Does Scotland Want to Leave the United Kingdom After Brexit? - TLDR News

In this video we discuss the case for Scottish independence in the 2019 General Election. We asked our viewers what they thought about the issue and spoke to a Scottish Labour candidate to learn more about the issues facing Scotland.

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[Misterlikeseverythin]

The biggest betrayal was the fact that the Scotts were promised to stay in the EU if they remain in the UK.

[mururoa]

UK - We want to leave the EU!
Scotland - Then we want to leave the UK!
UK - Bastards!
Typical...

[Red]

“I used the United Kingdom to destroy the United Kingdom!” - The architect of Brexit.

[ReneSchickbauer]

"EU citizens would welcome the Scots back into the EU" Yes we would. Not because of all the history and stuff, though. We just love the way you talk.

[excessivegrot]

‘Does Scotland want to leave the uk?’

Tell you Friday.

[ScienceofLoud]

The "Scots receive more money back from the UK per head than they pay in tax" is the most infuriating, false argument.
While that may be true, Scotland also contributes far more to the UK financially in terms of resources. You touched on oil here, Scotland doesn't even see a penny from the oil taken from its waters. All of that goes through Westminster and the numbers are kept secret so that we can never know the true value of our contribution.

Further to this, the value of trade between Scotland and rUK was quoted. Again, we don't see that factor in to the "England pays for Scotland to have nice things" argument.

Scotland exports oil, food & drink, energy, and water to rUK. When England needs basic resources Scotland has them in abundance. Scotland has he majority share of renewable energy sources in wave, wind and hydroelectric, and is a major contributor to the power grid.
Scotland houses the UK's Nuclear weapons arsenal (which most of us rather wouldn't).
Scottish whisky alone makes up around 25% of the UK's total food and drinks export.
And then there is the billions in oil that Westminster pockets.

The question should not be "Can Scotland afford to be independent?" it should be "Can the UK afford Scotland becoming independent?"
When you consider the huge support in Scotland for independence, and then look at statements from Westminster leaders saying "We will not ALLOW another referendum" I think it's pretty clear which is the more pivotal question.

[theother]

Let's see:
Scotland hasn't returned a majority of Tory MPs since 1955;
Tory support in Scotland has not reached 30% since 1979;
before the independence referendum Scots were told that staying in the UK was the only way to stay in the EU;
areas of responsibility devolved to Scotland, but under EU regulations, are being pulled back to Westminster under Brexit;
an independent Scotland would be the 18th largest, out of 28, EU member when it joins;
Scotland has a similar population to the Rep. of Ireland, Denmark and Finland; all of which have higher standards of living than the UK.
While the UK may be the third largest economy by GDP in the EU, it is only the 11th by GDP per capita and 15th in terms of purchasing power parity.
This means there is plenty of scope for an independent Scotland to improve it's economy by improved government compared to the sub-standard performance of UK governments.
If an independent Scotland raised it's game to match Belgium it would cover the 'UK subsidy'; if it matched Denmark it would be 15% better off and if it matched Éire it would be 80% better off.

[ciangargan]

I think it's inevitable that Scottish Independence and Irish unity will happen eventually. It could be in 100 years or 5 years but I think they're both bound to happen.

[liveandletlive]

Eventually Scotland will go independent, no doubt about that

[srinivasmetta]

If Scotland becomes independent all the unicorns will come out of their hiding.

[Guglielmo.Mantero]

Goodbye England, welcome Scotland (Italy is with you!)

[Drokis-cf]

I really hope we do leave the UK and rejoin the EU

[jemdragons]

Buddy, you interviewed a Labour guy. Scottish Labour are no different to Scottish Conservatives.

[davidgardiner]

The arguments for remaining part of the UK seem uncannily like the arguments for the UK remaining part of the EU.

[darkyoung]

I remember when the indy ref took place that not only were we told we would have to leave EU and rejoin but that england/rest of UK 'Could' veto us rejoining this was a huge factor that scared a good number of people out of voting yes in my town

[brocluno]

Was in Scotland this last June on vacation, from the USA. I asked various folks we interacted with (waitresses, car hire folks, hoteliers, store clerks, etc.) whether they supported Scottish independence as we traveled around. Out of maybe 100 people, I got one fellow who said no. All the rest said yes, as soon as Brexit goes down ...

[Its-Just-Gizmo]

You spoke to a Labour guy about Scottish independence? Well... That is obviously only going to go one way.

[LuminalSpoon]

Lads, you really dropped the ball on this one.
Scottish Labour politician (Labour aren't relevant in scotland anymore). Numerous mistakes and no other representation of SNP/Green members.
If you're going to be this poor at Scottish issues then just stick to Brexit please.

[jjosephs]

Do a video on the UKs national debt and the UKs unfunded liabilities, local and national. Also included what happens to the UK governments national accounts if the intrest on the UKs national debt or  UK Treasury bills goes up.

[TheJam]

Let me preface this by saying that I think you do a brilliant job making these videos and educating people about UK politics, and I think you do make a genuine effort to be impartial (unlike most of the larger media outlets).


Though as a supporter of Scottish independence I do feel that you haven't done as much to showcase the arguments in favour of independence as you have for the arguments against, with two particular points sticking out to me. Firstly (and I hope this isn't just me being totally blind) you haven't covered the SNP manifesto for this election, despite covering 5 others including the Green party who have far fewer seats. Secondly, you opted to interview a Labour candidate on the issue in this video, who was always going to argue against independence. I would have liked to have seen an interview with an SNP/Green candidate as well for the sake of providing an informed argument on both sides. I get that it's not easy to snap up a candidate for an interview but I would have preferred this video to be delayed for the sake of getting that second interview if that's what it took.


As I said before, I love your work and I appreciate the effort that you put into this, especially in such a politically tense time for the UK. I look forward to your analysis of the election result.