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Sceptical Scot

Asking Questions. Seeking Answers.

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Longer reads

Is the BBC helping British democracy?

December 6, 2020 by Tony O'Donnell 5 Comments

The BBC was once among the UK’s most respected institutions but no more – and it faces fresh competition from new upstarts like Andrew Neil’s GB News and Murdoch’s UK News. Break-up or renewal ahead?

Time tae think again

November 28, 2020 by Laurie Macfarlane 2 Comments

‘Many in the Yes movement support independence because they believe it offers a path towards a more progressive future. But the vision outlined in the Growth Commission delivers the opposite: it is difficult to conceive of an economic settlement better designed to ensure that government policy serves the interests of international finance rather than its own citizens.’

GERS, COVID and Scottish independence

August 29, 2020 by John McLaren 2 Comments

“This lack of economic engagement by senior SNP Ministers remains a weakness for the independence message on the economy. Such a policy vacuum in a key area of the independence debate may be manageable when minds are focussed elsewhere but if a Second Referendum were to become a reality then it would soon turn into a significant weak point in the pro-independence argument.”

Binary choice and multi-party politics

August 16, 2020 by James Mitchell Leave a Comment

‘.Like the Bourbons, the Conservatives have learned nothing, and forgotten nothing.  But Labour are in danger of the same.  Time is running out for a reasonably well developed alternative option that might be included in a future referendum.  Not only would this enrich a stale debate but would allow Labour to escape the potentially lethal embrace of working with the Tories again.’

Scotland’s borders and independence

August 16, 2020 by Kirsty Hughes 6 Comments

‘The potential shorter and longer-term economic transition and structural change Scotland faces as an independent state within the EU, while rUK is outside post-Brexit, needs careful economic analysis and an understanding of likely costs and benefits. What it does not need is a studied looking away from the challenging economics of a Scotland-rUK border.’

The Ministry of Truth

June 14, 2020 by James Urquhart Leave a Comment

In his latest piece, senior statistician James Urquhart, investigates how the UK Government uses UK data to buttress policy decisions for England and asks: manipulation or malfeasance…

Coronavirus, conspiracies and corrosion

May 31, 2020 by Carol Craig 2 Comments

‘Conspiracy theorists believe that political leaders spend their time plotting, planning and pulling strings. Journalistic accounts… suggest that, far from conspiring to pull anything off, politicians miscalculated, dithered and bumbled. The lateness of the UK lockdown has cost tens of thousands of lives. What we’ve witnessed is not conspiracy but cock-up.’

A room without a view

April 10, 2020 by James Urquhart 2 Comments

‘Scotland has the devolved power to follow its own strategic objectives. The question is: does it have the courage and skills to start planning now for an exit strategy which wholeheartedly and comprehensively embraces contact tracing? The answer firmly rests with all our politicians and their advisors. We should be hearing from them now.’

Disruptive ideas on the road to a net-zero carbon economy

February 13, 2020 by Robert Pollock 1 Comment

In the first of a new series on Scotland’s Economic Future: Disruptive Ideas, Robert Pollock argues for profound institutional change – drawing on (bitter) lessons from the wind industry. Part 2 follows (see below)

#Indyref2 in 2020?

January 12, 2020 by Fraser of Allander Institute Leave a Comment

‘It will simply not be sufficient for the UK Government to highlight risks with independence. The status quo itself has important policy challenges, whether that be the economic costs of leaving the EU Single Market or the economic effect of limits on immigration.’

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Welcome to Sceptical Scot, Scotland’s premier non-tribal forum for passionate, informed debate. Sceptical Scot is for all who care about Scotland’s future, regardless of how they vote: for party, independence or union, EU or Brexit. We aim to provide an arena that is both broader and deeper than current online/print offers with a rich diet of well-researched, polemical, thought-provoking writing. Read more » about About Sceptical Scot

What’s new on Sceptical Scot

  • Doses of compassion from the doctor-poet January 16, 2021
  • Pandemic and absent solidarity January 10, 2021
  • Vaccination: new start or emperor’s clothes? January 10, 2021
  • Why do we need a Year of Childhood? January 9, 2021
  • Energy transition: vital spark of national renewal or dying ember? January 9, 2021
  • Another now, another Scotland December 6, 2020
  • Statistical amnesia December 6, 2020
  • Is the BBC helping British democracy? December 6, 2020
  • Empathy for women December 6, 2020
  • Free school meals and child poverty December 6, 2020

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