[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by jfman

How would you approach the financial settlement with an independent Scotland. E.g. should the UK be liable for accrued State Pensions in an independent Scotland - after all they paid into the system here and other nationals are entitled to a pension in the UK based on the number of years they paid NI contributions.

I would have the National Audit Office draw up a reconciliation which would form the basis for negotiation.

On pensions, first your point makes the common sense case for no secession by Scotland; but politics has little to do with common sense. I would expect actuaries to calculate the pension accrual to be sent to an approved fund in Scotland; I wouldn't want anything messy like continuing to pay across a border from the depleted UK.

All other financial matters would be settled on the principle of ownership of an asset and for corporations the place of registration.

I imagine any UK government would think along those lines; we're not Brussels.

And what's your view?


---------- Post added at 17:53 ---------- Previous post was at 17:50 ----------

Originally Posted by Damien

It's not about being nasty. This is an asymmetric relationship, the EU is bigger than us in terms of GDP, trade and population. The same will go for the USA who can bet will use the cards they have to get the best deal for the United States. We can't walk away and call them 'nasty', this is not a grown-up way to relate to the rest of the world.

These deals are not amicable accords between friends but transactional relationships in which both sides will try to get the upper hand because they're only concerned with their own growth. A good deal helps both sides, of course, but it's naive to assume that they'll work to help the other side at the expense of their own.

This is just the start. We can't flounce away from our first major negotiation as an Independent country because 'they're mean to us'. It's time for a reality check here because the disappointment amongst some Brexiters that is to come if they thought this would all be a cake walk or imagined the Britain of 100 years ago coming back will be very disappointed.

They are nasty because they are binding us to their rules in perpetuity. Obviously much of what you say is logical and correct; but we must not sign up to a deal that's bad for us just because they are bigger than us and can screw us over. We hurt them by not giving them the full £39 billion on a no deal basis and then we go our own way. Some sort of common sense will ultimately prevail in matters such as travel, planes and the like.

To hell with them.