Scottish party manifestos pledge extra spending without addressing huge challenges facing the next Scottish government – likely to be SNP again despite almost 20 years of underachievement in power. John McLaren sets out four lessons to learn from the state we are in.The upcoming Scottish election takes place at a time of great uncertainty and change, not that you’d know it … [Read more...] about A quiet election for a tired and poorly Scottish parliament
scottish economy
How will next SNP government tackle fiscal mess left by this one? #ScottishBudget
Eradicating child poverty? Growing the economy? Tackling climate crisis? Ensuring quality public services? Reviewing the Scottish Budget and Spending Review 2026, John McLaren finds a weary government’s major ‘achievement’ has been to hide the cuts coming down the line – after the election. The whole Budget debacle showed a government truly out of ideas and one that has … [Read more...] about How will next SNP government tackle fiscal mess left by this one? #ScottishBudget
#MuscatelliReport: is Scotland ready for radical action on regional economic development?
For Sceptical Scot John McLaren weighs options, opportunities, obstacles and highlights an oddity in the Muscatelli ReportAnton Muscatelli’s report for the Scottish Labour Party on Regional Economic Development in Scotland is, as you would expect from such an experienced economist, a very thorough analysis of what needs to be done to improve the economic performance across … [Read more...] about #MuscatelliReport: is Scotland ready for radical action on regional economic development?
Independence, GERS and how not to have a debate
With the dust settled on another GERS bun fight, what next? For the uninitiated, GERS is the annual ‘Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland’ publication by the Scottish Government. This year it has figures up to 2024-25. In effect, it tells us what Scotland’s fiscal balance - government revenues less public expenditure - is under current constitutional conditions. And at … [Read more...] about Independence, GERS and how not to have a debate
Higher budget deficit driven by devolved spending
The estimates of Scotland’s net fiscal balance are out for 2024-25. As we previewed, there was deterioration of the fiscal balance, which is unsurprising given that the UK’s fiscal balance worsened during that year as well. Scotland’s estimated net fiscal balance was estimated to have been -£26 billion, or -12% of GDP, when including a geographical share of North Sea revenues … [Read more...] about Higher budget deficit driven by devolved spending