Scottish Independence effect on seafarers

[pignutpilot]

How do people think Scottish Independence next year will effect Scottish seafarers?

What kind of effect will it have on our tickets etc?

In term of Seafaring Earning Deduction it may be a good thing. If Scottish people choose to stay British and pay British tax, it will mean that spending time in Scottish water will count as time time abroad, and crew changing in a port such as Aberdeen or Peterhead etc will count as a foreign port.

Or will it make the Crown more likely to scrap it, and remove the benefit.

Opinions?

[chris]

If the Scots scrap SED, imagine all the Scots applying for English passports lol. I reckon I could make some money with Scots pretending to live at my house in England for SED reasons.

[Steve]

How do people think Scottish Independence next year will effect Scottish seafarers?

There is just the small matter of a referendum first. You write as if it is a foregone conclusion.

[EH75]

Difficult to say. You've got to remember that if we vote yes then as far as I can remember we wouldn't actually become independent until 2016, the intervening two years would be full of negotiations about various things, then we would have a general election and whichever party got elected (which would not necessarily be the SNP, as some people seem to think, in fact I would be surprised if they existed much longer after independence) would then set such policies based on their manifesto.

And as has been mentioned we have the referendum to deal with first, which I really can't call at the moment. Despite my own leanings I've always been of the opinion we would vote no but now I'm not so sure. Just from conversations with people I know who were planning to vote no who are now in the "don't know" camp and a couple of people who were pretty staunch unionists who are now saying they might vote yes, so who knows. Aware that might not be representative of the population as a whole but that's all I've got to go on at the moment. Don't really believe anything the polls say.

[Rootsea]

Difficult to say. You've got to remember that if we vote yes then as far as I can remember we wouldn't actually become independent until 2016, the intervening two years would be full of negotiations about various things, then we would have a general election and whichever party got elected (which would not necessarily be the SNP, as some people seem to think, in fact I would be surprised if they existed much longer after independence) would then set such policies based on their manifesto.

Given that it took 18 months to decide the referendum question, I think to be totally independent in 2016 is pretty optimistic. Also, although you are right in that there will be elections, the SNP are the party that would be at the helm during negotiations and they would be the party that would set the first policies of an independent Scotland, so what they say now is highly relevant; I'm amazed at how anyone can support them when I've yet to see the SNP give a watertight argument for independence or come up with a coherent policy about anything from the economy to defence.

I start at Warsash in January next year. If we vote for independence in September what will happen to people like me studying under UK-wide SMarT funding? What will happen to the UK register of shipping, will it be divided up in some way? Will all Scots have to get UK CeCs?

For me there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered.

[bobofinga]

In my heart I want Scottish Independence and I would say it's for all the right reasons , however in my brain I think it would probably vote against it because there are so many unanswered questions , like the MCA , Ship registry etc. Things that directly effect me.

[EH75]

Yeah unfortunately shipping sort of stuff is not really at the forefront of most of the electorate's thoughts and therefore getting definitive answers on it pre referendum is probably unlikely. Most people don't even know what the Merchant Navy is so its not a political priority.

For me its a fundamental question about who I want to be in charge of Scotland, a government elected by the people of Scotland or a government in Westminster which we have very little influence over electing. We had a thread on this before where I think I might have laid out my views in more detail but that's the crux of the matter as far as I'm concerned.

[HarmlessWeasel]

For me its a fundamental question about who I want to be in charge of Scotland, a government elected by the people of Scotland or a government in Westminster which we have very little influence over electing. We had a thread on this before where I think I might have laid out my views in more detail but that's the crux of the matter as far as I'm concerned.

Your vote carries exactly the same weight as mine does. We both have the same amount of influence. The north of England is hardly hoping for independence because Westminster is in London and not York or Manchester. Yes you're a different country but both countries stand to gain more out of unity.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 4

[bobofinga]

'The north of England'

Thats the difference though you still are in the same country as London.

[GHedges]

As is Scotland, currently. Yes, historically, England and Scotland (and Wales and (Northern) Ireland) were independent kingdoms, but we've shared a monarch for 400 years and have been part of the same country for 300 years.

However, English/Welsh students may embrace Scottish Independence, presuming Scotland is able to gain EU membership, then it should end the frankly awkward situation where English/Welsh students pay full fees at Scottish universities, but other EU nationals are able to enjoy the 0 fees available to Scottish students.

[bobofinga]

I think the fact English students have to pay the Scottish Uni's tuition fee's whereas other EU students don't is totally correct. If we didn't then the English Students would flood our university places and leave none for the non-fee paying Scots in their own universities. If a Scottish Student wants to go to Oxford he has to pay? so it should work vice versa...

As for it changing in an independent Scotland I'm pretty sure it won't , like I said our Uni's will be full of non fee paying English Students exactly what the Scottish Government doesn't want with its policy of 'Free Education'.

[EH75]

Your vote carries exactly the same weight as mine does. We both have the same amount of influence. The north of England is hardly hoping for independence because Westminster is in London and not York or Manchester. Yes you're a different country but both countries stand to gain more out of unity.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 4

I was talking more about the Scottish electorate as a whole. I can't remember the exact statistics but for something like 37 of of the 68 years since WWII, Scotland has been governed by a government which it did not vote for, and the remaining years we only got the government that we voted for because the rest of the UK voted the same way. The political landscape in Scotland is very different to that in the rest of the UK.

The North of England may well have similar statistics and the fact that there is no-one there calling for an independent state is their choice.

[Rootsea]

As for it changing in an independent Scotland I'm pretty sure it won't , like I said our Uni's will be full of non fee paying English Students exactly what the Scottish Government doesn't want with its policy of 'Free Education'.

I think that the free uni thing is a total red herring. Although we can go to uni for free, the fact remains that the poorest 10% of English children are more likely to go to uni than the poorest 10% of Scottish children. Free university doesn't exist, the cash has to come from somewhere and in Scotland it is taken from the money that would otherwise go to primary and secondary schools.

All well and good telling kids that they won't have to pay for university, but it is pretty pointless when those kids leave school unable to read and write. We should only fund uni courses in subjects like medicine and then we can use the extra money to make our primary and secondary education better.

[EH75]

As is Scotland, currently. Yes, historically, England and Scotland (and Wales and (Northern) Ireland) were independent kingdoms, but we've shared a monarch for 400 years and have been part of the same country for 300 years.

As far as I understood it, England and Scotland are countries. Not sure about Wales and NI; I think Wales is a principality and NI is a province? Anyway all four make up the Sovereign State of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The monarchy doesn't really matter. The Queen is head of state of 16 countries at present.

[HarmlessWeasel]

ach my post was way too late, and not relevant anymore