The Scottish Government

#74 Sean - Bristol

Hi Sean, I'm afraid you'll just have to join the ranks of 'Scots' who live anywhere but Scotland, but would wish independence on those of us who live here, whether we like it or not!! You are in very good company, like your namesake Sir Sean, who prefers setting up home in Marbella or the Bahamas, than cauld and rainy Alba. There's also an American gentleman who's family 'emigrated' over 300 years ago and have never been back since, who would like to see us being free of the yoke of the Union?

Perhaps you would also like to give the vote to the estimated 10 million descendants of Scottish parents / grandparents, who also, like you, live in England?

Come off it, if you want a vote come and live here, just like all the other nationalities who have qualified for the vote by residence. We are the only people who will and should decide.

I was born in Scotland and lived there until I was 25. I also have an English father, who as made his home in Scotland. The rest of my family live in Scotland and I am passionate about Scottish independence. Will I be unable to vote in the referendum just because I now live in England? Independence would have a big impact on my life. Would an English person who has just moved up there and is fairly unfamiliar with the arguments be able to vote?

I feel using the electoral register is too black-and-white. Surely, people who have been raised, to a certain age, in Scotland should be given the right to vote wherever they may be in the UK?

Over the years my job has brought me into contact with Scots living in most parts of England and English living in most parts of Scotland. I also know Scots with English children and vice versa and English/Scottish families joined by marriage (my family is part English, Irish and Scottish!).Assuming that further devolution or independance for Scotland is the way ahead who will be qualified to vote in any referendum? Additionally as Scotland and England were joined by an Act of Union agreed by both parliaments is it not the case that the Union will have to be dissolved after votes by both Scotland and England and not a unilateral vote by Scotland alone?

#68. john + #70. Dave Eastabrook

To me a Scottish nationality does not need to be overly complicated.
For one, I hope you will agree that Scotland will not have overseas posessions or dependencies to deal with as such.
Nor do I envisage Scottish military personel being permanently stationed overseas either, so very few issues with children of Scottish armed forces born of parents serving abroad.

Does Ireland eg have special regulations regarding rights to residency for nationals of former British territorial posessions?

If you are born in Scotland you are Scottish. If you come to live in Scotland and fulfill the residency criteria(live here, work here, pay taxes here for the required period) you are Scottish irrespective of your dress, accent, personal preferences or skin pigmentation etc.
You might be Anglo-Scottish, Italian-Scottish, Polish-Scottish, whatever, no difference.
The only differation I can see being the rights to residency and to employment here for EU and non-EU nationals.

We, I have no doubt at all, will still be encouraging talented migrants here to enrich our economy and culture.
At the same time I'm sure we will also be making strong efforts to encourage ex-pats to return home, bringing with them their invaluable experience of best practices from wherever they may have previously settled.

I can see no circumstances where Scotland, newly independent or otherwise, would do your 'Idi Amin' or worse.
Who exactly should we expect would see harassing or expelling 'non-natives' as a potential vote winner in this country, bearing in mind that some very significant 'New Scots' are already in very high positions of influence and responsibility?

68: Dave, thank you. Your point'nationality can be complicated', is precisely the point that made me join this thread. On partition, how will the authorities identify those who they deem to have Scottish nationality and those who they do not? Accepting all you say, will we have resident English non-nationals with no right to vote in the country of their nationality? So they are just a little bit stateless? What are we creating here? Partition has historically never been a trivial matter. The points you make are right, but having made them if we can all see inconsistencies in the situation we have to hope the Independence project can handle them.

This is a Constitution we are talking about, not just a nice idea.

68. john - edinburgh
There's not the slightest chance that the English resident in Scotland will be sent home. They're already home. They're still English, but their home is now in Scotland. So presumably is their vote, and they would not have a vote in England.

Nationality is not simply place of birth, it can also be determined by parentage and where you've been resident most of your life.

I was born in Scotland so am Scottish, with Welsh parents so could have been Welsh, but never lived in Wales. Going to school in England and brought up there, I could have claimed English nationality, though now I've lived most of my life in Scotland, as I understand it I could no longer legally claim English nationality. Fortunately I'm not quite good enough to play any sport for my country, so there's no conflict there then - though I'd be able even now under sporting rules to choose to play for Scotland, Wales or England, though possibly not at the same time!

My children also can only claim Scottish nationality through me, as I was born here, though they can claim Irish through my wife - indeed I'm entitled to an Irish passport though my wife, and could possibly therfore play sport for Ireland. My children, born in Scotland can of course (and do) claim Scottish nationality on their own account.

Many English resident in Scotland have Scottish children, Scottish by birthplace, accent and heart. Some of their children though were born in England - but have Scottish accents. I could go on!

Nationality can be complicated :-)

There are two referenda I would like to see, and I think they should run side by side. First is the question of independence. Should Scotland become a legally autonomous country with all the rights and responsibilities that this entails? Second is the question of Europe. Regardless of the answer to question 1, Do the Scottish people wish to merge completely with the European Union? This would entail changing currency to the Euro, as an example, and if Independence were sought then such changes taking place at the same time would create the cleanest break. If Independence isn't sought then question 2 becomes a moot point, with the fact that Scotland held such a referendum being another thorn in the side of Westminster.

Re: 63 by Thomas. Thank you, yes this was what I was thinking. So an English person gets to vote in the referendum and may well vote for a situation in which their right to reside in Scotland, which has up to now in every sense been their home, becomes very conditional. This will trouble many. Going back to where one came from may not be a realistic or attractive alternative did push come to shove. I think now my line of argument needs to go to another thread in this conversation, but I thank contributors to this one for their indulgence.

It fascinates me to see how the issue of the referendum has suddenly assumed so high a profile in the minds of Ms Alexander and her followers! Anyone watching her original "bring it on" interview will have realised that she blundered into the situation with no forethought or preparation, and found herself out on a limb, with nowhere to go. Indeed, it was a clear case of being in a hole, and still digging! The trouble is that such a hole eventually becomes a tank trap! Having belatedly hitched her lifeline to Gordon Brown and her local Party faithful, she has dragged them all into it alongside her!
Her avowed intention to expose the SNP government as "running scared", and the party as breaching its manifesto commit- ment, only exposes her as not having done her homework and being totally unprepared for what was inevitably to come! The government now has a clear mandate to proceed along its originally planned course, of demonstrating its fitness to govern, and then to proceed to a referendum at the appropriate, and originally declared, time. Not even Ms. Alexander can accuse it of failing to adhere to its declared timetable! Bring it on!

65. Alan Reid - Ceres, Fife

Yes. I agree that those who are resident in Scotland would be able to vote.