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Our friends in the south


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http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2014/07/04/our-friends-in-the-south/

"The progressive left in London are among Scottish independence’s biggest supporters."

Looks like Vince Cable's attempt at division hasn't worked on some.

A Yes would save them. They have been shafted for years, they know what's at stake.

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I've lived and worked in the South of England; Bristol, Bournemouth and Folkestone - for 1 year, 6 months and 8 months respectively.

Of those Bristol was lovely and the people were as accepting of the case for Scottish independence as they would be for any other reasonably presented scenario - for example, Cornish or Welsh independence.

In Bournemouth there was a split, in many ways it's a town that has had an influx of Eastern Europeans. Personally of those I spoke to, they all wanted to come to the country to better themselves, to work, to pay taxes to get a good education for their kids. However the "native" English viewed these people with a certain amount of suspicion, with wild assumptions about their motives and what benefits they were entitled to. In general though, while Scots were considered on an equal footing as the locals, many thought that we were a burden on their taxes and that somehow they propped us up. Scottish independence was discussed in fairly even terms though, generally with the bottom line being that if there is a No vote then the whole Scots MP voting on English matters and the Barnett formula would need to be scrapped. I don't actually disagree on either of those, for differing reasons.

Now, Folkestone. Oh my fucking God. It's a denizen of the politically, socially and intellectually challenged. Anyone that didn't look like a fat tattooed man walking a bulldog was immediately looked upon as a second class citizen. Scots were scum in many people's eyes, "those fucking Ethiopians and fucking p***s that come over here and take our fucking jobs and houses, same as you fucking jocks we pay for your everything" (direct quote from some lisping disease ridden mess, testament of the power of modern medicine winning the battle over nature). I do not wish to see any non-Scot that experiencing discrimination in Scotland, yet sadly I've seen it happen however nothing, absolutely nothing, to the extent of which that SE corner of England can dredge up. Fuelled in no small way by the political rhetoric of UKIP/BNP/EDL (and yes they should be considered similar) and the element of fear perpetrated by the Conservative government.

I need to provide a caveat here, in that some of my closest friends are English and have lived in England all their lives, but the simple truth of the matter is that I have lived all over Britain and travelled all over the World (barring Australia and South America) and the worst racism, both casual and direct, has come from the English both at home and abroad. Thankfully my friends do not demonstrate those same character traits, so there is hope.

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Have lived and worked all over England my wife being English and an ardent yes voter,I have many friends there but almost to a man/woman they know nothing of Scots/Scotland they are totally ignorant and believe as do many of the NO voters that we are totally dependant on Westminster/England,now it is hard enough listening to this view from the English who have been drip fed this nonsense from time immemorial but from our own countrymen/women is mind boggling this enforces the popular view from down there that we are nothing but whingers and benefit junkies we certainly give them enough ammo to support this.When we got married my wife,s friends/work colleagues could not believe she was coming to live here.

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We call England to the South of London "the deep south". It's partly tongue in cheek, partly because most of the Tory vote seems to come from the Midlands, East Anglia (the worth offender imho) and the rest of the south. It's also because the south west, the south coast and the isle of wight (I've been there, and slagging off black people in public is common place) have a reputation as being somewhere where outsiders are thought of as being not welcome. I know of a man in Camphill in Nuneaton (not in the south, admittedly) who successfully scared away a Polish family, and he's a paramedic driver! On the subject of independence, I will say one thing in our defence - we're not eligible to vote. When it comes to our lack of research come general election time, we have no excuse though.

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One of my friends was down south visiting his friend in this rather exclusive rich area and was invited to a party where him and his wife were instantly asked how they were going to vote, to which they both said a very definite Yes. The locals were shocked, and one of them, a pensioner lady, said "I cannot believe it has been allowed to get this far!", like we're some English territory run by the Raj!

It's very obvious that there is very little coverage in the south, and when you have experienced journalists like Paxman saying there is a growing hatred of the English driving the independence campaign, you have to wonder:

a) do enough English people know anything about it to have a valid opinion on it?

b) should there have been a more detailed and open approach by the establishment and the media so that the whole of the UK can have an informed opinion?

c) does England actually give a shit?

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visiting the wealthy English villages in the south with the classic thatched roofed pubs make it VERY clear that the wealthiest area of the UK isn't reaping the rewards.

Scotland is not the wealthiest area of the UK.

Stop talking nonsense

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visiting the wealthy English villages in the south with the classic thatched roofed pubs make it VERY clear that the wealthiest area of the UK isn't reaping the rewards.

This. We are the wealthiest part of the UK and the fact we have the poorest citizens is completely wrong.

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One of my friends was down south visiting his friend in this rather exclusive rich area and was invited to a party where him and his wife were instantly asked how they were going to vote, to which they both said a very definite Yes. The locals were shocked, and one of them, a pensioner lady, said "I cannot believe it has been allowed to get this far!", like we're some English territory run by the Raj!

It's very obvious that there is very little coverage in the south, and when you have experienced journalists like Paxman saying there is a growing hatred of the English driving the independence campaign, you have to wonder:

a) do enough English people know anything about it to have a valid opinion on it?

b) should there have been a more detailed and open approach by the establishment and the media so that the whole of the UK can have an informed opinion?

c) does England actually give a shit?

The nobs who think that either the referendum shouldn't be allowed to go ahead/the whole of the UK should get a vote are so rare I've yet to meet one.

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The nobs who think that either the referendum shouldn't be allowed to go ahead/the whole of the UK should get a vote are so rare I've yet to meet one.

How do you know? Do you mix with them a lot? Doesn't mean that they don't exist.

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How do you know? Do you mix with them a lot? Doesn't mean that they don't exist.

People I know tend to be quite honest with me about the referendum and vice versa, so I'd think they'd say if that's what they thought. There is the odd "Shetland should get a say in whether or not to stay in Scotland", but no-one has said to me that that means the referendum should be cancelled.

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So, wait, this "progressive left" from London are allowed to support independence but those in Corby and the West Derby CLP can't back a No vote?

In an ideal world, they would have their own debate, about their future.

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Today I got a toff on the phone (from South England, Tory heartland) upon learning I was Scottish he stopped discussing his insurance and began lecturing me about the wonders of the United Kingdom, and how he wished we would vote no

5 minutes later he was calling me a jock c**t and to sucks salmonds cock for not giving him a discount.

Strange way to make someone feel like part of the union

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