The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland

Author Archive


We need to talk about the oil 255

Posted on January 21, 2017 by

The link between the rise of modern Scottish nationalism and the production of North Sea oil is pretty indisputable. Both took off in the early seventies, with that decade’s campaigns powered by the slogan “It’s Scotland’s Oil” and it’s still a given in media circles that the desirability or even the feasibility of Scottish self-government depends principally on the spot price of Brent crude.

I’ve always found that argument a bizarre one, firstly because it takes no account of people’s emotional attachments to either the UK or Scotland, and secondly because as this site has repeatedly pointed out Scotland is both a producer and consumer of hydrocarbon fuels, so low or high prices are neither an unalloyed good or an unalloyed bad thing for her citizens.

petrolprice

What is incontestable is that the revenue from 45 years of North Sea production has not been well managed by the United Kingdom in comparison to the other states who have benefited from this bounty.

So far so uncontentious.

Outside of constitutional questions, party politics in Scotland revolves around health, education and jobs, with every party more or less in favour of all three. But what if there was an existential threat not just to this trinity but to our entire way of life? Where would that fit in to our politics?

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags:
Category comment, world

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,879 Posts, 1,236,557 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

    and finally and firstly arithmetic fail braveheart klaxon britnats captain darling cartoons Chris Cairns confused cringe crybabies dateline debates Devo Nano Douglas Daniel Federalists Unionists and Devolutionists flat-out lies foreigner watch from the archives fundraisers galleries hamish hypocrisy liars light-hearted banter lizards memogate misinformation one nation perspectives poll project fear project feart qft Scott Minto smears snp accused soapbox the positive case for the union The Vow ticktock toldyouso too wee too poor too stupid unionist of the day vote no get nothing

  • Recent Comments

    • Garavelli Princip on When the law breaks the law: “Well Young Lochinvar, I know Hatey well. He was my boss: Head of Lavatorial Services. Where do you think he…” Feb 23, 18:30
    • Willie on When the law breaks the law: “Obviously in not mounting an appeal Durham and Darlington dont have the unlimited resources like the Fife NHS have. Incredible…” Feb 23, 17:56
    • Willie on When the law breaks the law: “Touted with the great hurrah the reality is that the MV Isle of Islay was delivered one year and three…” Feb 23, 17:41
    • Young Lochinvar on When the law breaks the law: “I wonder if host Alan Cummings would have been so fulsomely inclusive and supportive if the tick in question hard…” Feb 23, 17:19
    • sarah on When the law breaks the law: “Sara’s response has been posted onto Liberation Scotland’s facebook. She shows JK up for what he has become.” Feb 23, 17:04
    • Young Lochinvar on When the law breaks the law: “HMcH @2.30 Hay fit, straw fit.. Based on that I very much doubt it. Oi Vey! How does that sit…” Feb 23, 17:01
    • 100%Yes on When the law breaks the law: “James Kelly, is best ignored and forgotten about, he’s a thorn in the Indy movement side. You could write pages…” Feb 23, 16:36
    • sarah on When the law breaks the law: “@ 100%Yes: I hope you succeed in bringing Alba under the Alliance to Liberate Scotland umbrella. I’ve been dropping the…” Feb 23, 15:07
    • Cynicus on When the law breaks the law: ““ From the ashes of Culloden and the tragedy of the Highland Clearances to the cliffs of Quebec…” ======== It…” Feb 23, 15:05
    • Hatey McHateface on When the law breaks the law: “Anybody know if they swore an oath of allegiance to the British Sovereign and his successors? And if they did,…” Feb 23, 14:30
    • 100%Yes on When the law breaks the law: “Both me and my wife have just rejoined the Alba Party to support any new leaders and to stick two…” Feb 23, 14:26
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on When the law breaks the law: “GROUSE BEATER: ‘ALBA PARTY NEWS’ « […] Four senior ALBA members have offered to take over the party to ensure…” Feb 23, 14:03
    • sam on When the law breaks the law: “Frae BBC “A health trust spent more than £600,000 on an employment tribunal which found it harassed a group of…” Feb 23, 13:56
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on When the law breaks the law: “HOW SCOTTISH REGIMENTS FORGED BRITAIN’S EMPIRE Intro text on YouTube site – « When you picture the British Empire, you…” Feb 23, 13:50
    • Hatey McHateface on When the law breaks the law: “Scotland all over the MSM today, as the waves of synthetic outrage swell into a tsunami sweeping all of yesterday’s…” Feb 23, 13:45
    • Hatey McHateface on When the law breaks the law: “I’ve viewed it 110 times. Northy 615. Who’s the ither twa?” Feb 23, 13:29
    • Hatey McHateface on When the law breaks the law: “Haha, “humble Scot”. Maybes you forget your claims to be a millennia-old, interstellar-travelling, Pict. But the denizens of Area 51…” Feb 23, 13:22
    • Hatey McHateface on When the law breaks the law: “Basturts! It’s Scotland’s kelp.” Feb 23, 13:14
    • sam on When the law breaks the law: “@ factchecker “Part of our debate would perhaps be concerned with a definition of ‘colonisation’, which fills the posts of…” Feb 23, 12:54
    • agentx on When the law breaks the law: “Alf Baird says: 22 February, 2026 at 2:47 pm ““real” nationalists should be focused on… self determination” That is correct,…” Feb 23, 11:44
    • factchecker on When the law breaks the law: “A rational and factual answer, NC – thanks. Part of our debate would perhaps be concerned with a definition of…” Feb 23, 11:23
    • Aidan on When the law breaks the law: “I’m not sure you are in the position to lecture others about worthless diversionary “contributions” Alf since you and the…” Feb 23, 11:02
    • Northcode on When the law breaks the law: “Excuse my facetiousness, factchecker. Sometimes what I think of as playful banter might come across as rudeness in this place.…” Feb 23, 10:08
    • factchecker on When the law breaks the law: “NC says ““And therefore presumably a word imposed on us by our colonisers in the distant past.” You presume wrongly,…” Feb 23, 09:38
    • Northcode on When the law breaks the law: ““And therefore presumably a word imposed on us by our colonisers in the distant past.” You presume wrongly, yet again,…” Feb 23, 09:00
    • factchecker on When the law breaks the law: “Many thanks for the injection of fact, NC. “Bring, Bryng, v. Also: pryng. P.t. and p.p. brocht, broght, broight; broucht,…” Feb 23, 08:46
    • Northcode on When the law breaks the law: “The ignorance of Scotland’s colonists (unionists or colonialists if preferred… same thing) on all things Scottish does not in the…” Feb 23, 08:30
    • Hatey McHateface on When the law breaks the law: “He might have been struggling with one of those colds you get at this time of year. The worst of…” Feb 23, 08:08
    • Hatey McHateface on When the law breaks the law: “Why is it that every time somebody starts banging oan aboot us reclaiming oor indigenous linguistic, cultural and political voice,…” Feb 23, 08:03
    • Fin on The Longest Road: “Aye no political agendas at all on the mike Graham show, guy thinks you can grow concrete. Wings level of…” Feb 23, 07:55

  • A tall tale



↑ Top