‘Much more could be done by government to defend these statistics and proactively clear-up misunderstandings.’
Economics
An industrial strategy for Europe
The Euro elections are over; now the EU is choosing new leaders for the next five years along wioth a new focus on industrial policy. Are you in, Scotand?
Indyref2 and the economic fundamentals
‘Underlying (onshore) economic and fiscal fundamentals are little different now to at the time of the first referendum. Economic debate around any second referendum is therefore likely to concentrate on: productivity growth prospects; how to narrow Scotland’s fiscal deficit; and how to improve the Current Account.’
Scotland needs its own currency
‘Post-independence, your plan makes as much political and economic sense as unilaterally adopting changes to the financial regulations of Singapore.’
Brexit lessons for #indyref2
Hence in the same sense that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ is a meaningless statement (without defining Brexit), then so too would ‘Independence means Independence’ be.
Brexit’s multi-billion hit on Scotland’s economy
‘All of these assumptions are necessarily educated guesswork. Add all the ‘worst case’ scenarios for each of these elements and you end up with an economy that shrinks by an eye-watering £11bn figure.’
Local government blame game
‘Fiscal responsibility is the flip side of fiscal autonomy. Those who argue for more money from the Scottish Government without proposing new powers for local government to raise own revenue are also playing a blame game.’ First in a series on centralisation/local autonomy
UK’s remarkable energy transition
Looking to 2019, with more renewable capacity being installed, it is possible that solar could overtake coal, and renewables could generate more than nuclear for every single month. They could also generate more than coal and gas combined over a month for the first ever time.
VAT assignment – bridge too far for fiscal devolution?
A key aim of the Smith Commission was to improve accountability and make Scotland’s politicians responsible for the money that they spent. Unfortunately rather than helping to deliver this aim, the current proposals for VAT assignment risk undermining that principle.
Inequality: Scotland’s unmet Nordic aspirations
Inequality in Scotland is on the rise. “It seems likely that more radical changes, such as significant redistribution of income, labour market reforms and major investment in deprived areas, would be needed to bring Scottish inequality close to Nordic levels.”