Latest UK national debt has fallen by £1.5 TRILLION so Labour cannot deny pensioners a country in which it is possible to live in their old age

Thanks once more to Dottie for alerting me to this. From Richard Murphy, today: The national debt has just fallen by £1.5 trillion There is a very strange feature that, as far as I can see, has not had much attention paid to it so far within the Whole of Government Accounts for the year to 31 March 2023 that were published yesterday. Ignoring the fact that, as I noted yesterday, these accounts were subject to qualification by the National Audit Office because about 90% of the data from local authorities required for their preparation was either unavailable or had not itself been audited, some … Continue reading Latest UK national debt has fallen by £1.5 TRILLION so Labour cannot deny pensioners a country in which it is possible to live in their old age

England’s national debt is 885 times Scotland’s borrowing limit

The Herald today reports: UK public sector borrowing came in higher than expected in June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Borrowing was £14.5 billion in June, £3.2 billion less than June last year, but well above the £11.6 billion forecast by the Government’s spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Scotland can borrow a bit, contrary to some claims. From the Ferret: Under the fiscal framework, Scotland’s borrowing powers are limited. However, they do have some ability to borrow within the fiscal rules.  The Scottish Government is able to borrow for both resource and capital spending, but does not … Continue reading England’s national debt is 885 times Scotland’s borrowing limit

An Independent Scotland could use the power of its sovereign currency to improve people’s lives

And is an excellent reason to leave the failing UK Leah Gunn Barrett The letter below was published in the December 30th edition of The Scotsman. In it, I respond to Jill Stephenson, a member of the Scotland in Union group of letter writers. She appears regularly in the unionist papers letters pages. A retired professor of modern German history, she should stick to history and steer clear of economics, a subject about which she knows very little. Jill Stephenson (Scotsman letters page, December 29th, 2023) again displays her economic ignorance.  First, why shouldn’t Scotland benefit from pandemic financial support as it’s … Continue reading An Independent Scotland could use the power of its sovereign currency to improve people’s lives