open question: what are the remaining arguments for Scotland being in the Union? bc as I recall the main arguments used in 2014 were:
Access to UK funding for public services (after over a decade of Tory rule that's not looking so hot)
Keeping the pound (literally who cares)
Scottish pensions are safer in a UK wide system (glances over at the climbing age for eligibility to state pension)
we rely on trade with the rest of the UK. how could we leave that behind? (this would be a fair point if it wasn't entirely in the UK's power to continue that trade and open borders. I mean the UK government is composed entirely on spite and soft power so they might not but. Brexit didn't stop trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland did it hey?)
Scotland wouldn't want to have to reapply to join the EU, they can stay on Britain's membership! (lol)
Voting Yes would be "a leap into the dark" compared to the lovely stable leadership of the UK (stop stop my sides are splitting)
Like even in 2014 the Better Together campaign was pretty pathetic and the only thing it could think of to say was 'but we already HAVE a union it's going to be SO MUCH WORK to do things differently' and trying to cherry pick Things That Are Good To Have In The UK rather than, idk, Unique Benefits Of The UK That Are Impossible In Non UK Contexts.
but the thing is that in the last 8 years let's be real. the UK has fallen further and further behind and while in 2014 the Yes pitch was Let's Strike Out For A Brave If Uncertain Future now it's a lot more Water Is Pouring In Through Every Crack It's Time To Depart This Ship
the only good argument I can see for voting no in a second indyref is: if the SNP are gone who's going to be an opposition in Westminster? cause it sure as shit isn't Labour despite their responsibility to do so.
(my hope has always been that Scottish independence might over time rebalance the English political spectrum. like if the English centre-left lose the big anti-Tory strongholds in Scotland and lose the SNP in Westminster there'll be a gap to fill. not sure how much I believe that after the last decade though, tbh I think at this point it's more that either way England and Wales are fucked and public opinion means worse than nothing, so Scotland might as well bail out and try and do better solo.)
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