My prediction would be agitation for another two years at least, continued drive towards creating a division between Scotland and England on every issue possible and making this distinction especially in Westminster.

At the same time a realisation that right now they need Barnett and so although they will drive towards more powers when they return from the EU post Brexit they won't drive towards a situation like FFA.

Politically they will want to have a majority in Parliament in favour of independence but will have difficulty getting the Greens on board who may make some pretty demanding conditions for their support.

They will also continue to deflect from Scottish domestic policies because once again they might not be able to get their policies through and will be cautious of support from the Tories on certain policies as they had in the 2007 parliament.

It is by no means an easy or simple political road for the SNP and I honestly can't see the leadership risking losing their tight control of the party by thinking about another Indy ref before the early 2020's. If they do, then Mr and Mrs Murrel will disappear as quick as Mr Cameron di because it will almost certainly be lost.

They don't need to create division between Scotland and England - it's there for a blind man to see.

Just read these boards and the English MSM to see the tidal wave of bile and hatred (things they seem to do very well post EU referendum) flowing north - they don't like anyone, including their so-called 'equal partners' (remember that one?) actually asserting individuality and asking for respect as a component nation of this 'united' kingdom.

We need to be back in our box again, doing just what the English Government tell us. No chance.

I thought all it'd take for the Greens to sign on to a second referendum was a sufficiently large petition? OK so the right they touted was a million but if things get desperate enough even that's not impossible.

Exactly.

You just need to read these boards to see the bile and attitude of a lot of people down here who, really, see other countries of the UK as nothing more than their property, and should shut up and know their place.

As soon as the independence bill was announced, I had people and so called friends on my Twitter feed having a go. I hadn't said a thing!

Sure, there are plenty of decent people around, some of whom understand why Scotland would want to look at the question again in the wake of Brexit but, jeez, it has more than it's fair share of toss pots.

Of course they need to create division as it suits their agenda. Ever wondered why we don't talk about SNP domestic policies much?

I see your just a reincarnation of what's gone before on these boards, nothing new to bring and a big chip on your shoulder about the English.

So given the above when are you going home? How can you put up with being abused by your "friends"?

A "tidal wave of bile and hatred" against the Scots? What planet are you on?

What the SNP have cleverly achieved, is to conflate Scotland and SNP for many of their supporters. When people criticise the SNP, they take it personally, as an anti-Scottish insult. Scots who criticise the SNP get called traitors and "English".

Meanwhile, criticising the Tories, or "the English government", and sometimes "the xenophobic English", makes you a noble hero, standing up for justice.

I notice the price of Brent Crude today is over $50. It is half what it was in 2014. But, when the savings in the cost of production since 2014 of around $15, the 20% fall in the value of sterling to the dollar since 2014, the 20% increase in production of 2015 and the new production coming at the end of the year are all added together, the revenues accruing to Westminster and the oil companies are quite substantial.

The growth in Scotland's onshore economy mitigated the sharp fall in revenues from the fall in the price, but it looks like the tide is turning with regards to Scotland's economy.

Supporters of the union will need to find another stick to beat the drum for their cause.

I'm not down here through choice, have been down here since an early teenager and, of course through circumstances, I've built a life down here as a result, married to an Englishwoman with children. I know you might not understand that fully considering, through time, you've proved yourself one of the more bigotted and single minded people on this forum, but hope you understand that there are nuances and complications to life, its not a simple black and white.

I'd love to move back to Scotland, but that would mean uprooting my family, its not just me involved. As I said, there are decent people down here, and England isn't a den of evil by far but, jeez, there are so many people with a chip on their shoulder, and this forum encapsulates that perfectly.

[quote=PompeyBill;84216805]I'm not down here through choice, have been down here since an early teenager and, of course through circumstances, I've built a life down here as a result, married to an Englishwoman with children. I know you might not understand that fully considering, through time, you've proved yourself one of the more bigotted and single minded people on this forum, but hope you understand that there are nuances and complications to life, its not a simple black and white.

I'd love to move back to Scotland, but that would mean uprooting my family, its not just me involved. As I said, there are decent people down here, and England isn't a den of evil by far but, jeez, there are so many people with a chip on their shoulder, and this forum encapsulates that perfectly.[/QUOTE

I admire your courage after all these years being abused by the evil English yet you stayed and got married and had kids. Remarkable.

i assure you I have no dislike for Sottish people but can see clearly why the SNP find stirring up division is a useful weapon for their cause as there are those Scots who will see it as fact and eventually some English people who will finally lose it and sadly respond in kind - all courtesy of Nicola and the SNP.

Sorry to learn even your "friends" have turned against you.

Nothing new to bring = doesn't agree with me.

I assure you I have no chip on my shoulder against anyone or anything. Neither now, nor when I was handing leaflets in the street for 'NO' in 2014.

Sometimes a seismic event changes you and this referendum is so for me. I see my equal partner tell me that my equal partner will do me the honour of engaging with me however, my equal partner will take charge and decide how I will approach this. As an equal partner I will live with what my equal partner gets.

And because I am asking to be a genuine equal partner I am subjected to the usual technique of the abusive partner of being told I am too weak, to small, too broke to survive without them. Something I suspect the Irish were also told a while ago.

I'm sorry, I won't be handing leaflets for no (or whatever they will be called) next time. I no longer believe we are 'better together' and I suspect I'm not alone.

I rather suspect the same one you are on and if you cannot see it, you are not really looking.

This tidal wave of anti-Scottish bile and hatred must have missed Manchester!

The 27 nations of the EU are Independent nations.

Yes, because the economic case was so much more robust in 2014...

Independent to a point... the members of the euro do not have control over their monetary policy, which is part of the current euro zone problem... how Greece would have liked to devalue its currency.

Great post, I would love to hear more from people like yourself, not afraid to say they were an activist for the 'No' side but have had a change of heart. You guys are what will make the difference.

Deleted, not worth the argument.

I bet you would, but there are definitely people going from YES to NO also... would you like to hear from them too...

I'm sure we'd all like to know their reasons, so we can answer them and reassure them that independence is the best option.

Patronising much?

Meanwhile back in their day job it looks like the SNP Government are back to being all mouth and no action:

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/1...ing_terminals/

Its taking their membership to try and force the issue. Perhaps the SNP would be more left wing is some of them were actually allowed to stand for election and influence rather than the nepotism quite clearly practised by the SNP when it comes to selecting candidates for election.

Not really. I think it would be good to know what reasons people actually have for changing from Yes to No, rather than people guessing or forum members on here pontificating about how Scotland is a basket case anyway. If the reasons are understood, then they can be addressed so that the people can be persuaded back to voting Yes. I know there are some people (quite a few on here) who could never be persuaded to vote Yes in any circumstances, but it is the people who are not 100% sure either way that are important to the campaign.

From history, I assume there are about 30% who would vote Yes no matter what and probably a similar number who would always vote No. That leaves about 40% who can be persuaded by discussion, as 15% were in the last referendum, so trying to understand why they might vote no is important.

I was in this group. I actually said this to someone in 2014.

Being taken out of the EU by another component of this asymmetric UK has made me realise I value my European citizenship more.

The bile and hate coming from them has made me see I actually have nothing in common with them, there is no respect for us and the truth is, it's because they're different - they are not the same as us, there are different priorities and wants, politically and socially.

The most obvious manifestation of this? You can see the Anglo-Scottish border on the referendum outcome map.

The Union is holed beneath the water line thanks to this.