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Scottish Independence


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Ad Lib, serious question. Do you ever go out and enjoy yourself? Or do you just pore over endless papers and pontificate to people who aren't paying full attention?

I know H_B has no life at all, but surely there's a spark somewhere behind your cold, dead eyes?

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Ad Lib, serious question. Do you ever go out and enjoy yourself? Or do you just pore over endless papers and pontificate to people who aren't paying full attention?

I know H_B has no life at all, but surely there's a spark somewhere behind your cold, dead eyes?

Dont think that " pore " is the word your looking for.

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I reckon we can drill rail/road tunnels out to the islands like Norway and the Faroes have, bung in a few bullet trains, and have everyone commuting from Mull.

It'll be smashing.

Absolutely the answer. We should construct a maglev shinkansen post indy. It would be cool as f**k.

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Ad Lib, serious question. Do you ever go out and enjoy yourself? Or do you just pore over endless papers and pontificate to people who aren't paying full attention?

I know H_B has no life at all, but surely there's a spark somewhere behind your cold, dead eyes?

You're more responsible than anyone for this sub-forum descending into constantly pointless, boring crap, with posts like this. I can't speak for everyone but I'd take a guess that most Yes and No supporters are getting sick of it.

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You're more responsible than anyone for this sub-forum descending into constantly pointless, boring crap, with posts like this. I can't speak for everyone but I'd take a guess that most Yes and No supporters are getting sick of it.

You're right. You can't speak for everyone. Believe me, I'm fully aware I'm not to everyone's taste, that doesn't need pointed out to me. But thanks anyway.

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Do people want to fly to Inverness? Do they f**k.

A typically ridiculous response. Did some girl from the Highlands reject you as a teenager or something?

APD is a tax on movement. Like most such taxes, it essentially rewards people at 'the centre', wherever that may be.

Scotland controls it's University education system and has done so for most of the Union. Next?

Completely irrelevant to my point. For the last time, I'm saying the educational attainment of the lowest 20 to 30% is very poor. By denying this, as people like you and H_B seem to do, we simply cause unnecessary problems for society. Solving the problem requires more than just tinkering with education policy, though.

The Highlands just isn't a population space amenable to high employment concentration growth opportunities.

And of course, as you well know, I'm not suggesting paving the Highlands in concrete. Nor I am suggesting heavy industry relocate there. Again, I'm not sure where your scorn for the Highlands comes from. If it could support a larger population centuries ago, it can certainly do so in today's world. It's incredibly unambitious to say it can't. Norway provides great examples of what is possible, but I also appreciate we don't have the resources of Norway.

There are plenty of opportunities for greater employment in the region, and many of the towns could grow significantly (many are already growing) and, as a result, provide more services and opportunities to surrounding communities. Thousands of people in the big cities of Scotland (myself included) would love to have a summerhouse in the Highlands, in the same way many Scandinavians maintain small, purpose-built second homes in rural areas. Why are we not building them? Doing so would boost the local economy and help grow great companies like Hebridean Homes. I'm not denying that measures could be taken under the current system to help here, but control over taxes would allow much greater opportunities.

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Do people want to fly to Inverness? Do they f**k. Scotland barely sustains 4 international airports as it is and they all serve population centres about 4 or 5 times as dense as the Highlands. Cutting APD will just reduce Scottish Government revenue and redirect modest sums from the government to airline operators, some of which will be passed on to passengers, who will spend their savings in actual holiday destinations... in other countries.

1) Either I've got this horribly wrong, or Libby is talking nonsense again. My recollection is that APD is currently paid to Westminster, not Holyrood?

Surely Libby isn't doing one of his patented "Scotland gains through a Barnett Conseqential" arguments again?

2) APD is paid by tourists flying into the UK too. These passengers will spend their savings in their actual holiday destination... Scotland

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You're more responsible than anyone for this sub-forum descending into constantly pointless, boring crap, with posts like this. I can't speak for everyone but I'd take a guess that most Yes and No supporters are getting sick of it.

It's weird how he went from basically never posting on this sub-forum or the old independence thread in GN, to becoming the successor to xbl as the most vocal Yes voter on the site.

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A typically ridiculous response. Did some girl from the Highlands reject you as a teenager or something?

APD is a tax on movement. Like most such taxes, it essentially rewards people at 'the centre', wherever that may be.

Completely irrelevant to my point. For the last time, I'm saying the educational attainment of the lowest 20 to 30% is very poor. By denying this, as people like you and H_B seem to do, we simply cause unnecessary problems for society. Solving the problem requires more than just tinkering with education policy, though.

And of course, as you well know, I'm not suggesting paving the Highlands in concrete. Nor I am suggesting heavy industry relocate there. Again, I'm not sure where your scorn for the Highlands comes from. If it could support a larger population centuries ago, it can certainly do so in today's world. It's incredibly unambitious to say it can't. Norway provides great examples of what is possible, but I also appreciate we don't have the resources of Norway.

There are plenty of opportunities for greater employment in the region, and many of the towns could grow significantly (many are already growing) and, as a result, provide more services and opportunities to surrounding communities. Thousands of people in the big cities of Scotland (myself included) would love to have a summerhouse in the Highlands, in the same way many Scandinavians maintain small, purpose-built second homes in rural areas. Why are we not building them? Doing so would boost the local economy and help grow great companies like Hebridean Homes. I'm not denying that measures could be taken under the current system to help here, but control over taxes would allow much greater opportunities.

The SNP could help the Highlands and Islands now by spending the £170m the EU has allocated to that area. That they haven't might suggest that your faith in independence boosting the Highlands is a tad misplaced.
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The SNP could help the Highlands and Islands now by spending the £170m the EU has allocated to that area. That they haven't might suggest that your faith in independence boosting the Highlands is a tad misplaced.

Are you saying that the SG is deliberately refusing to spend money it received from the EU to develop H&I? Can you provide a bit more detail?

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The SNP could help the Highlands and Islands now by spending the £170m the EU has allocated to that area. That they haven't might suggest that your faith in independence boosting the Highlands is a tad misplaced.

Have they withheld 170m of EU funding then? You must have some evidence for this. Certainly the UK govt are guilty of diverting millions of EU funding to Scottish hill farmers, perhaps you'd care to comment?
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Are you saying that the SG is deliberately refusing to spend money it received from the EU to develop H&I? Can you provide a bit more detail?

The money is being and will be spent, just not on the Highlands and Islands. That's what happens when the government are keen on centralisation, blurring the source of funds and perhaps having a different view in what constitutes the greater good.

Now they may well be spending the money more optimally but for someone who sees a boost to the Highlands and Islands as a by product of independence it is an interesting issue.

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The money is being and will be spent, just not on the Highlands and Islands. That's what happens when the government are keen on centralisation, blurring the source of funds and perhaps having a different view in what constitutes the greater good.

Now they may well be spending the money more optimally but for someone who sees a boost to the Highlands and Islands as a by product of independence it is an interesting issue.

So what are they spending the money on?

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It's weird how he went from basically never posting on this sub-forum or the old independence thread in GN, to becoming the successor to xbl as the most vocal Yes voter on the site.

How's that weird? That's not even remotely weird. I wasn't aware that I was breaching any forum posting quota.

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