Should Scotland be an independent country?

[Mich the Tester]

Software is manufacturing now?

It's a bigger and bigger part of manufacturing, yes.

[Mich the Tester]

I always find it quite funny how people with absolutely no clue on manufacturing and engineering think that formula one is an industry of any national bearing.

I always find it amusing how people from other lines of business can judge how much people who work in and are educated in manufacturing know about manufacturing.

As for Formula One; yes, it has a bearing. Software and knowledge developed there is used on other industries; British engineers who trained at McLaren now build engine management for Mercedes production cars, and research done in Britain leads to better cars.

But never mind, I'm just an oily test oik working in manufacturing so I obviously don't have a clue.

[minestrone]

It's a bigger and bigger part of manufacturing, yes.

Oh Dear.

Anyway, apart for vanity stuff and the other ludicrous suggestions can you name any large English owned engineering companies that are manufacturing in England, possibly exporting to the emerging markets? World leaders?

[minestrone]

I always find it amusing how people from other lines of business can judge how much people who work in and are educated in manufacturing know about manufacturing.

Here we go, anytime I hear 'educated in manufacturing' I think of the diddy courses universities offer to people that could not get into Engineering.

[Mich the Tester]

Oh Dear.

Anyway, apart for vanity stuff and the other ludicrous suggestions can you name any large English owned engineering companies that are manufacturing in England, possibly exporting to the emerging markets? World leaders?

I dunno; I don't live there. I just know of some of the firms that work with Dutch manufacturers. Maybe there isn't much manufacturing in England, but what I've seen is pretty high level high margin stuff. It's margins that make money, not headcounts.

[Mich the Tester]

Here we go, anytime I hear 'educated in manufacturing' I think of the diddy courses universities offer to people that could not get into Engineering.

Give up the superiority complex; you're not as good at it as Sasguru.

[vetran]

You always seem to make clairvoyant like predictions on how this will turn out despite clearly having absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

Clairvoyant?

There will be more work during the transition - Obvious.

Its a pity - Personal opinion I quite like having the Scots as part of the UK.

They will continue to have a referendum until Alex Salmond gets the result he likes or not elected. - Obvious, As I understand it that is a key part of his political appeal.

IF = possible, in bold for those sensitive souls.

I suspect there will be a rocky transition, I'm not sure which way it will go. - Obvious

Many companies were put in Glasgow for cheap & effective labour in the UK, will the foreign companies stay in Scotland if it becomes independent? Will it be the Dublin of the North?

Will the high benefit spending cripple Scotland?
Will Scotland based civil servants working on English claims end up on the dole queue?

As we all have no idea which way Alex will play it as a statesman he hasn't been tested yet. Therefore we all have no idea what we are talking about.

You will however meet a tall dark Dram and have a lovely weekend supping!

[minestrone]

I dunno; I don't live there. I just know of some of the firms that work with Dutch manufacturers. Maybe there isn't much manufacturing in England, but what I've seen is pretty high level high margin stuff. It's margins that make money, not headcounts.

Did I say anything about headcounts? I said large companies.

[Troll]

Once you let the genie out of the bottle

In less than a year Scotland is voting on whether to leave the UK, but far from being a simple decision on whether Scotland wants to manage its own affairs, there could be a spanner in the works.

Earlier this year the islands of Shetland, Orkney and the Western isles decided to use the independence vote as an opportunity to push for their own constitutional reform; a decision that could have far reaching consequences not only for the islands but also for Scotland’s bid for independence.

[Mich the Tester]

Did I say anything about headcounts? I said large companies.

What does the number of large companies matter if thousands of little ones are making lots of money?