The Referendum Thread

[E=Mc2]

Some operators include IOM (or at least did out of minutes) others don't.

However it would be a technical challenge to start charging based on England and Scotland. IOM is simple, it has 1 dialling code (01624) and 3 mobile number ranges (07 then a 5/6/9 then 24). So the operators know if it is an IOM number.

However current mobile numbers in the UK were given to mobile operators in banks. For example the next number to your own could be some one in London, the next someone in Inverness and so on. It would be difficult for the operator to start charging beyond if they simply looked at what mast they were on. That would cause so many issues....

Interesting answer.

I do remember my Northern Irish relation telling me, although it was a number of year's ago, that there a certain part of the Northern Irish coast (top left somewhere) where when he made a phone call it must have got picked up by a southern Irish mast and when he got his bill he was charged as though he was in the Republic when he made the call.

[Stuart Dickson]

OK then, go for it - and remember we are talking about medical services here, not cleaners, laundry services etc.

Ah see now there you go. The cleaners, laundry service etc, etc were all NHS Services when the SNP came into government. Now they've been selling off the contracts to private providers. You know that the SNP are doing their own privatisation of the NHS, but you want to deny it and when called out you try to set out the rules to exclude area's where there's been OBVIOUS privatisation.

[oaksoft]

This post is hidden because you have chosen to ignore posts by Stuart Dickson. View it anyway?

I take it from the number of these on here that someone's just a bit more worried after last night!?

Yup. He;s in a frenzy.

Apparently Darling shaded it for him over the "two legs".

Of course if you've got ME on ignore as well then you won't get this message either.

[Stuart Dickson]

Interesting answer.

I do remember my Northern Irish relation telling me, although it was a number of year's ago, that there a certain part of the Northern Irish coast (top left somewhere) where when he made a phone call it must have got picked up by a southern Irish mast and when he got his bill he was charged as though he was in the Republic when he made the call.

I would imagine it would have been in Derry which is right on the border. I suspect you would just have to make sure that you didn't have International Roaming activated on your mobile phone account to stop that kind of issue, although in theory places like Gretna and Berwick could have very similar issues.

If mobile phone operators want to differentiate between rUK and Scotland they would simply use the international dialling code though. Scotland wouldn't be able to continue with the +44 code.

[oaksoft]

Oh yes he did. He said that he would be happy to work with Darling post referendum.

Aye as part of the negotiating team not as part of the Scottish government.

If you aren't going to watch something (and you swore blind you wouldn't) stop coming on here and trying to rewrite history.

[Stuart Dickson]

You should vote Yes because it is the sensible thing to do and you are obviously a very sensible person.

We would have to negotiate (obviously) but we would get in. It wouldn't be my choice to be in but, hey-ho.

That was talking about the negotiation team ya fud, not a place in a government that is still to be elected.

Still willing to employ a man he thinks is a liar and a hypocrite - amongst many other things. Would you do the same thing if you were recruiting? I certainly wouldn't.

There's a lot of things that an Independent Scotland could have been that would have made it more attractive to me. Staying out of the EU would have certainly been a positive IMO, as would having our own currency.

[Guest TPAFKATS]

Offering to work with someone is not the same as offering them a job.

How twisted do you need to be to think that?

[faraway saint]

I was looking forward to the vote being over then this shite would disappear then I realised a flaw.....................

Stu will pollute many other threads.

His 1264 posts on here equates to an astounding 18.4%, considering it's meant to be a debate, seems the threads been taken over.

[Guest TPAFKATS]

I've just checked and in Europe (including Channel Islands and Ireland) it's 18.8p outgoing and 4.9p incoming and I could buy unlimited calls and texts for an extra £2 per day.

Minimum, at the moment, of £730 per year onto my mobile phone bill.

And the cost of data usage in Europe is £12 per 200mb for 7 days. I use my phone for tethering data to my iPad and I would need to consider that too.

I expect the various telecom companies will bring out deals if we go independent, but I would like an answer now as at the moment I will effectively be paying an extra £730 for unlimited calls and texts to customers in England and Northern Ireland, excluding any data I might use whilst I'm out of Scotland.

Should I vote yes on the basis that I can trust the various mobile companies to look favourably on me as a Scottish mobile user who has to make calls to other countries?

I'm pretty sure it won't cost an extra £730 as it won't cost those on mainland Europe this when they drive from one country to another. Even if it did, it'll be tax deductible.

[Stuart Dickson]

You know, that's kind of funny as I remember, way back when I were a lad, the Initial Services lorries going in and out of the RAI. Maybe they have always done they things on bids and it just so happened that they were run by the NHS at that point as they just happened to have won the last bid previous to that date - or maybe you're wrong, I haven't got time to check just now.

The laundry for the West of Scotland was always in house is ran from here - https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=NHS+laundry+in+larkhall&rlz=1C1KMZB_enGB525GB525&oq=NHS+laundry+in+larkhall&aqs=chrome..69i57.4079j0j1&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8#lrd=lrd - it's in Larkhall which is obviously local to me. However services that were always handled within the NHS are now being moved to private contractors.

To add another one though - catering. Hospitals in Scotland used to run their own kitchens. Not many Trusts do that anymore.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Stuart Dickson

[Guest TPAFKATS]

Someone better tell the nhs gg&c laundry in Hillington...

[Guest TPAFKATS]

I've been getting a lot of paper through my door from both sides in the last week or so.

ALL the Better Together stuff we will LOSE the pound if we vote yes.

Last night darling finally admitted we could keep using the pound. Hmmm...

[band for life]

Great to finally see the BT lies and smears being shown for what they are. If you believe that we can do better then, quite simply, you have to vote YES.

[flyingscot]

I would imagine it would have been in Derry which is right on the border. I suspect you would just have to make sure that you didn't have International Roaming activated on your mobile phone account to stop that kind of issue, although in theory places like Gretna and Berwick could have very similar issues.

If mobile phone operators want to differentiate between rUK and Scotland they would simply use the international dialling code though. Scotland wouldn't be able to continue with the +44 code.

Yep, very common if you are near the border in Ireland to roam onto a stronger Irish signal.

Changing the Country Code seems unlikely for telephone operators. I think they'll be content for the +44 code to continue and it to be a similar situation to US and Canada sharing +1

[Guest TPAFKATS]

FFS, it's getting a bit desperate now for No Better Together Thanks -

Will nobody think of the poor dialling codes!

[Vambo57]

We learned tonight though that even with a Yes Vote, we're going to have Trident on our doorstep at Faslane until at least 2020 and possibly until 2025. Clearly the Natsi's are in no rush to get these "American weapons" as Salmond called them, off our land.

I believe existing H&S laws would prevent us from just packing them all on the Renfrew Ferry and dropping them off on the English Coast somewhere. Is that what you are advocating?

Our Land? After Independence you will be off to England and it won't be your land anymore. Cannae wait!

Yep, I'd agree with that. The currency answer wasn't that strong, but I don't think Darling knew where to go after that. It was a strange tactic from Darling to go back in again on the economy issue anyway. It was obvious Salmond was going to have been better prepared on that one issue. Darling should have gone after Salmond much more strongly on the oil revenue figures. Darling is more than capable of holding his own talking figures, whilst any Salmond come back could have been dismissed simply by quoting the size of the deficit in Scotland last year. Poor tactics, and it probably cost Darling an outright win. However Salmond hasn't scored anything like a big enough win to turn the opinion polls around

Yet he looked sweaty, twitchy, and the walk was one of the most awkward an unnatural things I've seen on stage since Wildcat ran "The Celtic Story"

Did you actually notice that Darling man's stance? His legs were gone, he was hanging on to that podium for dear life.

I'm sure he said "Will you" and Darling thought he said "did you"...????

Correct

I was looking forward to the vote being over then this shite would disappear then I realised a flaw.....................

Stu will pollute many other threads.

His 1264 posts on here equates to an astounding 18.4%, considering it's meant to be a debate, seems the threads been taken over.

Nearly as many as you on this forum then?

[Guest TPAFKATS]

http://m.youtube.com/results?q=real%20heroes%20of%20the%20Salmond%2Fdarling%20debate&sm=3

[Wrong Planet]

I've been getting a lot of paper through my door from both sides in the last week or so.

ALL the Better Together stuff we will LOSE the pound if we vote yes.

Last night darling finally admitted we could keep using the pound. Hmmm...

Must admit Tony that I found the reaction by Salmond and some of the audience to be very childish at the point in the debate, which could easily backfire. The BT stance, which aligns with that of the 'other' political parties, remains the same as from day one, they are saying no to an inde Scotland using the pound in the way we use the pound today. That's not wavered.

They can't stop an inde Scotland doing something along the "sterlingisation" route (no more than they could stop any random country in the world). It's a plan B, but potentially a bag of rats banking wise depending on your outlook (like all the big ticket items there are those who say it could work, there are those who say it would unworkable). So Darling said nothing erroneous, an inde Scotland could use the pound (in the same breath Darling said it could equally use the Ruble), but could only use the pound under a Sterlingisation model.

As I've already said Salmond did better last night after the loss of the first debate (now that the dust is settling the general consensus seems to be a draw over the two live debates), and he even managed to avoid actually telling us what his preferred Plan B is - not sure whether that was good debating on the part of AS or bad debating on the part of AD. My own view is that Salmond should take ground he claimed back on this issue after the disaster of the first debate on currency. I think it would be a big mistake to try to make gain out of the "Darling said we could use the pound" - that's chicken in the basket / Butlins entertainment stuff.

You defo bring something to this debate Tony, out of the usual suspects I do make a point of reading your stuff rather than a cursory scan, however, and just my humble opinion, cheap shots like that one don't do yourself or the Yes campaign justice. Just saying.

[Guest TPAFKATS]

Thing is though wrong planet, all the soundbites and indeed literature from No campaign says we will Lose the pound.

Not sure if they've changed it online yet but all the paper going through letterboxes has it. Funnily enough I've kept mine...

[Stuart Dickson]

Yep, very common if you are near the border in Ireland to roam onto a stronger Irish signal.

Changing the Country Code seems unlikely for telephone operators. I think they'll be content for the +44 code to continue and it to be a similar situation to US and Canada sharing +1

According to the Telecommunication Union its something that hasn't been considered or discussed as yet. However they said that when the Czech Republic and Slovakia split in 1993 each country acquired a new three digit international dial code, as was the case when South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011.

[Stuart Dickson]

http://m.youtube.com/results?q=real%20heroes%20of%20the%20Salmond%2Fdarling%20debate&sm=3

I get nothing on that link.

[waldorf34]

I look upon this as either continuing to rent our country from Westminster , they doing all the maintenance etc or we can buy , taking out a mortgage , oh and asking them to remove the shot called strident from our back door.

Taking out a mortgage and being responsible for your own repairs can be a risky business ,but would you really got back to renting?

[Drew]

I get nothing on that link.

Nothing new there then.

[Stuart Dickson]

I thought it was obvious that we were always talking about medical services but I knew that you would try and twist things - see, I was right. Besides that, what you are talking about is still companies sub-contracted to the NHS not, as they are doing in England, putting health services out to tender which the NHS needs to bid for (and if they do win the contract then they will probably still put some services out to sub-contractors).

Ah, so that's your definition. Perhaps you would care to explain this then....(I've got more but I'll draw these out :-) )

NHS Scotland putting out to tender Maintenance of Catering Equipment (Formally known as NHS National Services) in August 2013

[Stuart Dickson]

FFS. It says it in your link. "NHS Scotland putting out to tender ...". In England, the Westminster Government is putting the health services out to tender and the NHS needs to bid for them. Do I need to spell out everything in one syllable words for you? Also, what the f**k does subcontracting maintenance services have to do with medical services? Where is this list of medical services, that the Scottish Government is privatising, that you were going to supply?

I haven't mentioned medical services. I'm simply highlight the hypocrisy of Alex Salmonds scaremongering. The NHS in Scotland has been putting out services to tender for all of the SNP's time in power. Spartans Football Club, for example, won an NHS contract - beating the local NHS - to go into schools and handle Lothians dental education programme. In the company I work for we took over the energy management and BMS systems from NHS Facilities Management after a PCS contact put the service out to tender. Another fairly recent development was NHS Scotland paying local Pharmacies to do Cholesterol Tests and Blood Pressure Tests for them.

You can call it whatever you want but no matter how you try to dress it up it's the moving of services that used to be done in house by the NHS that has now been given out to Private Business, and to Social Enterprise's.

There's pages and pages detailing NHS Scotland tenders over the last 5 years available on the internet. You know how to use Google. You should be able to find them just as easily as I did.

It's not a bad thing. The NHS is woefully inefficient and if it can find area's where they can save a few pounds by handing over services to experts then clearly that frees up money that can be better spent on patient care. I'd be supportive of any government doing this - ofcourse - but for some bizarre reason the Yes Campaign has seen fit to use this as a battleground for the referendum. Even more bizarre because the SNP has been doing the very same thing they are accusing the Coalition Government of doing for every single year Alex Salmond has been First Minister and in sole charge of the completely devolved Scottish NHS. .

Edited August 26, 2014 by Stuart Dickson