Jie Bie

None - but the last I checked Brexit voters weren't having their right to work & live in Scotland called into doubt. I don't see why Brexit voters need a Q&A with Sturgeon, but on the other hand I think it's perfectly reasonable for the First Minister to talk to residents who are concerned that they may have no future in a country which they have made their home. To take it one step further - let's say a Catalonian politician met with Scottish expats and assured them he would do everything possible to ensure they could continue to live and work in Barcelona, Would you have a problem with that? She participated in a number of debates prior to the vote where she heard people's legitimate concerns and worries about this situation. It is possible to consider the welfare of Scottish natives who have been here for generations and the welfare of recent arrivals at the same time you know. You know what - that's actually a fair point. Personally I'd like to see her talk more about the minority of Scots who did vote for Brexit, why they voted the way they did, and what we can do to ensure their concerns are properly addressed. If you think she's "a disgrace" to tell EU nationals that they are welcome after the majority of Scots endorsed that point of view then that's up to you. Well of course she didn't ignore the 45% who voted for Independence - why would she? However, she did of course respect the result and concede that the only way we'd ever get a re-run in the foreseeable future was if there was a material change in circumstances (such as Scotland's place in the EU - something Better Together promised us was safe as part of the UK during the 2014 campaign). Personally I'd prefer us to end up like Denmark - but that's just me.

Except that isn't what she said at all. The actual quote from the article is: "It is my duty as first minister to speak on behalf of all Scottish citizens, including those who have chosen to come from other parts of the EU and make Scotland their home." She is saying she has to speak up for everyone who lives here, whether they were born in Scotland or have came here from the EU. She isn't saying that all Scottish people have the same view on EU citizens (clearly that isn't the case). You could argue she isn't speaking up for those who voted to leave - but why does she need to? The UK government has already given their assurance that "brexit means brexit" so I am not sure why Sturgeon would need to speak up for them?

If the SNP do manage to win 30-40 seats they may end up holding the balance of power at Westminster. I'd be happy to see them prop up a minority administration if they can negotiate delivery of the following 3 policies: 1 - Home rule for Scotland (so everything except Defence and Foreign Affairs is devolved to the Scottish Parliament) 2 - Abolition of the House of Lords and have it replaced with an elected Senate 3 - A commitment not to renew Trident (personally I don't believe it represents good value to taxpayers)

Agreed. The SNP come in for a lot of criticism from voters on both sides of the border, a lot of which I don't really understand. Firstly, their MP's refuse to vote on matters which have no impact on Scotland. A principled stand and one I wholeheartedly agree with. Secondly the SNP have always refused any offer of a peerage in the house of lords (unlike Plaid Cymru who have got two peerages). The SNP's own website even states that they believe "the house of lords is an affront to democracy". With stances like that I would have thought the English electorate would have at least a bit of respect for them.

I've already voted Yes, but I'm not sure if we are going to do it. However there is one silver lining to a narrow defeat - I predict that Cameron, Clegg and Milliband will completely fail to deliver on the "vow" that was on the front page of the Daily Record a few days ago. Once that happens the SNP will be back in power in Scotland in 2016 (Sturgeon for FM perhaps) and we might be ready to give it another try. I worked and paid a small amount of tax and NI when I was sixteen, so I think I should have got the vote. If you had watched the big big debate you would realise that there are plenty of 16/17 year olds who are far better informed on political issues than folk who are eligbible to vote. More power to them I say.

I'd be surprised if Jamie Oliver was personally responsible for negotiating the rent paid by individual restaurants within his chain.

Yup. My gran (who died a couple of years back aged 86) lived a fairly meagre existence for most of her days. Thinking back her and my grandpa did get to go a few nice holidays over the course of their retirement (the only times they ever left the UK), but other than that they never had any luxuries to speak of. Neither of them owned a car at any point in their lives, and when they were both gone the only thing left behind was their terraced house, which was worth less than 100k. It was hardly a retirement living it up in the costa del sol where they were spending money like no tomorrow.

Trust me, there's no way we are as wealthy as (for example) my girlfiriend's retired parents, despite the fact we have higher income than them.

According to that IFS "where do you fit in" we have a higher income than 85% of the population, but I certainly don't feel like we are in the richest 15%! Probably because that website takes absolutely no account for wealth - a bit like our taxation system!

In general the benefits system disregards parental income for young people who can demonstrate they are self-supporting. This policy might encourage the reversal of recent trends for kids to stay in the family home for many years after turning 18.

Complete and utter ********. I say that as someone who knows that certain family members are struggling to to put food on their tables. And before someone makes a snide comment these are people who don't smoke, drink (at all!) or have sky tv. There are a lot of poor families in this country who don't fit the Daily Mail stereotypes we see repeated on here more and more, and they most certainly are worried about their lack of money and the poverty in which they live - often they are one unexpected bill away from a financial disaster.

Supposedly Portsmouth doesn't have the capacity to assemble the Type 26 frigates anyway, which is why BAe wants to build them on the Clyde after the success of the Type 45 destroyers, which were all assembled at Scotstoun. Although part of me is suspicious that they may well have closed the Govan yard today if it weren't for next years referendum, as any promises of "Vote NO and keep your jobs" would have sounded pretty pathetic if they had allowed Govan to shut.

Where does your "70% of the population stat" come from? I would expect the proportion the population without dependent children would be higher than 30% - but maybe I am wrong. Anyway, are people really that incentivised to have children by this system? Kids are expensive so the CTC payments must be pretty damn high! As an example, how CTC would a couple with a combined income of £65k receive if they had one kid?

Those sizes don't seem particularly generous - our spare room is c.110sqft and I wouldn't like to try and squeeze in a double bed plus a couple of wardrobes and chests of drawers into it. The most efficient way to use the space would be to push the double bed into the corner meaning one side was pushed up against a wall - which isn't really ideal for most couples.

You might want to take a look at the country that pays the most at the pumps...