactly that, and not allow him to exploit nationalistic pride. I doubt we'll be seeing David Cameron sitting on the wing of a lancaster bomber parked on HMS Invincible holding a replica Jules Rimet on a campaign poster, and correctly so! Although, that said...

Mr Salmond, it's time to pipe down and be honest and realistic. Unless, that is, you have your eye on Balmoral as a ministerial residence?

Are you embarrassed by the fact your biggest supporter, Sean Connery, who claims to love Scotland so much, only comes to Scotland to promote any film he may be in or have an interest in or for any other reasons of self interest?

I would want his re-assurance that Scotland would no longer be financially dependent on anyone except itself. My second question would be how soon could we be rid of the plethera of Scottish MP's in the Commons. If they want independance then the wind blows both ways.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

How does he imagine obsequiousness is going to attract anyones vote?.

Why are you there? To rip off English taxpayers?

When will you get rid of that waste of space Macaskill? His handling of the Libyan bomber was nothing but an embarrassment. Strange ther has been no word of his death, only his health improving.

We are the soft touch for criminals. When will you start considering their victims?

Why are you shutting schools?

Why do we have an open door on immigration with so many unemployed?

When will our roads be repaired?

Your arrogance in drawing two salaries MP & MSP just typifies the greedy grasping nature of politicians. As the first minister you should be setting an example. If this is how you behave why on earth should anyone vote for you?

As a Scot who is proud to be a citizen of the UK and is living in England, does not your approach to better, more localised Government - which is all most of us really want - destroy years of working to make Britain Great?

As an aside, the relative ignorance of contributors who are using this forum as an opportunity have a moan at Scottish people and display their xenophobia, is quite appalling. The assumption seems to be that Scottish MPs should not be allowed to vote on UK issues in Parliament. Why not? Not all Scottish MPs share Alex Salmond's separatist stance, any more than an MP from Luton might! Try thinking outside an ENGLISH mind-set which is every bit as negative as the SNP's!

I won't repeat what Ady blogged simply liked it all, but can't wait till we start exporting and getting correctly paid directly from our English cousins for future OIL, GAS, ELECTRICTY, & WATER generation developments, we'll probably give better terms to our WELSH & IRISH cousins though......................PS we won't be maintining costly ARMY/NAVY and AIRFORCE defences, so we will we not push most of our best young talents into these service sectors where historicaly in relative terms past / present far out-strips the numbers gleamed from our english cousins....................

I would tell (not ask) that Salmond to keep his nose out of English and Welsh politics, which are none of his business.

What planet are you really from?

Can think of no other question that would explain the idiocy that this man spouts as if it were the gospel.

Roll on the Tartan 'year zero' if these idiots ever get a sniff of power.

I would ask, "where do you get off advocating a hung parliament? What are your reasons in declaring that this would be good for the country?"

Why don't more Scots support independence? As an Anglo-Scot I would like to see Scotland more independent but could it survive dis-united from the UK? In a world of greater dependence does it make sense to be entirely separate? Am I English or Scottish and does it matter except historically?

Why does Alex Salmond spread such vicious bile against the English people then try to get as many SNP members into Parliament.

Why does he want so much to abolish Trident when it is there as a deterrent to both Scotland and the UK.

If he screams out Independence for the Scots then he should not receive a penny from Westminster.

Alex Salmond is a Dinosaur, he breathes hot air and venom yet does nothing for the Scottish People, I truly feel as the Welsh have their own Parliament, and the Scots theirs, then Westminster should be the English Parliament, governed by English MP's, this is not racist as both the Scots and Welsh have already demonstrated by forming their own.

What is the difference between the SNP and the BNP you both seem to hold nationalist and racist views yours in particular to all things English. How is this acceptable in this modern age of tolerance.

If you object to being governed by the UK parliament in which the Scottish population is over-represented and the government has been dominated by Scots for 13 years, why do you want to be governed by the EU which is unaccountable and not democratic and where Scotland would have negligible influence? It's not logical. Scotland is a great country with great people but your stance on the EU is not logically compatible with your stance on the UK.

Why does Mr Salmond think that he should be included in a leaders debate given the fact that this is a Westminster election & he is NOT even standing as a Westminstr MP? P.S. im Scottish & live in Scotland.

we have had volcano since we have had the world we havent had planes since the earth was here so how comes they havent found out a long time ago what would happen if there was ash in the air what would happen to our planes again to little to late

Would the SNP scrap the National Lottery in Scotland & set up a Scotland only Lottery? If so why would people buy tickets for a jackpot of about £300k when they could by the National Lottery online for much greater jackpots?

Scotland is an outstandingly beautiful country, rich in history, with a fabulous record of achievement considering its relatively small size in the great scheme of things.

I am a direct descendant of an Aberdonian, proud of that fact, and wear my Scottish heart on my sleeve plain for all to see.

However, I now live in England, and have picked up that most unforgivable of vices where "true" scots are concerned, an English accent.

As a result, whenever I or my children visit the home of my ancestors, we are assailed by natives who seem to take delight in playing the "accent racism" game, assuming that because I no longer sound like a West End stage caricature of Rob Roy or Mel Gibson's William Wallace, then I must be a foreigner deserving of contempt, and subjected to the full range of small minded bigotry that some Scots seem to find necessary in order to emphasise their Scottishness.

How will you improve the Scottish education system in order to consign this particularly unpleasant expression of cultural xenophobia to where it belongs ?

I only wanted alook to see what the points being made were. I tried to pass on commenting, but am amazed at some of the points! EG.

56. At 11:01am on 21 Apr 2010, Phillip of England wrote:
39. At 10:11am on 21 Apr 2010, Alastair wrote:

"After that, we can start talking about how long England has to repay the oil money."
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Just what 'oil money' are you on about exactly?

Please do correct me if I am wrong here, but Scotland has no oil. The rigs are in the North Sea, are they not? And as I understood it, anything outside of 12 miles from the Scottish coastline, or any coastline for that matter is technically international waters and thus not subject to Scottish ownership.

I dare say I may have that totally wrong, so please do take issue with that, just trying to get my facts right if they are wrong...


I take it that no country has demanded any taxes from the oil companies or licences for searching/ extracting oil, as these are international waters. Never read so much rubbish in all my life!


The one respondant that I would totally agree with changing just the parts I am British from Scotland with English friends.


62. At 11:26am on 21 Apr 2010, chezza100 wrote:
Why are you so insistant on breaking up GB?

I have a few Scottish friends who are fantastic and I pride myself as being the same nationality as them - I'm British but from England.

As far as I can tell we need all areas of GB to survive - the only exception of course is the football when the English seem to be hated through and through by the Scots & Welsh but it does provide good banter in the pub.


In the words of Robert Burns, a mans a man for all that.