4 ms·

I'm not convinced that an independent Scotland would be able to get rid of Trident. Any independence will be negotiated and as the armed forces belong to the cr

by iuguy 13y ago

I'm not convinced that an independent Scotland would be able to get rid of Trident. Any independence will be negotiated and as the armed forces belong to the crown it'll be down to the armed forces and monarch to largely decide what happens with Trident. If Scotland were to become a republic, then I can see that changing but I suspect that separation wouldn't be an immediate and overnight thing and that armed forces would continue to operate jointly for some time following independence.

gadders 13y ago
There was also the option floated of keeping the Sub bases in Scotland as sovereign British territory if Scotland goes independent.
- arethuza 13y ago
  That particular daft idea was killed pretty quickly (by the sounds of it came from some official at the MOD) because that kind of arrogance is exactly what motivates a lot of people in Scotland to look seriously at independence.
  - gadders 13y ago
    What about taking on RBS's debts? Are they OK with that? And presumably without a currency they'll join the Euro?
    - arethuza 13y ago
      On the subject of RBS (not an organization that I have a very positive opinion of) - given that the corporation tax receipts from RBS in its boom years went to the UK government and it was the UK government that "regulated" the finance sector the most likely outcome would be that Scotland would take a pro rata portion of those liabilities. That seems fair to me - especially as RBS has most of its UK operations in England, not in Scotland. Trying to backdate things would rapidly get very silly indeed (e.g. Scotland asking for North Sea Oil tax revenue back?).
      - gadders 13y ago
        I have to be honest, whichever way you slice it it would be a nightmare to untangle the two countries on all sorts of levels. I even heard there was a concern as Scots are over-represented in the British Armed Forces.
  - hugofirth 13y ago
    I am confused as to why that is arrogant. Should Scotland gain independence, the idea of Faslane becoming sovereign British territory seems plausible. There are plenty of examples of armed forces bases being located within foreign jurisdictions in accordance with similar arrangements. As I understand it, relocating the infrastructure of the Naval base might well prove prohibitively expensive. Furthermore, its continued presence would provide a considerable boon to the local scottish community in terms of jobs and the presence of British armed forces personnel. To be clear, I hold no strong opinion on the continuation of the Trident programme or Scotland's membership in the Union. The part of me that is proud to be British would be sad to see it break up I suppose. I do however support the requirement for a Binary referendum whole-heartedly... no more self-determination.

by iuguy 13y ago

gadders 13y ago

There was also the option floated of keeping the Sub bases in Scotland as sovereign British territory if Scotland goes independent.

arethuza 13y ago
That particular daft idea was killed pretty quickly (by the sounds of it came from some official at the MOD) because that kind of arrogance is exactly what motivates a lot of people in Scotland to look seriously at independence.
- gadders 13y ago
  What about taking on RBS's debts? Are they OK with that? And presumably without a currency they'll join the Euro?
  - arethuza 13y ago
    On the subject of RBS (not an organization that I have a very positive opinion of) - given that the corporation tax receipts from RBS in its boom years went to the UK government and it was the UK government that "regulated" the finance sector the most likely outcome would be that Scotland would take a pro rata portion of those liabilities. That seems fair to me - especially as RBS has most of its UK operations in England, not in Scotland. Trying to backdate things would rapidly get very silly indeed (e.g. Scotland asking for North Sea Oil tax revenue back?).
    - gadders 13y ago
      I have to be honest, whichever way you slice it it would be a nightmare to untangle the two countries on all sorts of levels. I even heard there was a concern as Scots are over-represented in the British Armed Forces.
- hugofirth 13y ago
  I am confused as to why that is arrogant. Should Scotland gain independence, the idea of Faslane becoming sovereign British territory seems plausible. There are plenty of examples of armed forces bases being located within foreign jurisdictions in accordance with similar arrangements. As I understand it, relocating the infrastructure of the Naval base might well prove prohibitively expensive. Furthermore, its continued presence would provide a considerable boon to the local scottish community in terms of jobs and the presence of British armed forces personnel. To be clear, I hold no strong opinion on the continuation of the Trident programme or Scotland's membership in the Union. The part of me that is proud to be British would be sad to see it break up I suppose. I do however support the requirement for a Binary referendum whole-heartedly... no more self-determination.