I’m grateful to the ever modest AR for alerting me to this. From House of Commons Research Briefing Taxation of North Sea oil and gas on 29 November 2022: In its commentary on the Statement, the Resolution Foundation noted that a 75% headline rate on North Sea oil and gas profits “is close to double the pre-crisis rate and in line with that in Norway (78 per cent).” They went on to note that anticipated receipts by 2023/24 were now expected “to reach an all-time high in cash terms (£20.7 billion, of which £10.8 billion would be due to the … Continue reading Scotland’s oil price boom to earn £21 billion for UK Treasury in one year

A long read – by stewartb There is a lot of heat being generated in the corporate media, in social media and in parliaments, especially from the Tories in Westminster and Holyrood, about the Scottish Parliament’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill. It seems that too few people remember or are willing to acknowledge the very recent history of the Tories’ policy position on this subject in Westminster. Fortunately, an excellent briefing published on 22 February 2022 by the House of Commons Library (HoCL) provides a detailed and, given the source, authoritative account. The briefing deals largely with the UK Government’s consultation … Continue reading The “screeching change of direction” –  the forgotten Westminster history on gender recognition reform

From 1998/99 to 2021/22, oil and gas production, in Scottish adjacent waters, added up to 2.67 billion tonnes of oil and gas equivalent. The crude oil alone added up to 1.68 billion tonnes and the natural gas to 882 million tonnes or roughly 30 million British Thermal Units (BTU). The crude oil production in that period was typically 95% of all UK production while the gas production ranged from 77% to 99%. https://www.gov.scot/publications/oil-and-gas-production-statistics/ Crude oil at the end of 2021 was $622 per metric ton and averaged around $400 in the last ten years. Natural gas prices have soared in … Continue reading $672 billion – the value of Scotland’s oil since 1998

The UK Parliament voted by 318 to to 71, yesterday, to allow the blocking of the Scottish Parliament’s gender reforms bill. 184 Labour MPs including the Shadow Secretary of State, Ian Murray (above) sat on their hands. Olivia Blake (Labour – Sheffield, Hallam)Ben Bradshaw (Labour – Exeter)Richard Burgon (Labour – Leeds East)John McDonnell (Labour – Hayes and Harlington)Charlotte Nichols (Labour – Warrington North)Kate Osborne (Labour – Jarrow)Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour – Streatham)Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour – Brighton, Kemptown)Zarah Sultana (Labour – Coventry South)Nadia Whittome (Labour – Nottingham East)Beth Winter (Labour – Cynon Valley) https://votes.parliament.uk/Votes/Commons/Division/1449 Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, was unavailable for … Continue reading Murray sides with Union Jack as only 11 out of 195 Labour MPs vote to defend devolution

The above is from BBC Scotland today. Lord Hope said a UK government document outlining its reasons for blocking the Scottish reforms was “devastating”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-64315517 He doesn’t mention: From Lewis Graham: Lessons from Lord Hope’s Diaries: judicial ideology and panel selection in 2020: Any reader hoping to find grand exigencies on the nature of justice will be disappointed by the fact that Lord Hope’s Diaries are, by and large, a supremely mundane affair. In the fifth volume, his Lordship complains about a hen party “screeching and larking about” on his plane (p.279), balks at his colleagues’ rejection of morning dress (p.213)  and … Continue reading On GRA block, BBC Scotland consult ‘supremely mundane’ former judge (85) ‘suspicious of SNP’

stewartb Glad that one interviewee on C4 News tonight confirmed that the UK already accepts GRCs from countries that operate a self-ID procedure! See: HM Courts and Tribunal Service – Guidance: Gender Recognition Certificate: list of approved countries and territories (Updated 21 December 2022) ‘If you’ve HAD YOUR GENDER PREVIOUSLY RECOGNISED IN ONE OF THE COUNTRIES OR TERRITORIES IN THIS LIST, you’re on the ‘overseas route’. this means YOU DO NOT NEED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL REPORTS when applying for gender recognition in the UK. ‘If the country or territory is not on this list or you do not have a … Continue reading UK already accepts GRCs from all these countries

In an unscripted moment, Laura MacIver referred the FM, technically correctly, as ‘our leader.’ OMG A wee slip I guess but nowhere near enough to make up for Sarah Smith’s clear bias in the other direction: Gerry Hassan has tweeted with mastery of understatement on Sarah Smith’s latest reveal: The spin of @BBC Scotland Editor Sarah Smith on the independent #HamiltonReport completely clearing Nicola Sturgeon saying this “will allow her to claim she has been vindicated.” Not a good look from the BBC or Smith. Mean, grudging, foul-smelling, I’d say. Anyhow, I make this the 7th offence in just over a year. She keeps … Continue reading BBC Bias in favour of Scotland: Laura MacIver: 1, Sarah Smith: 7

In the Herald today: Really? See this from January 2022: Continue reading Douglas wrong on gender reform approval

In February 2021, Savanta for ITV News reported at 4% lead for Yes. By the end of December 2022 they had reported 15 leads for No, no more for Yes and 2 tied. On 21 December they broke a run of 7 leads for Yes by other pollsters, with a 2% lead for No, on behalf of the Scotsman. In another run of Yes leads by other pollsters in mid March to mid April 2021, only they, for the Scotsman, returned a tie. Survation had 1 for Yes and 6 for No, which, though with a smaller sample, does look … Continue reading If you want a ‘No’ for independence go to Savanta or Survation for your poll

Like you, I too wish Bosnia and Herzegovina all the very best after gaining independence from the oppressive Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. I’m not suggesting for a minute that Scotland’s recent experience of domination by a neighbour compares with the horrors inflicted on Bosnia in recent times but independence from any union has to be a right. Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton, Alicia Kearns, doesn’t seem to agree: Adding to the irony, Rutland too has had a struggle for independence: In 1060 Edward the Confessor bequeathed Rutland to his wife Edith. Rutland is the smallest county in England, approximately … Continue reading Conservative MP for independent Rutland applauds one breakaway republic but not Scotland