Letters / A vote for uncertainty
I’m absolutely scunnered by Yes and No politicians continually shargin in each other’s faces and not one of them able to give a straight answer.
The one thing supporters of both sides are voting for on 18 September is uncertainty.
If Yes wins, then on Independence Day (24th March 2016) there would be a new constitution for Scotland the details of which we still don’t know.
On Independence Day we would have a new currency the form of which we still don’t know – on that day everyone in Scotland with savings in the British pound will have them converted to the new currency. Would this mean that our savings could be greatly devalued?
Probably yes, think many large companies who are already moving money out of Scotland. Once again no one knows what the exchange rate will be or even what the new currency will be.
At some point following Independence Day Scottish residents will cease to be British citizens and loose all the benefits of British citizens living and travelling abroad.
I have a British passport, which will not be renewed when it expires – I will have to apply for a Scottish passport. Will people born within the old UK be allowed dual nationality?
No one knows because apparently all this will be negotiated later and will depend on EU membership.
The same uncertainties and unknowns apply to a host of other issues such as, pensions, benefits, taxes, the NHS etc.
Voting No now apparently no longer means No, as agreed on the ballot paper, it now means a qualified Yes to more (unspecified) powers for the Scottish Government including greater Tartan taxes.
One certainty is that politicians of all shades have let the population of the UK down by not hammering out all the details in advance so that we could know the full implications of how we cast our vote on 18 September.
Allen Fraser
Meal
Hamnavoe
Burra
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