Scottish Independence

[Grimaldi]

Apologies if already covered - in Ireland, and can't get search facility on phone.
Should those of us born in Scotland but living elsewhere in the UK have a vote in any future referendum on this?

[bookbinder]

I don't think so. Any Scot who leaves Scotland for an extended period of time could be viewed as having given up their loyalty to the country, and is no longer eligible to determine Scotland's future.

[EDDIE51]

Just for a start that would be impossible to organise. How do you define who would vote? I know many people born in Scotland but who have lived in England all their lives and still consider themselves Scots. The rules would be the same as the last referendum, residency in Scotland is what counts.
There is no register of who is Scottish and who is not.

[Grimaldi]

My view is it should be for the people OF Scotland to decide, not just the people IN Scotland.

[anneasquith]

No

[DTCwordfan]

Grimaldi, the practicalities of this say, 'No'...it's not as if there's any Scottish passport or driving licence....the nearest thing is a birth certificate but I would think that is unworkable....

[Quizmonster]

Grimaldi, there are millions of Scots scattered all around the world who still consider themselves as Scottish, however long they have been away. There is no conceivable way in which a method could be found to allow them to cast a vote on Scotland's future.
Once an immigrant arrives there and gets his/her name on an electoral register, they are entitled to vote...and rightly so...however hard it might seem to someone who has, effectively, forfeited that right by leaving.

[Baldric]

Let the English vote, you'll soon be away ;-)

[B00]

Why not?

Expats of the UK could and did vote in the referendum, I see no difference here.

[EDDIE51]

I know many people who consider themselves Scottish just because their parents are Scottish even though they themselves were born and have lived their entire lives in England. So what would you make the criteria for being 'Scottish' ? To have been born there even if you moved out as a baby?
What about a woman who just happened to be visiting Scotland when she went into premature labour, would the child be Scottish?

[EDDIE51]

Boo there was a cut off point for UK expats. They had to be able to prove they left the UK less than 15 years ago. How would that be possible for Scotland? There are no records of when someone from Scotland moved to England or when they left Scotland.Ex pats had to use the date they applied to be recorded as residents in the new country, we do not have such records within the UK.

[-Talbot-]

So what would you make the criteria for being 'Scottish' ?


Round here it is telling people on a daily basis how much better it is to live in Scotland and wearing a football shirt of England's next opponent in a World Cup.

[douglas9401]

Where's 'round here', Talbot? Could be anywhere in the world under those terms. :-P

[B00]

Ahhh, good point well made there Eddie!

[Old_Geezer]

IMO where you are born defines your nationality, even though you can apply to adopt another. I understand the sentiment of wanting a say on what happens to the country one considers one's own, but as pointed out, there are practical difficulties, making that a non-starter. Maybe a swift move back there ;-) use your present home as your holiday home.

[naomi24]

If Scottish people are registered to vote in England, or anywhere else other than Scotland, it would be unworkable.

[-Talbot-]

Some would have to go through an interrogation process. I know two young English peeps with Scottish parents who insist they were born in Scotland despite their parents telling me different. (Of course I would dream of winding these young uns up)

[naomi24]

Talbot, I too know people born elsewhere who bang on about being Scottish but who've hardly ever set foot there.

[Old_Geezer]

Or Americans who insist they're Irish.

[naomi24]

^Yes, same sort of thing.

[EDDIE51]

Scotland certainly seems to have a higher level of loyalty than England.
Those born or with parents born in Scotland are usually insistent they are Scottish rather than British. But in my experience English and Welsh expats living abroad are likely to describe themselves as 'Brits'.