September 10, 2014

Why won't the Queen say: Please, Scotland, stay with us. We love you, Scotland. And by "we," I mean "I."?

 She chooses to remain mum.

AND: Mother holds her tongue, but dad speaks, and says if you walk out that door, you are never coming back.

92 comments:

Michael K said...

Maybe she is concerned about the future of Britain and losing 50 Labour members of Parliament would be a big help.

Bob Boyd said...

She should offer them a discount.

RecChief said...

If Scotland declares independence, will they stay in the Commonwealth?

Also, what Michael K said.

the wolf said...

She chooses to remain mum.

I see what you did there.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Mum! Ann you droll bird.

Anthony said...

By tradition the monarch is not supposed to make public statements on political issues. So she can only say publicly what the prime minister tells her to say. Privately she can (and this queen does) give advice to the prime minister.

The current head of the SNP is something on a monarchist and on independence has stated Scotland will keep the queen. It is not clear if he means Scotland will become a COmmonwealth realm (like Canada) or if instead they will return to the pre-Union shared crown. I do think that within 20 years or so an independent Scotland will become a republic.

Achilles said...

If Scotland leaves the UK their little socialist enclave will have to support itself and end one of the larger vote buying scams in the present day. Britain will never elect labor again.

Alexander said...

In a better world, the Union would be a good thing.

In the world we live in, amputating the Labour party while simultaneously dumping the 'blame' of losing the union on the Conservatives is a win-win. With a bit of luck, it won't be long before the Queen is the Head of State of an actual *state*, and not the Europrovince it's been increasingly becoming.

If I were the monarch, maintaining the royal union while dissolving the political one seems the best option given the facts on the ground.

Jason said...

Dear Scotland,

If you do choose to leave, we don't want any drunken 3AM texts in two months' time all about how this was a terrible idea and asking please please please just one more chance.

Sincerely,

England

tim maguire said...

Why doesn't she just send the army up there to burn down the polling places and put the separatists heads on spikes at the city gates?

Oh how England has fallen!

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Speaking out would put her in a bind, if Scotland votes for independence, and she wants to remain its Queen.

Pettifogger said...

Achilles said: "If Scotland leaves the UK their little socialist enclave will have to support itself and end one of the larger vote buying scams in the present day."

Scotland has an alternative to that. It can go full Chavista. The North Sea oil will help that. If they pick that route, they too will have a shortage of toilet paper and probably of wool.

tim in vermont said...

Queen has been through this before

tim in vermont said...

" The North Sea oil will help that."

Ha ha! Venezuela is now importing oil.

PB said...

If Scotland leaves, will the Queen retain her Scottish estates? Her mother was born in Scotland.

Anonymous said...

Blogger PB Reader said...
If Scotland leaves, will the Queen retain her Scottish estates?
---------------------------

Until the new Scottish government exhausts all other sources of revenue; then they will be seized.

Brando said...

Has anyone determined what the conditions of independence would be? Would Scotland still use British currency (giving currency control to London) or would they have their own? Would they remain in the Commonwealth? Join the EU?

Seems Scotland gets a pretty good deal out of union with the UK--generous benefits, etc., and they're not major producers. I suspect the reason so many English are opposed to separation is more cultural and nostalgic rather than economic. Aren't the British better off without one of their poorer parts?

Michael K said...

I wonder what the Muslim share of population in Scotland is ?

CatherineM said...

Actually Lars, the Royal Family has owned Balmoral since Queen Victoria's Albert bought it. So Balmoral will remain in the family.

Michael K said...

"At the 2011 census, Muslims comprised 1.4 per cent of Scotland's population (76,737)"

"The vast majority of Muslims in the United Kingdom live in England: 2,660,116 (5.02% of the population). "

Another reason to leave.

Michael said...

Scotland, like any middle aged wife seeking freedom, wishes to be divorced but to continue using the checking account and credit cards. Like any middle aged wife seeking freedom she will soon learn that there are fewer boyfriends than her divorced girlfriends led her to believe and that the job market is closed to those without skills.

Scotland does not grasp that if they are independent they are a foreign country.

Their oil is inadequate to support their profligate social network. Their rich landowners cannot be taxed enough to support their profligate social network. Their Romantic vision of themselves will not suffice to support their profligate social network.

Michael said...

Michael K:

The Muslims will migrate north for the benefits, especially after England no longer is infested with liberal MPs.

Michael said...

Brando:

Of course they want to keep the GBP but to date the UK has said no way. Salmond does not have a plan B and assumes, wrongly, that he will get his way. Scotland real estate is going to be very cheap very soon after independence if that is the way they go. All of the banks reliant upon a central bank will migrate south. Along with their taxpaying executives.

The Scots, being Scots, haven't thought this through.

cubanbob said...

Scotland has a population of 5.2mm versus England's 53mm. Roughly the same proportion as Canada to the US. And like Canada Scotland has a border with it's southern neighbor. An independent Scotland will have to be on good terms with England. Scotland's economy isn't large enough to provide the socialist fantasies the Yes proponents believe they will have. They will soon find out that they need the UK more than the UK needs them. They will keep the pound but will have no say in pound monetary policy. They may be allowed to join the EU for customs union purposes but there is almost no chance that Spain, France or Italy will allow them to join the union if for no other reason than to discourage their own separatists. Scotland doesn't have the oil and gas resources to make them a Kuwait or even a Norway with it's state investment trusts. They are going to have to become more free marketers in order to survive as an independent state than the English they wish to succeed from. Or go full Chavez-communist and suffer an economic collapse in a few years. It appears the fools who are for the Yes vote think they can have the benefits of being in the UK without being in the UK. They should drink less whiskey and start to export more. They are going to need the money.

Original Mike said...

The independence crowd says they will keep the British pound and join the EU. The EU says members must have an independent currency.

Quaestor said...

The Scots, being Scots, haven't thought this through.

Nailed it, Michael. Speaking as a gentleman of deep Scottish heritage I can say that without prejudice.

The YES crowd are the Jacobites redux. They may be a large minority or a small majority. They may win the day come the 18th. But what of the NOs? Will they except becoming exiles in place?

Paddy O said...

Queen to PM: "You will embrace this independence. Support it from our lands in the north. I will gain English favor by condemning it and ordering opposed from our lands in the south."

David said...

The Scots assume that they'll be able to stay in the EU and thus that Europe -- politically more congenial -- will take up a lot of the work done by the UK (although the Scots don't want the Euro).

The problem is that a number of EU countries are fighting their own separatist movements -- most notably Spain with Catalonia, but also including France, Italy and Denmark. Belgium isn't so much a country as a collection of separatist movements.

All of these EU members will see a good chance to deter their own separatist movements by making sure that Scottish independence fails. Or at least will want to avoid throwing gasoline on the fire by making it easy for Scotland.

Walter S. said...

Why are we not all commenting on Ann's amazing final punctuation "I."?" There is enough there to keep us busy all day. Can anyone find in that punctuation a reference to Elizabeth I?

Brando said...

Yeah, I figure the Scots are going to want to eat their cake and have it too, but the Brits may not be so keen on helping them out.

I also wonder--who is eligible to vote on this? British citizens who are current residents of Scotland, or does someone have to have lived in Scotland a certain period before they can be able to vote as "Scots"? I ask this because an old friend of mine is Scottish but has lived for a long time in London--likely he'd be a "no" vote (proud as he was of Scotland, he was also proud to be British) but I don't think he'd be eligible to vote in it.

I'm guessing clearer heads will prevail and the Scots will vote "no" on this. Otherwise, there'd probably be a lot of Scots trying to emigrate from their socialist experiment.

Quaestor said...

Or is that NOes? Whatever.

Sean Connery is, or was, a big SNP drum beater. Years ago I got a phone call from Bond, James Bond, a pre-recorded message actually, asking for financial support for the SNP.

I haven't heard much from him on this subject, which is good if uncharacteristic. Perhaps being lampooned as a total asswipe on numerous SNL skits has had that laudable effect so nicely praised by another Scot in a ditty called To a Louse.

Speaking of that other Scot. Burns was a Jacobite in his burning youth (couldn't resist) which he proclaimed though a number of romantic songs and poems about tartan-clad heroes battling redcoats. But he grew out of it. I think he'd be a NO today.

William said...

The Scots were pretty good at being British, much better in many ways than the English. Being British gave Scots a bigger stage to play on and better roles to play......Ireland presents a cautionary tale. The Irish not only did not want to be part of Great Britain, they did not wish to remain in the Anglosphere. The Irish did not prosper after independence. In the 1950s, there was a survey that showed 40% of the population of Dublin suffered from malnutrition. Burke, a British statesman of Irish descent, preached that it was better to assimilate history than to amputate it.

Alexander said...

Nah, the EU will threaten Scotland but fact is, the EU powerplayers aren't "France" or "Spain" or any other nation state, but a multiculti melange of elite bureaucrats who care nothing for the unity of their states or the people who reside in them. If Scotland votes yes, then the only thing the EUnachs will care about is that there are suddenly 5 million souls that have wandered off the plantation.

This will go doubly so if the loss of Scotland is followed by English withdrawal from the EU. Because the EU only has power if it has a population to exercise that power upon.

And the Scots, having attained the independence they supposedly desire, will willingly submit themselves to a much harsher master.

That all being said, I hope this passes. My biggest concern truthfully is that this is in fact just a giant ploy to strangle more money out of the English in exchange for a few years before the next vote. Much better to vote and be done with it than continue to pay the danegeld.

Quaestor said...

Sorry for the bad spelling at 11:36. Up very late, and I haven't been to bed yet.

etbass said...

This has been a fun thread, completely different from the usual. No race stuff except Muslims.

Amazed at the professed insight into things British/Scottish among the commentors. Wonder how much is worthy; I know nothing of it all.

gerry said...

Let's see, what did it take to join Scotland to England?

Elizabeth I ended up beheading Mary (Stuart) Queen of Scots and then, when Elizabeth I died James I (of Scotland) and VI (of England), Mary Stuart's son, politely responded to Parliament's request and ascended the throne to unite the two countries. He eventually brought his mother's ensemble with him and interred her in Westminster Abbey not too far from Elizabeth I.

If the Scots break away, will the Brits send Mary Stuart's two-pieced body back?

Germans are siting on the British throne now, anyway.

Quaestor said...

...when Elizabeth I died James I (of Scotland) and VI (of England), Mary Stuart's son, politely responded to Parliament's...

Oops. Backward to front. Mary Stuart's son was James VI of Scotland, later James I of England.

The ascension of James Stuart to the English throne didn't unite the two countries, at least that wasn't what I was taught. That union didn't occur until 1707.

ken in tx said...

Scotland could have a currency board and peg their pound to the British pound one-to-one. That way there is nothing London could do about it. The British pound would circulate along side the Scottish pound inside Scotland. There are a number of countries that use the US dollar for some denominations and their own currency for others. Panama and Liberia come to mind.

That said, Scottish independence is not a good idea for Scotland--England, yeah maybe.

Paco Wové said...

"giant ploy to strangle more money out of the English in exchange for a few years before the next vote"

I wondered about that also. Sort of a Quebec/Canada dynamic, "pay me off or I'll leave, this time I really mean it!".

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

I favour the Scots removing themselves from beneath the English jackboot.

It's also good for the English. They will be able to focus on what they do best, work as bankers and butlers for the Sauds and Russians.

Danno said...

Ann, Is your title an example of the "Royal We"?

Quaestor said...

Let's see, what did it take to join Scotland to England?

Mostly, it took a financial collapse in Scotland caused by a frankly insane colonization scheme proposed by one William Paterson.

Briefly, the scheme was to establish Scotland's first overseas colony in Panama on the Gulf Of Darien. Once the colony was in place it would be in a position to out-compete the vaunted East India Company by trading Chinese tea at reduced prices. What they hoped to establish was a kind of overland Panama Canal.

The idea was totally daft. No body seemed willing to face the fact that Panama was under by Spain control, and had been for nearly two hundred years. If the scheme could actually be made profitable the Spanish were sure to move in with overwhelming force and take over. As it was the Spanish were unconcerned. They knew that Panama was a pestilential hellhole, and that the Scots would likely be killed off by fever and starvation within a few short months.

Paterson raised about £250,000 from Scottish investors who could scarcely afford it and another£250,000 from English banks. The colonial expedition left for Panama in 1698. By 1700 about 200 persons out of a colony of 2500 were alive. The money was totally lost. Scotland was broke.

The Act of Union included a grant of £398,085 10s to help settle the debt.

Hagar said...

The unit of currency for an independent Scotland would be the groat?

Left Bank of the Charles said...

David Cameron is not dad, he's big brother.

Quaestor said...

Why did the English cough up 400,000 quid to bail out the turbulent Scots? Mainly to prevent Louis IV from doing it first and thereby gain a foot in Britain.

gerry said...

Oops. Backward to front. Mary Stuart's son was James VI of Scotland, later James I of England.

Very true. I got in the habit of thinking "James I and VI" because it just seemed correct to have "first" before "sixth". It's the OCD in me.

I enjoyed your very informative 1:06 PM post very much.

I picked up Antonia Fraser's Mary, Queen of Scots at a used book sale thirty years ago and read it three times during the next decade. I need to read it again, I think, and it's now available on Kindle!

Alexander said...

Paco,

Yes that's the other example that comes to mind. My personal solution to this would be to allow Scotland, Quebec, any separatist group to have their vote... but to have it automatically trigger a second referendum, in which the rest of the country has a chance to vote the separatists *out* in the even the separatist vote fails. I am 100% in favor of a people's right to self-determination and so as long as it's in good faith, have no issues with the Scots whatsoever. I do however, have an issue with threatening secession simply as a perpetual tool for extortion.

Quaestor said...

Thanks for the kindly words, Gerry.

Quaestor said...

Why did the English cough up 400,000 quid to bail out the turbulent Scots? Mainly to prevent Louis IV from doing it first and thereby gain a foot in Britain.

Fudge! I meant to type foothold. I'd go to bed, but this topic interests me.

Joe said...

The problem, as it was explained to me by someone quite knowledgeable on the subject, is that while Scotland has it's own parliament, it has little budgetary control.

By way of example, in 1989, under Thatcher, the UK parliament, passed the Community Charge (aka "poll tax") which was introduced in Scotland first. It was extremely regressive and caused Scotland to all but switch from the conservative majority to a labour majority. The tax was soon abolished, but the damage had been done.

Quaestor said...

Gerry, since you've read Lady Antonia's biography of MS, I think you'd enjoy a different take on the same material: Elizabeth and Mary. It's available for Kindle and it's Whispersynced.

Alexander said...

I expect there are fears of that today, which may be one (though certainly not the only) reason why the extortion has worked so well in the past - the Scots getting their own parliament while still being over-represented in London, free College education for Scots but not English... It would be next to intolerable if the Scots were to lease army bases to a foreign power. Russia subs at Scapa Flow! Foreign Legion on maneuvers at Fort George!

traditionalguy said...

When you have said independent Scots, you have said independent twice.

I bet the Scots are stubborn enough to vote in independence just to prove the Presbyterian system of self governing individuals works.

Michael said...

ken in sc

They can indeed try and keep the pound w/out ties to the central bank but they will relinquish, as have Panama and El Salvador , the right to any say in monetary policy. Bad bet.

traditionalguy said...

But what will Crack have to say about The Black Watch once he hears they are Scotland-Americans.

Michael said...

Traditional Guy:

You have obviously not been in any of the empty Church of Scotland churches of a Sunday morn. Religion has been wrung out of their thinking a long time ago. For all but the aristos who are, of course, the perceived problem.

Michael said...

ARM

the benefit to England will be that there will never be another Labour government. Most of the lefties live in the north and the English will have pulled off a coup, a briar patch move, that will be rewarded greatly in the world markets when the dust settles.

Scotland promises to lift dole payments and to simultaneously open borders to let in more "tax payers." A genius scheme.

Quaestor said...

But what will Crack have to say about The Black Watch...

When Crack discovers that the Watch was originally established to suppress blackmail he'll boil and bluster like a crock of porridge.

gerry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quaestor said...

You have obviously not been in any of the empty Church of Scotland churches of a Sunday morn.

Thanks, Michael. I was loath to point this out. It seems like Celtic twilight thinking is as strong here as there.

gerry said...

Gerry, since you've read Lady Antonia's biography of MS, I think you'd enjoy a different take on the same material: Elizabeth and Mary.

Used your link to buy it! Thanks for the recommendation.

The Crack Emcee said...

Why won't the Queen say: Please, Scotland, stay with us. We love you, Scotland. And by "we," I mean "I."?


For the same reason white America's never said it to blacks:

Whites don't feel love.

At least not like others.

There's no money in it.

Whites love meoney.

Signed,

The iPhone 6,...

The Crack Emcee said...

Why won't the Queen say: Please, Scotland, stay with us. We love you, Scotland. And by "we," I mean "I."?


For the same reason white America's never said it to blacks:

Whites don't feel love.

At least not like others.

There's no money in it.

Whites love meoney.

Signed,

The iPhone 6,...

Thorley Winston said...

When you have said independent Scots, you have said independent twice.

If that were true, we wouldn't be hearing about “funding the NHS” and “protecting benefits” on the part of those wishing to leave the Union.

etbass said...

"No race stuff except Muslims."

Well, that takes care of that. But in his defense, he was baited into it.

JPS said...

Etbass:

"No race stuff…."

Once again, I fell into a trap.

For the second time, I thought, There's no way even The Crack Emcee can turn this into a discussion on American racism.

Then I realized - because my learning curve isn't quite flat - that I was being silly: that The Crack Emcee can turn ANY thread into a discussion on American racism.

Lo, he does not disappoint.

Quaestor said...

Only if someone nibbles at the bait.

Alexander said...

Whites in Scotland separating from whites in England... bring it back to the black man's grievances here in the USA. And to think Crack accuses me of trying to shift discussions from one continent to the other!

Cedarford said...

Well, Alexander, all you are is Cracks stooge because you keep swallowing the bait and enabling him.

Clyde said...

I find it interesting that they are allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in the referendum, a group that I read makes up about 2.5% of the potential electorate but leans more pro-independence. It will be interesting to learn whether that demographic tips the election or not.

Alexander said...

Hardly - the only thing funnier than bear-baiting Crack is blowing holes through his black supremacy theories. Come for the interesting ideas, stay for the court jester.

On topic: Should the Tories keep their word (I know, I know), it will be interesting to see the parallels between the standards for this referendum and the in/out one regarding the EU.

Michael said...

Clyde:

You raise one of the under discussed aspects of the referendum: allowing 16 year olds to vote. Clearly a demographic well suited to the romance of independence and not possessed of any facts. From childhood many have been taught that the North Sea oil funds the whole of the United Kingdom. Oil they believe to be entirely theirs as opposed to those who have leases.

Michael K said...

" It was extremely regressive and caused Scotland to all but switch from the conservative majority to a labour majority. The tax was soon abolished, but the damage had been done."

The problem was that the "poll tax"was a way to pay for services for those who never paid.

The Green Paper of 1986, Paying for Local Government, produced by the Department of the Environment from consultations between Lord Rothschild, William Waldegrave and Kenneth Baker, proposed the Community Charge. This was a fixed tax per adult resident, hence the term 'poll tax', although there was a reduction for poor people. This charged each person for the services provided in their community.

The California Proposition 13 was similar in that those who were paying the bill wanted some say in what was being purchased.

Nobody votes for responsibility when it will cost them. Only those paying the bill are interested in democracy when it means paying for things.

Drago said...

Blacks invented the Monarchy.

And Scotland.

Michael said...

Well, good news!! The president has informed us that ISIL has nothing to do with Islam.

Has anyone informed him of the meaning of the acronym ISIL?

Drago said...

More importantly, the preezy successfully avoided mentioning specifically that those icky Christians were being butchered by ISIL.

ISIL: enlightened people of color and enslavers of people.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Hey! If they vote yes, then Idi Amin will truly have been The Last King of Scotland!

The Crack Emcee said...

Cedarford,

"Well, Alexander, all you are is Cracks stooge because you keep swallowing the bait and enabling him."

And you're different how again?

ROTFLMAO!!!!

The Crack Emcee said...

JPS,

"The Crack Emcee can turn ANY thread into a discussion on American racism."

Whites have left the barn door open - what do you want from me? They don't deal, kinda staring at the woodwork, and imagining that makes it go away?

And best of all - because that's the mental Twilight Zone THEY'RE in - blacks get accused of "bringing race up all the time."

Most of this country's history was taken up by slavery and Jim Crow. Are you seriously going to suggest it should be less of a topic and not - as it would be in a place concerned with justice - more?

Look at Germany - why aren't we like them? We have 400 years, they have 12, and look at the difference in reaction, with whites here angry anyone mentions it while they continue their evil reign.

To say I'm interjecting race is just an attempt to perpetuate the status quo of white supremacy:

Race is everywhere.

Whites would be well served to get up to speed,...

Drago said...

Blacks invented Twilight.

And the Zone.

cubanbob said...

Look at Germany - why aren't we like them? We have 400 years, they have 12, and look at the difference in reaction, with whites here angry anyone mentions it while they continue their evil reign."

Scratch a Kraut and find a Nazi. Now as you were saying........

Achilles said...

Blacks invented justice.

And Germany.

And monolithic omnipresent whiteness.

And racism hidden behind a complete lack of self awareness.

tim in vermont said...

"Whites don't feel love.

At least not like others.

There's no money in it.

Whites love money."


That is some racial animus if ever I saw it.

Whites love making sure that everybody is fed and clothed and housed, and yes, making sure that they can manage a coffin when that day comes. When there are over 300 million people in a country, that means making sure the currency works, not nuking it by handing out tens of trillions of dollars out of thin air.

Look at Venezuela and explain why that won't happen here with your "reparations."

The Crack Emcee said...

Achilles,

"Blacks invented justice."

It's so funny that, when it comes to actual black achievement, whites are as clueless as a geiko.

Insanity reigns with whites,...

Drago said...

Blacks invented sauerkraut.

Drago said...

Blacks invented the word "geiko".

Quaestor said...

It's so funny that, when it comes to actual black achievement, whites are as clueless as a geiko.

What the hell is a geiko?

Blacks did not invent orthography.

The Crack Emcee said...

Drago,

"Blacks invented sauerkraut."

Fine, you want to play? Try to belittle us? Minimize us in your lives? Fine. Let's embarrass you then - by defining how much of your world is made by blacks:

George Crum invented the Potato Chip in 1853.

Eat it, asshole,...

The Crack Emcee said...

Quaestor,

"Blacks did not invent orthography."

No, but we did invent the multiplex telegraph that allows trains to go from one place to another without colliding.

Whites couldn't figure that out themselves.

BTW - it was Granville T. Woods who invented it in 1887. The same guy who invented dry cleaning.

We know how much it is to clean clothes because blacks set the prices after slavery, when they determined how much they wanted to be paid for the work whites used to make them do for free.

This whole place was built by us.

Traffic lights? Blacks did it.

Silly white people,...

Michael said...

Supersoaker too.

Achilles said...

We aren't belittling blacks. We are belittling you.

It is a distinction a racist like you has trouble making.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Crum was an Indian. I wonder how much of your other info is wrong too.