5/02/2007

Alex Salmond wants an opt out with an opt in ?

I missed this story from the BBC website on Sunday which quotes Alex Salmond as saying words to the effect of that "an independent Scotland could rejoin the United Kingdom in the future".

Pardon me Alex, but why would you even contemplate this if your plans for Scottish independence are so water tight ?

If the people of Scotland want to be independent, then let them. I know that the UK exchequer sends more funds to Scotland than it receives from Scotland, and that includes Oil revenues (which would not all be in Scottish territorial waters anyway).

Presumably Alex Salmond knows that there is the very strong possibility that the SNP's figures could be wrong. So Alex, if you want to go your own way, if Scotland finds it cannot pay its way, please don't come back to us, cap in hand saying to Wales, Northern Ireland and England "Can I rejoin the club".

Alex, you can't opt out with a free opt back in. By that time the rest of us may have moved on, we may be enjoying thriving economies and we may well not wish to subsidise your re-entry.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Alex, you can't opt out with a free opt back in. By that time the rest of us may have moved on, we may be enjoying thriving economies and we may well not wish to subsidise your re-entry."

This may be technically correct, but it is a very inefficient way to fight the SNP. Economic scare tactics do not work. The utterly disastrous campaign currently being fought by Labour in Scotland is ample proof, if any were needed, that this approach fails dismally.

The Liberal way to fight the SNP is not by mimicking banal Unionist propaganda, but by spreading an understanding of the indisputable fact that nationalism sucks. All nationalism; even British.

Nich Starling said...

I'm not trying to fight the independence argument. If they want it, they can have it. I simply make the point if you leave the club, don't expect to be allowed to rejoin in the future.

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