Should Scotland follow Ireland, Denmark, Portugal or Slovakia

By Alasdair Galloway Jill Stephenson, retired Prof of Modern German History at Edinburgh University, but for our purposes an indefatigable defender of the Union while equally contemptuous of Independence, has a letter in this morning’s Herald, which illustrates some important issues, not least the limitations of infantile Economics. I have to admit that I was concerned about Humza Yousaf’s use of Denmark, Finland and Ireland as comparators to illustrate Scotland’s potential if independent. The main point of contact between Scotland and these three countries seems to me to be population size, but beyond that comparisons become more difficult. For instance, … Continue reading Should Scotland follow Ireland, Denmark, Portugal or Slovakia

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

English Labour has fully gone over to the dark side

Leah Gunn Barrett English Labour has fully gone over to the dark side. Keir Starmer, praising Thatcher for bringing ‘meaningful change’ to the UK, shed the last bit of straggly wool trying to disguise the neoliberal wolf Labour has become.[1] Why anyone in Scotland would cast a vote for English Labour that promises more of Thatcher’s wanton destruction is mind-boggling.  Many won’t remember her trail of wreckage. It started with her economic ignorance. She foolishly believed a government’s finances were like a household’s so she slashed public investment in heavy industry – shipbuilding, steel, coal, engineering, and manufacturing – making it … Continue reading English Labour has fully gone over to the dark side