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Buying democracy 149

Posted on April 03, 2018 by

“There now follows a party election broadcast by the…”

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The political broadcasts at election time are a time-worn tradition in the UK (as is our reaction to them) but not too many people really understand why political campaign broadcasts take this form, nor why it’s actually quite important that they do.

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When Scotland Voted Leave 78

Posted on July 28, 2017 by

Last month saw the first meeting between the UK Brexit delegation and the EU’s, and by many accounts it fell far short of the UK’s expectations. David Davis spent months drumming up the “strong and stable” approach which would see both the divorce deal and the subsequent post-Brexit trade deal negotiated simultaneously. He was told by everyone that this wouldn’t happen, but simply brushed off the warnings. When push came to shove, he finally accepted that he’d have to negotiate the divorce deal first.

This is just the latest in a long string of failures and ineptitudes over the course of the UK’s handling of the whole farcical process and it got me thinking. If Scotland had voted Yes in 2014, what would it have looked like if the Scottish Government had handled that vote the way the UK has managed Brexit?

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Out of the cave 223

Posted on November 24, 2016 by

Readers of this site will be well aware of the many failings and limitations of GERS, aka Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland – the document which serves as the informal accounts of a devolved Scotland but tells us next to nothing about the finances of an independent Scotland, as noted just a few weeks ago by the impartial multinational auditors Deloitte.

deloittegers

An article I produced this week for the Common Weal White Paper Project – Beyond GERS – has generated much critical response from Unionists, though some of it has at least been constructive.

Spurred on by the mention of the article by David Torrance in Monday’s Herald, in a column containing several serious inaccuracies, I’ve seen various misunderstandings and misconceptions about it which ought to be addressed.

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An empty quiver 201

Posted on July 29, 2016 by

This week I published, through Common Weal, a discussion paper on the potential currency options for an independent Scotland in light of the material changes in circumstances caused by the Brexit vote.

This paper examines some of the options open to an independent Scotland and concludes that, on balance, the best option for Scotland would be a Scottish currency, initially pegged to Sterling but with the infrastructure and mechanisms in place to move, replace or remove that peg if and when it proves advantageous.

(As the UK did itself in the 1980’s when the pound was pegged first to the US dollar and then to the Deutschmark.)

One of the requirements of an independent currency is that Scotland would need its own foreign reserve fund which would act as a buffer against trade imbalances and would be used to counter movements in exchange rate (particularly if we were pegged our exchange rate to Sterling).

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It was on this particular point that yesterday’s Scottish edition of the Daily Express chose to focus, in its characteristically measured, balanced and thoughtful manner.

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Gazing into the black hole 93

Posted on March 09, 2016 by

Economics: The art of explaining why all of your models fail to accurately predict either the future or the past.

It’s the time of year again when everyone glances at the first page of a dense booklet of complex economic data and immediately starts using it to make wild forecasts and proclamations despite the long-known problems with doing so.

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So it’s also, once again, time to try looking a little further to tease out some details that others might have – let’s be generous here – accidentally missed.

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    • Mia on Saying sooths: ““it’s not lawful and won’t be recognised” “lawful” according to whose laws? Those of the entity that has been for…Jan 28, 22:13
    • Xaracen on Saying sooths: “Wales and N. Ireland do have their say as they are both territories of the Kingdom of England as you…Jan 28, 22:12
    • Hatey McHateface on Saying sooths: ““Politics as a route of independence is dead” Oh well then, we’re doomed. Unless … Can we post stuff online…Jan 28, 21:58
    • ross on Saying sooths: “Stewart M16donald got cosy. Scottish independence should be a threat to the UK, no ifs no buts. Got cosy.Jan 28, 21:55
    • James Macnicoll on Saying sooths: “They have done absolutely nothing for independence since Salmond left,in fact Sturgeon and now Swinney are actively discouraging people from…Jan 28, 21:50
    • moixx on Saying sooths: “There might be a lot of people who’d vote for your ‘interim alternative’. At the very least, it’d be interesting…Jan 28, 21:46
    • gregor on Saying sooths: “M.I.A.: BORN FREE: “…I don’t wanna to be that fake Cause you can do it And imitators yeah stick it!..…Jan 28, 21:30
    • Alf Baird on Saying sooths: “Yes, the historical and archaeological record tells us a great deal aboot the Picts as descendants of the Neolithic people…Jan 28, 21:29
    • Insider on Saying sooths: “FFS ! Stop spamming Mia ! No-one is going to waste their time reading this verbal diarrhoea !Jan 28, 21:20
    • gregor on Saying sooths: “Mia is thriving with her independence and doesn’t require any parliamentary carrots to convince her that she doesn’t hold any…Jan 28, 21:15
    • Stevie on Saying sooths: “The SNP’s Scotland Fornever Campaign – I now hate the SNP ; I used to loathe them but now it’s…Jan 28, 21:07
    • agent X on Saying sooths: ““We ALREADY won that independence at the ballot box on the 8th May 2015” Sturgeon General election 2015 Nicola Sturgeon:…Jan 28, 21:03
    • factfinder on Saying sooths: “I’m sure you’re right. I imagine they felt the same way about the invasions from Ireland by the Scots.Jan 28, 21:03
    • jock mctavish on Saying sooths: “It’s simple, you attend their parliament, you swear the oath and you condone their parliamentary sovereignty and f##k the Scottish…Jan 28, 20:59
    • factfinder on Saying sooths: “Thanks, but if you’ve signed it, it presumably was after 1928? I asked for something earlier.Jan 28, 20:57
    • Alf Baird on Saying sooths: “Aye, its quite a phenomenon, a people celebrating their invader/oppressor. Happens elsewhere in Scotland too. Tho it seems the Picts…Jan 28, 20:54
    • jock mctavish on Saying sooths: “hear! hear!Jan 28, 20:48
    • jock mctavish on Saying sooths: “SNP’s death by a thousand cuts, all self inflicted. They truly are unelectable now. Assimilated by the union collective, incapable…Jan 28, 20:45
    • Andy Ellis on Saying sooths: “The rest of the UK wouldn’t of course: it would only grant devo-max or some other sheme for more devolution…Jan 28, 20:39
    • stonefree on Saying sooths: “SNP have been flirting with Labourand vice versa since Jan 2022 Don’t know which was the main pursuerJan 28, 20:39
    • Mia on Saying sooths: ““You have missed out option #3 Mia, stand for office yourself” And you have completely missed the whole point of…Jan 28, 20:35
    • gregor on Saying sooths: “Everything ? “Every single thing or every particular of an aggregate or total; all.” “Something extremely important: This news means…Jan 28, 20:34
    • Muscleguy on The Silent Revolution: “This is because Swinney is a paranoid android so of course he has moved to ensure his paranoid fantasies of…Jan 28, 20:32
    • Aidan on Saying sooths: “Yes I can understand why YOU would like the idea, but that’s not what I asked. Why would the U.K.…Jan 28, 20:25
    • Karen on Saying sooths: “C) too lazy to free the country.Jan 28, 20:21
    • Andy Ellis on Saying sooths: “I don’t think we can place our hope in the SNP just moving aside: it either has to be utterly…Jan 28, 20:12
    • Alf Baird on Saying sooths: “A colonial/department ‘budget’ is just a formality. Of course it is signed off ivvery time. It mainly consists of public…Jan 28, 20:08
    • gregor on Saying sooths: “Wrong ? “Not correct or truthful: the wrong answer.” “Acting or judging in error: you are wrong to think that.”…Jan 28, 20:08
    • Aidan on Saying sooths: “The problem is, that type of candidate is likely to attract a crank, and b) I think (partially for that…Jan 28, 20:06
    • Mia on Saying sooths: ““Ultimately, we will win independence at the ballot box” I am sorry, but I do not think we will. We…Jan 28, 20:05
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