It’s long been a bone of contention for Scots – and not just nationalists – that the UK government, by common agreement, wasted the vast wealth windfall of the North Sea on funding Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s programme of deliberate de-industrialisation, mass unemployment, huge tax cuts for the wealthy and bribes to the working class in the form of Right To Buy.
It did so rather than investing the proceeds in a sovereign wealth fund, as demanded by the SNP (and some elements of Labour) and practiced in Norway, whose fund – only set up in 1990 – is now a literal embarrassment of riches.
But the reality is even worse than that. Because according to a 2015 report by the National Resource Governance Institute that’s just come to our attention, the truth is that if the UK had managed its North Sea treasure better, it could have done both.
The short version is “Everything Tony Blair said was a lie”. The full report can be read in 58 sections at the inquiry’s website here, but in the quite likely event that it gets swamped today we’ve uploaded the entire thing as a single convenient RAR file here.
[EDIT: individual sections now compiled into the print version’s 12 volumes.]
Put your hands on your hearts, readers, and tell us that in the event of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin leading the USA and Russia a year or so from now, you can’t see this actually literally happening. [EDIT: The fight, not nuclear apocalypse. Obviously.]
Look us straight in the eye and tell us there’s a 0% chance.
An alert reader directed us to an article on finance site Bloomberg today:
It’s interesting to see a business and bankers’ perspective on something that we’ve already pointed out a number of times on Wings, namely that the lower oil price has at least as many upsides as downsides.
Hatey McHateface on The shifting sands of memory: “That’s a lot of “can’t”s Mia. As always in the real world, the question arises: Says you and whose army?…” May 24, 18:28
AndrewR on The shifting sands of memory: “I wrote a post that hasn’t appeared, quite possibly because it was too long, which it most definitely was. If…” May 24, 18:24
Hatey McHateface on The shifting sands of memory: “Good to hear we’re generating twice as much leccy as we need in the particular weather conditions prevailing when you…” May 24, 18:21
Hatey McHateface on The shifting sands of memory: ““Why write one paragraph when 10 will do?” Why stop at 10? Why not 100? I doubt Mia writes them…” May 24, 18:01
Mia on The shifting sands of memory: ““how is it that the central state holds the power to decide if a part of that state gets independence?…” May 24, 17:57
Hatey McHateface on The shifting sands of memory: “Naw. It has rained for the first time in a month and some of the regulars got caught in it.…” May 24, 17:48
Hatey McHateface on The shifting sands of memory: ““It would have made no difference” Keep going, NC, you’re half way there! Believe the 2014 vote DID go to…” May 24, 17:40
James Cheyne on The shifting sands of memory: “Mia, I am aware that my personal view that the Scots are not in the treaty at all due to…” May 24, 17:37
Hatey McHateface on The shifting sands of memory: “That’s always been my understanding of the situation, Andy. We already have an example during the Brexit process. All the…” May 24, 17:34
AndrewR on The shifting sands of memory: “Do you know what usually happens? Czechoslovakia, for instance? Most laws aren’t going to be contentious, like your votes for…” May 24, 17:33
Hatey McHateface on The shifting sands of memory: ““The UK only looks like a single state …” When I go through immigration, in either direction. When I am…” May 24, 17:17
AndrewR on The shifting sands of memory: “Scotland couldn’t enter into a treaty with the Westminster parliament of Britain because it didn’t exist yet. But your next…” May 24, 17:03
James Cheyne on The shifting sands of memory: “For those that wish for the treaty of union to remain as a status quo sure we see many instances…” May 24, 16:20
Northcode on The shifting sands of memory: “It is my belief that even if the 2014 vote had gone to ‘YES’ it would have made no difference…” May 24, 16:17
Andy Ellis on The shifting sands of memory: “The boundary change is a red herring. Until and unless Scottish voters grow a pair and take their independence rather…” May 24, 15:53
Andy Wiltshire on The shifting sands of memory: “My tongue-out-of-cheek point is that either a newly independent Scotland (brought into existence by a court declaring the 1707 Act…” May 24, 15:45
AndrewR on The shifting sands of memory: “I’ve got a more sensible post below, but I was struck by the same point as Andy Wiltshire. I don’t…” May 24, 15:31
Mia on The shifting sands of memory: “Absolutely, James Cheyne. Which also brings up another question: if the UK of Great Britain and NI was a unitary…” May 24, 15:06
Mia on The shifting sands of memory: ““Can you give me a give example of where the concept of a binary state is recognised in intentional law…” May 24, 14:57
James Cheyne on The shifting sands of memory: “Dan, Having had a quick reminder after reading the link you provided, Question, if each territorial state remains in tact…” May 24, 14:36
Dan on The shifting sands of memory: “Smith Commission report stated… “nothing in this report prevents Scotland becoming an independent country in the future, should the people…” May 24, 13:08
Aidan on The shifting sands of memory: “Can you give me a give example of where the concept of a binary state is recognised in intentional law…” May 24, 12:43
Dan on The shifting sands of memory: “I’m sure in a change from arguing about “ancient irrelevant guff” the unionists will be along any minute now to…” May 24, 12:25
Xaracen on The shifting sands of memory: “A meaningless hypothetical question, Aidan, and one designed to confuse and deflect the unwary and the uncertain! You are constructing…” May 24, 12:03
Mark Beggan on The shifting sands of memory: ““time” “Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day. You fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand…” May 24, 11:24
