The Pound (£) Vs. The Euro (E)?

Jumping Jedi Flash - Euroralia! Tee hee! I love it. Mind you, it's not far from the truth as far as the Asian market is concerned. We're in an odd position here - the Asian market considers us a European country that displaced by the slight factor of geography so they are loath to consider us one of them. Yet when the Asian crisis hit the world economy the Australian dollar suffered because Europe and America considers us a part of the Asian Market!!! So we can't win either way. We are the idiot inbred relative living in the woodshed that no-one wants to admit to! If we weren't for the fact we are fun at parties we would be a complete pariah on the world stage!

Oops. Back to the main topic... At first I couldn't understand why the UK would resist adopting the euro - but then I wondered what the Aussie reaction would be if we were forced to adopt the yen or yuan as a currency and be completely at the mercy of the Asian economy. Suddenly I understood the trepidation!

Going off on a bit of a tangent (again!), I have a question about the pound. A friend of mine from Scotland told me that pound notes with 'Bank of Scotland' on them were not legal tender in England, but my mum told me that recently the rules have been changed and that the Scottish pound can be used in England as readily as the English pound. Is this true? And if not, why not? I'm not the world's foremost expert on the UK (still struggle with the differences between Britain, Great Britain, United Kingdom, etc.) but if it is one country where the currency all has the same value, why aren't the different pounds treated the same? And why have different pounds in the first place?

Oh, it's so much simpler to be a simple, lowly ex-colony... LOL

 

About the scottish pound it has been legal tender in britain (enter: England) but some shops dont accept it because they dont know what the hell they look like so could eaisly be forged etc.
Like all scottish notes, they are legal in england just finding somewhere that accepts them is the hard part

I would love to come to Australia (great surf in warm waters!!!!!)

Blair would do ANYTHING to hang on to power.

Yes, but in the history books he would rather be seen as not the 53 PM (prob not the figure) but as the person that took Britain into Europe.

as for your germany comment, well anyone with an ounce of brain can see that is a dangerous and narrow-minded point of view

I am just reporting what i have read here, i am not zenophobic:

QUOTE:"If we cant take your land, we will take over finances" - Germany after the war


Britian has a strong economy and therefore it's inclusion will stabalise and strengthen the euro.

Yeah but makes us weaker.

communism sucks

HAHAHAHA talk about about a Capitalist spokesman (it seemed like you meant that in jest) but communise doesnt suck its the fact that the rich arent as rich and therefore people in power in the majority of the world didnt like it and saw it as a threat to their power (enter: money).

 

We are an island. Lets keep it like that. I dont want to subsidise french pensions cuz their government couldnt get their act together with their welfare state.

 

Ah Minxie hits a nail on the head. When one country (ie. us) have combined invested pensions funds that exceeds ALL of the rest of Europe combined, then there is something going on. They went their hands on our money to bail out their underfunded pensions that are going to cause havoc moneywise in 5-10 years time...

 

Feckin Europeans.

I am Scottish. I'm not with that lot.

I don't want their money, I don't want their laws.

 

Sadly independence from us isn't going to make that happen either. Frankly I wish all the Scottish, Welsh etc MPs would go back home and leave Parliament to just English members. Mind you that would get rid of some annoying members of the current Labour cabinet

 

Well love, all I can say to that is, if there werent the excellent Scottish MPs (all parties) then yous would be stuck with the mutants...

...the portillos...the archers...the hamiltons...

Frankly, that statment you made was slightly bigotted!

 

Why Mat? So you can tightn your oppression on Scotland, Wales and Nortehrn Ireland even more?! That comment pisses me off

 

Yeah, Andy. Me too.

Us first...and the Welsh. Next he'll be wanting rid of the Blacks, the Asians, etc etc etc...

Sounds a bit like some of the narrow minded, racist biggots that I went to church with...hence the reason why I wont have any part of that anymore.

 

last week it was immigrants who wre the end of his bigotted opinion.

 

If I posted what I really thought about Capitalism I'd probably get given a little unrequested break...

 

Arghhh... you're getting me all wrong here. Scottish, Welsh etc MPs are allowed to vote on matters both in the English parliament and of their own back home (correct me if I am wrong here though). English MPs can only vote here in this country. So where's the fairness in that?!

Personally if Scotland, Wales etc want true independence from England (not something I am totally against, just not sure it's a great idea), then the MPs voted for in those regions should only be able to affect matters in their own country. Ditto for tax raising powers also etc. The rest of the UK still gets a net income from England now.

It's not a question of wanting to get rid of Scots, Welsh or anyone for that matter, just a case of parliamentary levelness...

 

Decisions made in Parliament affect teh whole country - also, consider the fact that about 85% of teh MPs in Parliament are of an english constituency, what's the point of England having it's own Parliament when it can easily veto the scottish, welsh and irish opinions if they are against them?

Take for example the issue of tuition fees - scotland no longer has them. And aren't the welsh on their way to getting rid of them too?

 

Prostitutes in the Czech Republic are asking clients to pay in euros even though the country isn't expected to convert to the currency for another nine years.

The prostitutes, who work near the Czech-German border, say most of their customers are German sex tourists in cars.

Previously they asked for payment in Deutschmarks.

One prostitute from the south Bohemian town of Strazny na Prachaticku told regional paper Ceskobudejovicke listy: "I sometimes still take marks, but not that much, since you can't change them here anymore."

Sexual services cost from about 20 euros (£12) to 100 euros (£62), similar to the old Deutschmark price of 40 to 200.

The Czech Republic, which uses the koruna, expects to convert to the euro in about 2010, six years after it should join the European Union.

 

And you have free residential care in Scotland, and teachers get paid more nearer their worth. Talking as someone who works in Social Services the scottish model is better than ours, I hope we can find the funds in England to make it like more like the Scottish model. I fear for England right now after seeing the long term plans of this government.

 

Chet - get them to go on strike. That sorts out any pay disputes up here

 

LOL, when I first started in Social Services I restructured the Home Care hours and pay awards so that the service users would gain benefit and we could become more efficent. There was a massive backlash against it and the home carers (whom I have a lot of respect for) went on strike. When they were picketing outside the office, they asked me to sign the petition. Little did they know it was my model the director was implementing. Eventually it got settled, they accepted the new offer ( the one we always intended implementing) and now the service is 25% more cost efficent and service users are happier because their needs are met.

That was my big break in Social Services. Just thought I'd bore you all with it.

 

Well this is what I'm saying Andy. I am also suggesting that matters within the English Parliament should only affect England. You can't accuse me of having my cake and eating it now! Whether or not the other countries within the UK can survive properly without subsidies is another matter however (they'd probably have to hike taxes severely), so true independence (ie. total separation on all fronts) may well be impossible.

 

I am with Mayhem on this one, It s ok for scots etc to votes that effect the English but you have your own parliment. We cant vote on things that effect scotland.

Ok the majority of things also effect the scots as well but as someone said you have got better (free) residental care.

Its not racist zenophobic its the truth and if you fly that flag you are just as bad. You are repressing the truth.

If you cant handle the truth however much it hurts you are have been brainwashed by the amount of propaganda out there.

Always ask why

A good rule to live by.

England having it's own Parliament when it can easily veto the scottish, welsh and irish opinions if they are against them

Britain has this as well, its called europe which is sometimes good.

Also another thing about europe, there is no such thing its only members from their own countries trying to get the maximum benefit for there own country.

AFI "fight the power" I am with you on the capitalist comments

 

The Scottish Parliament is a mickey mouse parliament given to us by the Anti Christ Tony Blair to lull us into a false sense of security. The Parliament has no real power.

BECAUSE WE HAD OUR OWN SYSTEMS BEFORE IT WAS INSTALLED!!! Our own (and better, I might add) Education system, Social Services system, Property System. So much so that the English Property system was supposed to change to the Scottish system but it hasnt happened yet.

Scotland, Wales and Ireland will ALWAYS be ruled by Westminster...oh wait...I should amend that to anything NORTH OF LONDON.

 

It also disgusts me that the government wishes to try out new things in Scotland first - eg paying tolls to get into the cities!!!

Why the **** can't they just do it in London. There is absolutely nothing the Scottish Parliament can do about that either

 

There was something we could do about the Poll Tax but that was ignored.

There was some writ or something like that that stated that Scotland could not be taxed separately to England (or Wales or Ireland) but hey....we were.

The government does what the hell it likes to line its own pockets and pay for its mistresses and rent boys!

 

Did you hear me defending MPs now?

Unfortunately they are a necessary evil...

ED: Glad to see we agree on one thing there then Cass

 

Yikes...is it just me, or does anyone find that scary

 

LOL, see my post in the games console thread.