just an observation, not a corner stone of any argument, but consider this... scotland is the 10th largest oil producer in the world (could be the 11th) kuwait is placed behind scotland by a single place... let me assure you the standard of living for a first class Kuwaiti citizen is very different to that of your average scottish citizen... the real need for independence was underlined during thatchers reign...here, scotland voted labour primarily, however was inflicted with a right wing short termist conservative govt for three elections in a row... scotland suffered considerably and seemingly could do nothing about it....