A national conversation

Okay, I know that this affects more than just Midlothian. However, it does affect Scotland http://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/a-national-conversation
What do people think? Is it just a lot of hot air? Can Scotland really go it alone? Perhaps you feel that just having more powers is the answer. On the other hand is the prospect of a referendum on whether Scotland should be independant or not a complete waste of taxpayers money? The answer my friends is in your hands. I wonder whether it would be good for Scotland to appear to be one of these countries that is full of spin. It seems to be against nuclear power because doing so makes it look good. Why shoudln't it follow the rest of the UK and expand our nuclear facilities? Wind farms are bad because they affect the environment. This could also be seen as NIMBYsm. We don't want to build nuclear submarines because these are bad. Why do we need nuclear subs/weapons?

Don't get me wrong, I love Scotland However, I am wary about whether we are ready to go it alone. The question is that with dwindling oil reserves, can we really afford to cut ourselves off from the rest of the UK?

Whoa, Andy! You are raising a lot of topics in this question.

I will just mention one topic. I would like to see the Scottish Parliament exercise indepence on the specific question of rendition - the use of its airports to illegally take indivuals to places where they can be tortured. If Westminster wants to pretend it's OK, I'd like Holyrood to speak out for Scots opposition to inhumanity, which I feel is real.

I know the questions you raise are far more economically based and I know others will have strong opinions! Good luck- I look forward to seeing some.