Articles

49% of English Voters Support ENGLISH Independence

The poll was carried out on behalf of Business for Scotland by Panelbase and surveyed 1,015 English residents between June 29th and July 3rd and asked if people agreed or disagreed with the statement: England should be an independent country and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be allowed to stand on their own two feet.

Continue reading

Oil - An epic example of Westminster's economic mismanagement

Now, let's look at a specific, epic case study of Westminster's economic mismanagement. Norway and the UK have managed their oil and gas industries very differently, resulting in a substantial contrast of fortunes in their economies. A key argument against independence is the claim that Scotland would be too small a nation to maximise the benefit of its oil and gas industry. However, when comparing the UK and Norway's oil and gas production and the revenues generated from this industry, we can see that Norway has generated £572.7bn more than the UK Government in tax revenues since the production of oil and gas began. 472

Continue reading

The Barnett Formula Myth Destroyed - It does not subsidise Scotland

Arguably the most misunderstood part of the UK public sector budgeting mechanism is the Barnett Formula. The vast majority of people, politicians and the media seem to think that Barnett represents a subsidy to Scotland. Many Westminster MPs (mainly Conservatives) have described it as English taxpayers subsidising Scottish public spending, and the mainstream media have run headlines along those lines. There is just one little problem with that idea – it’s complete and utter nonsense. 

Continue reading

What now that Boris has said No to a Scottish Independence Referendum?

The UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has written to the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, to refuse her demand for Westminster to transfer the power to hold a second independence referendum to the Scottish parliament.  The letter contains (attached) a clear falsehood that Nicola Sturgeon promised that the 2014 referendum would be a once in a lifetime opportunity - she said that she thought it would be, but made no such promise.  That type of bluster and falsehood may win cheers in Westminster, but it will go down very badly with voters in Scotland.

Continue reading