Articles

The UK public thinks high prices and lower incomes are here to stay - Poll suggests

Research published by polling firm Ipsos Mori has found that the UK public has among the lowest confidence in its economy of any country. The poll, conducted between the 24th March and 7th April 2023 featuring 23,309 respondents from 29 countries, found that six in ten people in the UK believe it will take at least a year for inflation to return to normal levels, this is the lowest of any nation surveyed, other than Sweden. 46% also believe that their income after taxes and bills will fall in 2023/24. Continual policy failures by the UK Government lie at the heart of this economic mess  – if Scotland is to become economically prosperous,  independence and rejoining the EU are essential.

Continue reading

It's time for Scotland to tax the energy giants - £7.6bn in profit for Shell in first three months of 2023

Quarter 1 of 2023 has seen Shell add to its already enormous profits from 2022. This week the oil and gas giant reported that in the first three months of the year it recorded stronger than expected profits of £7.6bn. This is higher than its figure from the same period last year despite a slight fall in energy prices. A slip in the price of energy also doesn’t seem to have affected Shell's main rival BP much either, the company boasted first quarter profits of £4bn.

Continue reading

UK Government policy is causing a population crisis in Scotland

The Scottish Fiscal Commission recently released its Fiscal Sustainability Report and it makes clear that if Scotland remains part of Brexit Britain, the Scottish population will dwindle by almost half a million by 2073. The report serves a similar purpose to the UK Government’s Office for Budget Responsibility ‘Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report’, in that it attempts to provide a long term forecast of Scotland’s finances and its economic outlook. Within the report, the Fiscal Commission forecasts changes in the Scottish population for the next 50 years. Due to low birth rates, the Fiscal Commission forecasts that the population of Scotland will fall by approximately 400,000 by 2072-73. 

Continue reading