Joking aside, the Catalan people will be delighted with this result. Further turmoil in the UK will help their own Independence campaign immensely.

Unfortunately, for Scotland, the regional outcomes mean nothing. The only fact that matters is that of all the people that voted out, over 1 million of those votes came from Scotland.

Not disagreeing that the majority voted in, but there's many a people (over 1 million in "fact"

) that voted out.

Not a whitewash, for every 3 people whom voted, 2 voted in and 1 voted out.

I am aware of the maths.

However, the simple fact remains that Scotland wanted to remain and we had a very convincing % of the vote to remain. To actually suggest that Scotland contributed to the overall decision is somewhat unfair. We more than did our bit for the Remain campaign. For any Englishman or Welshman who wanted to remain, they were let down by their countryfolks. Not by Scotland, and the same people who let them down have pretty much now sealed the independence we voted against only 18 months ago.

which, of course, in their eyes "is strangling British business and making it uncompetitive". The race to the bottom is on.

Could an Independent Scotland finance itself. Not trolling just a question.

Well ME is taking my family in as refugees. Obviously I'll need to pay rent so if all the scots open their doors they'll be raking it in.

Well, being born in West Laroch, Balachulish...(though living in Bradford for 64 years) I'm all up for painting my face Blue and shouting "Independence ya Bass" But, I"m a bit worried in the light that Scotland has a very high rate of Social Security dependents and maybe no NHS if they leave? (that I don't know about) I think they will find it very hard to finance the country if they leave. Remember that they will have to put money into the EU pot every week (I think the UK amount is about 325 million per week, but don't quote me on that, please) to get any funding back.. I have a sneaking feeling if they do stay, they could be another Greece in waiting. But..........who knows.

Shocked and saddened, and feel for the younger generation who will have to live with the effects. Even if the remains of the UK do manage to find some Arthurian economic utopia in the future, billions will have been lost during the search which will never be recovered. And who will the neoliberal saviours of sovereignty make pay this price - the very same desperate people who won the vote for "bonkers" Boris, I was education secretary but don't listen to experts Govenad, and heir to Sir Oswald Mosley Farage - a man who less the 24 hours after the vote admitted the £350m for the NHS was a lie.
So self inflicted economic crisis, constitutional crisis, hand grenade lobed into the EU - yet they think investors will put money into the rump UK were instead of access to the largest economic area in the world, you will be able to sell without hindrance to the hotspot of wealth which is the Welsh valleys.
And just to cap it off you have dear old Trump visiting the country to hand in his property companies bid to rebuild Hadrian's Wall!!
I was disappointed as hell when we were denied the Grand Final by the finger of Mike - but nothing like the anguish after yesterday's vote.

I looked into this subject, and you sir, are correct, we are.

I Quote,

In recent months, despite the magnitude of the refugee crisis, several EU member states opt for a stringent asylum policy. The UK and Denmark opted out of the EU resettlement plan because they thought it was too ambitious. Instead, Denmark decided on just admitting 1000 asylum seekers while the government of the UK has stated it will only admit 20,000 over the next five years.

Was reading today, Denmark are considering leaving the EU now...I am really too old to be bothered either way now..I just do worry for my children at times..

If I understood correctly the last independence referendum was lost by the Nats because apart from blaming the English for all their ills and holding them back, they didn't really have a credible economic policy, or even know what currency they would use. So Scots being canny souls voted with their wallets in mind. Going forward the oil price has collapsed, the EU itself is tottering, and there probably would have be a physical border at Gretna - if Bonkers and Farrago mean what they said about controlling immigration. Though having said that if the EU survives and the Scots get admitted back in- then Edinburgh could pick up a lot of financial services business from London, if it hadn't already been hoovered up by Frankfurt and Paris.

Have you been reading and believing the Daily Mail for all that time?

I do NOT read that paper, I only buy the Sun on saturday to get the middle racing pages. Thats my only MSM vice.

The figure I quoted is from the EU website itself, dig deep for it. Anyway, Ive had enough of this brexit stuff, onto tomorrows game.

Linking back to rugby, it seems that the two largest parties are following the Bulls example by trying to play without a leader on the pitch!

Well, 18 months ago, one of my reasons for voting NO was that the finance aspect was a big issue. Not only did the SNP and the Yes campaign have a firm fiscal structure, the volatility of the oil revenues that they held on to bitterly would always be a concern. (Remember the SNP wants to be an independent country but remain using English Sterling and be run from Brussels.....)

However, I think that people do underestimate the impact we could make.

The most annoying thing for Scottish people on the whole is an issue that faces everyone north of Watford TBH, in that we do not get a fair share when it come to finance. We hear about how "England have to bale us out" and that is not strictly true IMO.

Also, the most pertinent thing for me is that the North of England has far more in common with us than they do with their own countryfolks in the south. We both get shafted from Westminster in terms of funding.

Now, this sounds dangerously like I am now advocating Independence and I am not, but the clear issue is now here, whatever we do is completely ruled and decided by people who have absolutely no interest in anything bar self-interest. The EU vote and the general election vote show that.

For me, the way I am think is this....

Can we go it alone - yes.
Should we go it alone - unsure
Will we go it alone - yes.

For me, as one who is for democracy, we have to ask the people again if they still want to be part of a crumbling union? And I do not think that they will. We might not prosper as much as the "experts" say, but we will, at least, have the chance to make decisions for ourselves, that benefit the Scottish people, rather than help fund the likes of a High Speed rail link that will never come within 100 miles of our border for example.

We have the chance to go and I reckon now we should. The EU vote has shown this and suggests that England do more to "hinder" than "help" us up here.

And, ask yourselves, good people of the north; if YOU had the chance to vote out of a Tory dominated country and go it alone, would YOU?

The concept of a unified North, if it ever existed, is surely now dead.

The "good people" of Sunderland after years of feeling disenfranchised with a Tory administration, overwhelmingly voted to kick themselves even harder in the face last Thursday. They may have a notional similarity with the Scots in that they loathe the Conservatives, but they lack your good sense.

Sorry. I may have been picked up wrong here. I am just curious to see what people would do if they had the choice to do so.

However, the United Regions of Northern Britain does sound tempting!!!

Anybody want to take part in a sweepstake for when the vilification switches from immigrants stealing our jobs to the unemployed stealing our jobs?

Cos make no mistake, the unemployed being but one rung up the ladder means they're next.

edit: and I make no promises that I won't be joining in. I do not have the words for the depth of my resentment towards my countrymen right now.

It did. But the fragile alliance between the liberal left and the mainstream post industrial North has been killed by the hubris of both parties. While this saddens me, I'm firmly in the former camp, and am pretty much resigned to perpetual recession in the north of England, taking with it British Rugby League and various other institutions I hold dear.

I've had a weekend of mentally severing ties with the things I care about, and I've more or less adjusted to the fact that old school, small state liberalism is the best that can be hoped for now. The people of the north have handed the biggest constitutional change in living memory to a bunch of old Etonian opportunists, but is too busy complaining about people calling them thick to care. Fine. Enjoy the smouldering carcass of the country that you have 'won back', while it is divvied up between the parties of a demagogic crytpofascist and the official representatives of the home counties gentry. I'm done.

If, as I hope, Scotland does get independence we are on our way. At the moment I've had it with the ignorant xenophobic working class. Every single person I have spoken to, every person on the street Leaver I heard interviewed, made their disastrous decision on racism, xenophobia or a want 'to take control of our country again' (which is probably the same thing). They were too stupid to see the lies being peddled by the boys club & their agents in the right wing media. This could be a catalyst for further nasty nationalism in Europe; the victims of that will be the weakest & most desperate in society,not the bankers & the liars like Johnson - a man who cheated on & lied to his family, so lying to the country must come easy.
My hope is that Scotland can forge a country based on common good rather than a desperate race for short term material gain.

IF we go for Independence again, one thing I am very certain of is that the above would be true, but I had previously had my reservations on.

TBH, the idea of an Independent Scotland does not really phase me whatsoever. However an Independent Scotland run by Sturgeon and the SNP is a whole different story.

You will get far more coverage of Sturgeon than we do in the former socialist republic of Yorkshire, but from down here she (& Ruth Davison tbh) seem on a different moral plain to the disgusting public schoolboys we have handed our future to.

Ruth Davidson is a wonderful advert for the concept of a Conservative that isn't actually evil. Amber Rudd was a pleasant surprise to me as well.

I think you will be aware how much time I have for Ruth Davidson Pumps. She is an outstanding politician.

Oxymoron alert.

Ruth Davidson has made the Tories the second party in Scotland, following the results of the recent Scottish elections. Given that we have always been a Labour heartland and we have the dramatic rise of the Freedom Fighters, this is a heck of an achievement.

Labour have only got themselves to blame however. Red Ed was un-electable and Corbyn is even worse. Also, Kezia Dugdale as the Leader of Scottish Labour is like a rabbit in the headlights up against Davidson and Nippy Nicola.

Admittedly, Willie Rennie, the leader of the Scottish Lib-Dems is good but (disillusion Lib-Dem voter here) he has too big a job to do after Clegg pimped his ar$e out to the Tory highest bidders.