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[Starver]

(The big island is called Mainland. Thus they may only be on several islands, but they control the Mainland one as well.  They can also say "I am a Scottish Liberal Democrat, hear me Yell!", even whilst being  Unst-able and Foula than anyone else.)

[Loud Whispers]

Ok, my point is that Labour has been consistently loosing voting share in this seat since the 1997 election, so laying the blame 100% at the feet of Corbyn, or the current infighting seems insufficient.

That's a fair statement, but I'm biased pro-Corbyn so take that with a pinch of salt. I like the guy's sweaters very much, since his sweater socialism has a great deal more consistency than champagne socialism

the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who have achieved the questionable distinction of being the only political party to have been exiled to an island within an island.

Can I sig this? 

It is indeed a very apt appraisal of the situation

[MetalSlimeHunt]

the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who have achieved the questionable distinction of being the only political party to have been exiled to an island within an island.

Can I sig this? 

Only if you go into your bathroom at night and spin around in front of the mirror, chanting three times "David Cameron had sex with a dead pig". Paint yourself with animal blood as you feel is appropriate.

[TD1]

Small question: Should the blood be from a pig, or would that just be vulgar?

[Grim Portent]

Paint yourself with animal blood as you feel is appropriate.

Do I look like a death metal singer? 

[Alastar]

Not yet?

[smjjames]

lolwut MSH.

Members of the UK Tory (conservatives) party are saying 'nope, we owe nothing to the bill, not even a penny'

It's mostly coming down to legal wrangling and a massive slice of politics.

[Loud Whispers]

That's nice, though this isn't really a significant event - more a confirmation of what everyone had surmised and planned on. The UK is gonna try and claim all the assets it's entitled too while minimizing the extent to which it will continue contributing to the EU budget while the EU is gonna try doing the opposite, minimizing the UK's claims and maximizing its contributions. The law would be on our side but possession is at the end of the day 2/3rds the law

[Sheb]

That's nice, though this isn't really a significant event - more a confirmation of what everyone had surmised and planned on. The UK is gonna try and claim all the assets it's entitled too while minimizing the extent to which it will continue contributing to the EU budget while the EU is gonna try doing the opposite, minimizing the UK's claims and maximizing its contributions. The law would be on our side but possession is at the end of the day 2/3rds the law

Not so sure about the law, probably depend on what part of the bill you're referring to. The arguments that the UK should still pay for the programs started this budget cycle (and from which it still benefits) is strong. The case for Eurocrat pension, the law is likely on the British side, and as for the 2 billions lost in customs it's murky.

[Sheb]

Double post, but Sturgeon asked for another referendum, to be held before 2019 (so before Brexit). Yay!

[Grim Portent]

Firstly the SNP have a mandate to request a referendum anytime they get elected, it's part and parcel of their platform and why they get elected in the first place. Saying they can't ask for another referendum is saying the 46% or so of Scots who voted for them can't ask for one. Votes are never one and done things, if they were why bother having elections every few years? A referendum is no different in nature.

Secondly, circumstances have changed massively with Brexit becoming a thing. It also breaks one of the platforms of the No campaign which was that leaving the UK would take Scotland out of the EU.

[Sheb]

Double post, but Sturgeon asked for another referendum, to be held before 2019 (so before Brexit). Yay!

I realise that when Wee Jimmy Sturgeon said the initial referendum was a 'once in a lifetime' event she was speaking from a Scottish perspective, and all those deep-fried Mars Bars aren't exactly conducive to a high life expectancy. But what, five years? Things are obviously more dire than I'd expected if that's a lifetime now.

Should they actually ever go independent, I look forward to seeing what great strides they make in funding their own education and healthcare with a ~£15bn deficit.

That deficit looks less impressive when you realize the UK as a whole runs a ~£110 bn deficit. Sure it means that Scotland runs an above-average deficit (especially if oil prices stays low) but it's not the end of the world.

As for legitimacy, what Grim Portent say. 

[Sheb]

Of course we'd welcom Scotland in, if only to stick it to the UK. Plus, the EU doesn't fund policing or education so that irrelevent.

I took my figure by grabbing the budget deficit in the table of the latest Economist, 4% (I have the app so it's convenient) and multiplying it by the UK GDP.

[smjjames]

Speaking of Scotland independence and attempting to join the EU, I read an earlier PoliticoEurope article saying that the SNP (or something Scotland) had tried to court Spain about it. However, and understandably because of the Catalan independence issue, Spain is incredibly sensitive to the whole 'independence from the mother country' deal (they don't recognize Kosovo, for example) and has said that they won't support Scotland joining the EU.

So, Spain could be a roadblock. and there isn't any kind of deal that I'm aware of that would guarantee fast tracking Scotland into the EU.

[Grim Portent]

Of course we'd welcom Scotland in, if only to stick it to the UK. Plus, the EU doesn't fund policing or education so that irrelevent.

I'm all in favour of the EU continuing to rush headlong into its own destruction. On the off-chance that Scottish independence ever happened, it would presumably inspire the Catalonians and every other separatist movement to start (covertly, at the least) pushing for leaving the EU, after seeing Scotland's successful example. (Somewhat ninja'd by smjjames).

Not that I think it's at all likely. Anyone who still thinks Scotland can live off North Sea oil really hasn't been paying attention the last few years.

And GrimPortent, speaking of their 'mandate' - the SNP don't have a majority anymore after the resurgence of the Tories. And every other party (bar the Greens, kek) opposes independence. So can they even claim a mandate at this point?

They have 46.5% of the constituency vote and 42% of the regional vote, slightly more than double the share of any other party in Scotland and are running in a system that was actually designed to prevent single party governments in the first place*. Yes they have a mandate as the single largest political group in Scotland. They

On top of that the pro-Independence Greens have 6% of the regional vote, mostly from SNP voters who sympathize with them and wanted to give them a bump, pushing the pro-Independence party vote share to 48% regional.

Or to put it another way the SNP have a higher vote share in Scotland than the Conservatives have UK wide, so the SNP mandate in Holyrood is greater than the Conservatives one in Westminster is.

*The regional vote system was put in place to compensate for the winner takes all nature of FPTP, and allows an MSP to be voted into Holyrood based on the total share of the regional vote the party got with a massive penalty applied to parties that did well in the actual constituencies. That the SNP got a majority in it at all before was more or less unforeseeable.