Discussions

I know this isn't a good photograph, but I try to blip what is going on in my day. I was apprehensive about introducing the topic of Scottish Independence to the discussion group I'm a member of, here in NE England. I'm the only Scot in the group. I'm not a natural public speaker and I felt a bit intimidated as most of the group are not only clever, but also, erudite. So I spent ages preparing. I must thank fellow blippers, one of whom put me in touch with "The Future of UK and Scotland - navigate the debate" so I had a lot of information which came from academics and experts in many fields. I focused on 16 issues voters might be considering, from the economy and defence to social justice and the EU. A very good discussion followed, and at the end a vote was take. 9 people voted YES (3 women and 6 men) and 5 NO (4 women and 1 man). I was surprised as I doubt this will be the result north of the border. Most of the yes voters said they liked the way Scotland seemed wedded to a social democratic agenda and the kind of political values which were embedded in fairness and compassion, whereas Westminster has long embarked in a different direction. They were also worried that UK would vote to leave the UK. They hoped a more federalist Britain would result, whichever way the vote went in Scotland. The No voters felt we were better together economically and that we could defence ourselves better from terrorism. It went well, but I'm glad it's over!

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