Author: YiP
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Scotland’s ferries – a success story
Scotland has over 790 islands – some 94 inhabited – so getting around them via ferr is rightly treated as a “lifeline” service by our Government. Whilst the contract to run them is delivered by private company, the Government overseas this – ensuring reliable performance and afforrdable pricing. In England ferriers are not considered an…
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Does England subsidise Scotland?
No! Westminster’s calculation of both revenue and expenditure for Scotland is artificial. Our revenues are much higher. Westminster loves to claim that the rest of the UK – and England in particular – does subsidise Scotland. And they use an annual bunch of estimates called GERS (Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland) to “prove” this. But…
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Does Scotland decide its Government’s Budget?
No! Westminster decides our Government’s budget, based on what they want for England. Voters in England decide who’s in Government in Westminster. UK Democracy centers around Westminster – the former English Parliament, that was adopted as the UK’s when Scotland was persueded to join in a union. The UK Parliament includes the Commons, where Members…
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Currency Options for an Independent Wales
The following is a transcription of a presentation made by Professor Thiebault Laurentjoye from Aalborg University Business School to the Scottish Currency Group 2024 Conference in Dunfermline. The full video of his presentation is here: There’ll be a lot of ideas swimming around, but be confident, be open to having a clarity of purpose, and…
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Do Labour MPs in Scotland ever disagree with the bosses in England?
Do Labour MPs in Scotland ever disagree with the bosses in England? NO: Since taking their turn at power in Westminster, Labour MPs in Scotland have rebelled against how the bosses in England tell them to vote zero times. Labour in Scotland makes a lot of noise about “representing Scotland at the heart of Government”…
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Westminster’s delivery of Water in England is a failure
Since it was first sold off by Thatcher, England’s water service has been a failure. And successive Tory and Labour Westminster Governments have failed to address this. In Scotland and Northern Ireland water is a public service. In Wales its delivered by a not-for-profit private company. These services are the responsibility of their respective national…
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Will the UK ever get fairer?
NO: The gap between rich and poor in the UK continues to increase rapidly, whichever English party is in control in Westminster. And it gets worse if you compare Westminster’s performance with other countries in Europe. Inequality is much lower – and has stayed lower. Sources UK disposable income: UK Government Office for National Statistics…
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Why is a Scottish Immigration Visa Essential?
Labour promised to consider a Scottish immigration visa – until they got their turn at power in Westminster. At which point they u-turned. But why is one essential? Firstly, Scotland’s population growth is much slower than England’s – and has been for some time. Although more people move to Scotland than leave, our birth rate…
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The problem with GB Energy
There are lots of issues with promises made by Labour about GB Energy – “creating jobs in Scotland” when actually only the HQ is based there, with virtually all jobs actually being created in England. So much for a “just” transition from Oil & Gas for the NE of Scotland. And to rub salt in…
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Westminster hates Devolution
Westminster has never been happy with devolution. The way the UK works with national governments has never been a success. It’s been a history of broken promises and half-arsed solutions implemented with no commitment for success. Will we have Gordon Brown’s “Council of the Nations and Regions” imposed by a Labour government at Westminster, or…