Our gain will be a loss to the rest

Gift aid is crucial for our small, Scottish-registered charity. We receive donations from all over the UK. In the event of a Yes vote HMRC will hardly pay out gift aid, assuming we can still get English donations.

I believe that if an independent Scotland wishes to join the European Union the currency will ultimately be the euro. Why would Germany et al agree to admit a rich net contributor that refused to shoulder its share of bailing out the likes of Greece?

If there is a Yes vote, what about the rest of the UK family? Scotland will have the tax on most of the remaining North Sea oil and a huge potential to develop wind, hydro and wave power. Is it really fair that these resources would then be used only for the benefit of 5 million Scots?

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Scotland’s gain will be a loss to all the rest, who will have had no say in the decision.

Much of the Labour representation in Westminster comes from north of the Border. Splitting the Union would probably ensure a Conservative government in Westminster for some time.

Do Labour voters in Scotland really want that for their compatriots down south? And do we really want to lose all influence in the Westminster parliament, particularly over foreign policy? If we are that uncaring, will we really create a better society at home either?

I can understand the emotional attraction of independence. However, might this drive a wedge between the Scots and the other three 
nations of the UK?

That would be highly undesirable, possibly leading to division and disputes that in the longer term could become dangerous.

We have stood together as a United Kingdom in two world wars, the Cold War, and the current recession. I am proud to be Scottish both by descent and residence.

I am also proud to be British and I want a strong thriving UK. If there is a Yes vote, I will do my part in the new Scotland but I will have a profound regret and sadness at the ending of a Union that I think was good for all and was, on balance, a force for good in the world.

I would like to see a strong united UK continue to play that role, and other national leaders have expressed similar sentiments.

Patrick Miller

Pentland View

Edinburgh