Scottish independence - a bit controversial?

I see that those nice people from over the northern border with the funny Och-ay accent have started banging on about independence again. They seem very set on this, and have guaranteed that a referendum will be held on Scottish independence by 2014, even though polls show that over 70% of the Scots are, at the moment, against it.

Now I have nothing against Scottish people. I even know one or two very nice Scots who have lovely gentle accents and seem quite sensible. But then they have lived in England for several years, so perhaps they have been influenced to the good. And there are several quite nice things that have come out of Scotland – porridge, (some) tartans, heather, raspberries and the Loch Ness monster to name but a few (not whisky – can’t stand the taste nor the smell of the stuff).

However their politicians are now starting to annoy me about this. To be honest, I’m now getting to the stage of thinking that if they want independence, then we should let the buggers go. I think they’ve got more to lose than we have.

At the moment, they have free prescriptions and free university education in Scotland. Presumably, they can afford this because they get a huge subsidy from the rest of the UK which they chose to spend on that instead of other things.  If they went independent, then that subsidy would have to stop; let them raise their own taxes to pay for it (oh, they can’t can they, because their population either isn’t big enough to raise enough money or too poor – or both). The Scots have one of the worst health records in Europe, particularly for heart disease, and again their health service is heavily subsidised by the British taxpayer. Again, presumably that would have to stop. There must be numerous other examples that, as a southerner and English at that, I am unaware of.

And they’re always whinging aren’t they? Bad old England won’t let them have/do this, insists they do/have that and so on. Whiney sods; frankly if they want independence that badly perhaps we should not protest too much and let the complaining so and so’s get on with it..

“Ah”, but they cry, “we would have North Sea oil, so we're OK”. No they bloody shouldn’t! It was British, not just Scottish, money that went into developing the oil fields and the infrastructure to support them and they should remain a wholly British resource. There is no way that the rest of us should be held to ransom over that.

So lets present the Scots with all the facts, financial and otherwise, and let them make up their minds.  I don’t subscribe to the view that the United Kingdom should stay united, particularly if one substantial minority doesn’t want to, but they must understand that if they vote to move away then they have to stand on their own two feet in every way. And if they vote to stay put, then perhaps we need a complete look at the way we work together, financially as well as ceremonially.

Good luck to them. Their choice. Oh - and if the vote goes against it, don't complain, because that will show that most of you know what's good for you!