Tag: finance

7 Comments

If Mrs Thatcher had not existed then Labour would have had to invent her

johnrobertson834

By Legerwood If Mrs Thatcher had not existed then Labour would have had to invent her in order to hide their culpability in the demise of Scottish industry which started long before she became PM. Labour had two periods in power in the ’60s and ’70s but did not do anything to stop the closure of pits and shipyards or help the communities so badly affected by these closures. At the time of nationalisation of the coal mines by the Attlee Gov there were 225 mines across Central Scotland. By the time Mrs Thatcher became PM in 1979 there were … Continue reading If Mrs Thatcher had not existed then Labour would have had to invent her

6 Comments

Scotland’s extraordinary fiscal contribution to UK economy revealed and that’s before Oil and gas revenue!

johnrobertson834

Many thanks to Andrew for spotting this From The London Economic yesterday but largely ignored elsewhere: Scotland’s annual tax contributions to the UK have increased by £14.2 billion over the last decade, with income tax, capital gains tax and taxes on productions such as environmental levies driving this increased contribution. New analysis shows that the Scottish public sector generated an annual revenue of £73.3 billion during the last financial year, a 24 per cent increase versus a decade ago, equating to an increased contribution of £14.2 billion to the UK economy. As a result, Scotland now accounts for 8 per … Continue reading Scotland’s extraordinary fiscal contribution to UK economy revealed and that’s before Oil and gas revenue!

13 Comments

Should Scotland follow Ireland, Denmark, Portugal or Slovakia

johnrobertson834

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

10 Comments

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

johnrobertson834

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

4 Comments

English Labour has fully gone over to the dark side

johnrobertson834

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