Comments by "Taint ABird" (@taintabird23) on "'Scotland does not want to leave the EU,' Scottish minister reacts to U.K. election" video.

@ivanashley7875 I never said Ireland thrived, I said it survived. The UK also survived losing its empire, but did not thrive in the years before joining the EEC and indeed ended up in an IMF bail out in 1976 following years of decline. Of course Ireland would not wish to go back to not thriving, but there are no circumstances under which the Irish would not wish to be independent from the UK. Even though Ireland was poor between 1922-1973, there was enormous pride in being an independent country which was more democratic than it was as part of the United Kingdom. Apparently Brexiters feel the same way about leaving the EU. An independent Scotland will have some hard times as its economy begins to decouple from the UK, and again once it joins the EU and its economy pivots in that direction - but this will be temporary. Why would you not wish that for Scotland?
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@ivanashley7875 Ireland survived from 1922 to 1973 without being in the EEC or the EU, and that was with partition and after having its infrastructure destroyed in a civil war. Today Ireland is ranked third in the world in the United Nations Human Development Index, Irish people live longer than British people, earn 50% more and have an economy which has reduced its dependency on the UK as an export market from 71% of exports in 1973 to 11% today. There is no reason why Scotland cannot achieve something similar and in less time than it took Ireland...
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@Kaninchen EmwbYou think the UK will still exist in a decade?
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@Kaninchen Emwb Nobody would want to join such a bloc if one existed. However, your description more closely describes the United Kingdom. Why would the Scots want to be part of political union where a people who decreasingly identify as British elect a government that does not reflect the politics of Scotland? It too has an unelected elite in the House of Lords and as a Head of State?
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@Kaninchen Emwb It has nothing to do with faith, it has to do with knowledge. Having faith means nothing - it has to have a sound basis and Brexit is anything but that.
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Cliff Smith 'Southern Ireland' as you call it, does not have most of its customers in the UK anymore. Only 11% of Irish exports go to the UK, 25% goes to the United States and over 40% goes to the rest of the EU...
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Cliff Smith As I just told you, only 11% of 'Southern Ireland' exports go to the the UK. About 50% of all agricultural products go to the UK. Ireland's economy is now hanging on to the coat tails of the United States and the EU also... Membership of the European Union has significantly reduced Ireland's exposure to the UKs coat tails.
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Cliff Smith See what?
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I'm not sure that attitude towards the Scots has been working so far.
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Its more democratic than the United Kingdom.
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@spartanconscience2693 No country in the modern world is 'on its own' - even North Korea depends on China for its economic survival. The modern world is one of interdependence, and there is more power, clout and democracy through pooling some of your sovereignty with the other sovereign nations of the EU than continuing to be part of the UK where the English are happy deciding everything for everybody else. Brexit has brought about a change in circumstances in relation to the independence question in Scotland. It is simply not good enough to claim that the Scots should not be granted another referendum because they had one in 2014. The Tories do not represent Scottish aspirations or values, and instead have exploited the insecurities that underpin English cultural identity these days.
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@spartanconscience2693 I never said being on your own means isolation, my point is, that it is impossible to be on your own and better off in the modern world - I cited the hermit nation of North Korea as an example of it. 'On your own' is a meaningless slogan today, as we are all interdependent and the trick is to maximize the the advantages of that interdependence. The UK will not be able to make any meaningful laws that will benefit its people that it could not already make as part of the the EU, and it will only flourish for its elite who will line their pockets at you expense and the promise of cheaper shoes. Your country can look forward to a future as a rule taker and not a rule maker, when dealing with the United States and the European Union, becoming a vassal of one and a satellite of the other. I of course do not like to share my house with others as you state, but I have no difficulty sharing my country. We already have laws dictating what say these people have and I am happy with them. In my country, immigrants integrate well and I know that democracies that are open and diverse tend to prosper more than those that do not. In my view, sovereignty is not something to be judiciously shared, not to be jealously guarded and horded away in a tower ; my country goes global through EU trade deals while trading with the neighbours, something the UK has failed at by its own account. My country maximises control over the important issues which by definition do not stop at borders – from trade to energy to international crime – these must be addressed on a cross-border basis and we know the EU remains the most effective cross-border mechanism in the world. Brexiteers are driven by the idea that they are putting their country first. But so, of course, does my country. The real issue is whether national interests are to be defined narrowly and pursued as if the aim is to be masters of our own little world or whether, as we believe in my country, that those interests should be defined broadly and pursued in the knowledge that the real world is necessarily one of interdependence, compromise and shared interests. In my country, we support the principle of free movement of people and welcome those who are building up our economy, enriching our culture and making us proud to be Europeans; Brexit voters were influenced by the notion of the UK becoming more “independent”. Some even went so far as to call June 23rd, 2016, “Independence Day”. It requires myopia, when one thinks of say Finland or Lithuania, for any of our British friends to believe that they alone truly value independence. Independence for us is not something to celebrate in lonely isolation - rather it allows us to take our place among the nations of the earth. This is something that Scottish Nationalists understand, they already practice many of these values under devolution. This is why Scotland will eventually become independent of Westminster and will be welcomed into the European Union assuming it still chooses to join.
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@gulagga371 Ireland's exports to the UK is 11% and falling. The incomes of Irish people is about 50% higher than in the UK and Ireland is currently ranked third in the United Nations Human Development Index. The UK should become part of Ireland and see its standard of living rise.
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