2012/03/22 23:16
At the moment, the main reason why English students are not all going to university in Scotland (where university tuition is free, compared to English universities that will typically charge £27,000 for a 3-year degree) is that Scottish universities charge them up to £27,000 for their degree. This is only possible because the EU rule about not discriminating against EU...
2012/03/14 23:55
The other graph (on the left) adds Sweden and England, but instead of using absolute numbers, the graphs are relative to the populations in 1900.The second graph clearly shows a difference between non-independent Scotland and pre-independence Ireland on one hand, and the independent countries (or the dominant part of the union, in the case of England) on the other.If Scotland...
2012/03/27 23:01
The SNP are often asked to provide detailed plans for what to do after independence — which currency would Scotland use, would there be passport controls, would Scotland be a member of NATO, etc.
To a certain extent that is right and proper – the SNP is the main proponent of independence, so it reasonable to expect that this party will also be able to suggest some answers to these questions.
However, there’s a limit to it.
The day after Scotland votes Yes to independence, the unionist parties will have to stop working to prevent independence and start working to fight Scotland’s corner in the independence talks with the rUK.
Furthermore, the next elections to the Scottish Parliament are due in May 2016, roughly 18 months after the independence referendum. It is entirely possible that the SNP won’t win these elections, and it could therefore quite feasibly be a Labour politician who would be the first prime minister of an independent Scotland, and in this case it would be Labour and not the SNP that would be making many of the crucial decisions about NATO, the currency and the other crucial questions.
In short, I’d like the Unionists to acknowledge that they too need to have a vision about what an independent Scotland should look like, because they might be the ones who’ll have to implement it.
2012/03/20 23:35
Tavish Scott and some of his unionist friends have been having fun recently suggesting that Shetland and Orkney might separate from Scotland in the case of Scottish independence.As far as I can see, there are theoretically four options for Shetland and Orkney if Scotland becomes independent:They can remain part of Scotland.They can become part of Norway (or Denmark) instead.They can become part of England.They can become independent.Option (1) is of course the most straightforward option. Although option (2) would perhaps...
2012/03/18 22:53
As far as I can gather, we are currently seeing a divide opening between London-based media (the big newspapers and many of the BBC's flagship programmes, such as the Andrew Marr Show) and Scottish-based media (including Scottish blogs).The London-based media are acting as if the independence referendum has already been won by the No side, and they're almost blanking out...
2012/03/13 23:12
To what extent is Britain (or the British Isles) the same kind of construct as Scandinavia (or the Nordic countries)?Both Britain and Scandinavia have a long and complex history, with periods of political unification and others with separate kingdoms and...
2012/03/11 17:57
Ten years ago today I started work at Collins Dictionaries. I had arrived the day before and had found temporary accommodation in a bedsit overlooking the river Kelvin, very close to Kelvinbridge subway station. I only stayed there for a...
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