My post analysing the FT's arguments on the viability of Scottish independence has now been reposted by The National newspaper in Scotland.
At the foot of the article there is also this comment:
Richard Murphy will be writing exclusive analysis for The National once a week from now on.
I am pleased to say that I have been invited to write a weekly comment column for The National which will usually be due out on Friday or Saturday each week.
Topics will vary. Requests are welcome, but I cannot promise to deliver on all of them, and because I will be paid for these columns I will not be able to reproduce them in full here.
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Excellent
I am a lady of 66 years born in 1955. I had my pension stolen from Westminster. I am still in full time employment and will have to continue working for at least another 2 years to make myself financially viable.
I am keen to know if a future independent Scotland will be able to sort out all that I (and thousands of other woman) have lost. What will be the future for state pensions should we ever be free from the shackles of Westminster?
Scotland could decide to make this good.
But remember that it is the UK government that will still guarantee your state pension entitlement, and not Scotland. Your entitlement is from the UK
I hope that for once you’re getting paid for the wonderful work you do. 😉
I will be
Good.
It would be good if you can boost some of the messaging from the Scottish Banking & Finance Group in your column in The National.
Let’s see….
That’s good Richard. For years I’ve been reluctant to take out a subscription to The National but will now do so… if only to read your articles in full. I doubt that rag will ever replace Fintan O’Toole & The Irish Times as my source for news but for ‘views’, you and he are on par IMHO.
Btw, did you see Fintan’s recent article about John le Carre having taken out Irish citizenship as a result of Brexit?
That’s flattery
I will never match Fintan
He is brilliant
Congratulations Richard – I’m gratified that you are extending your heterodox reach.
Good stuff 🙂
In the article you refer to a “deeply orthodox neoliberal economic thinking to supposedly dictate Scotland’s future”. Indeed this is the case.
However, you may not be aware that there is also a “deeply UNORTHODOX neoliberal thinking” doing the rounds in the independence movement. It is derived from an acceptance of MMT and a recognition that the sovereign power of money creation can be used to carry on sustaining rentier capitalism in Scotland.
This thinking derives from a refusal to recognise that money is political in nature and that its purposes have to be determined through politics. There is a powerful strand of technocratic managerialism at work in the indy movement which is advocating independence on the basis that Scotloand can manage the existing economic and financial model better than any UK government……in other words the hegemonic vision for Scotland is nothing other than becoming a “chip off the old block”.
Is it no wonder that there have been calls from prominent indy supporters such as Lesley Riddoch for “other voices” and for a “vision of Scotland’s future”.
If we carry on like this Scotland will continue to be ruled by the bankers
I agree Jim
I wrote an article drawing attention to the fact that Independence should not be the goal , as I think it is for most nationalists, but what it is that having national powers will mean in terms of something different than what you have now.
The example I used was healthcare policy.
Its a good example as there has been autonomy on healthcare policy since devolution but very little divergence from DHSC policy in Westminster , despite public health being worse. In fact the process of rationalisation of capacity , the clutching at the straws of prevention , and the strict rationing of social care according to financial means have been more pronounced.
The risk is that under the SNP the scots will be replacing one remote elite for another.
It seems obvious to me that Scotland were taken up by the Celtic Tigers myth which was all about opening the doors to uncontrolled credit expansion , by lightly regulated banks relying on an implicit state guarantee.
The demise of AIB, the icelandic banks and RBS should be enough to kill that project but I fear it still lingering.
You are confusing multiple issues
The first is that there is true revolution. There isn’t
The second is that Scotland has real budgeting power. It hasn’t
The third is the SNP will continue in power after independence. I see it splitting
Your confusion results in all the wrong answers
I’ll admit to confusion but on the arguement :
1. I never claimed devolution as a revolution
2. Scotland has limited budgetary power but when given the choice of spending more on healthcare the SNP decline to do so; presumably for the same reasons as in the rest of the uk that it implies raising taxes.
3. The SNP may well not retain power but they have a big majority at the moment. And will enjoy the advantages of incumbency and of setting the context, influencing key dates for referenda, and of a limited opposition etc.
Not my cup of tea media but good to see you getting wider readership.
I am wary of any MSM and as usual suggest that you sup with a long spoon …
I found a reference to a deleted blog there.
Some panicky tongue ripping of academia that doesn’t quite sing a long with the choir in the echo chamber – it is dire how the MSM isn’t bovvered.
From https://latestnewspost.com/news/world/united-kingdom/westminster-refuses-to-deny-it-pushed-academics-to-delete-blog-on-indy-scotland/
“Scotland satisfies all the international legal criteria for statehood, with one exception: it lacks the formal authority to enter into foreign relations, even though it has the literal ability to do so.”
The post, published on the London School of Economics British Politics and Policy website, was co-authored by Geoffrey Chapman who advises the Department for International Trade on economics.
He and co-author Richard Mackenzie-Gray Scott, of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.
The Government was later pressed by Business for Scotland, which says it believes that Westminster intervened to demand the blog was deleted.
Presented with those allegations, the Government refused to deny that it had pressured the authors to remove the blog post, only repeating that it had not reflected the views of the UK Government. ‘
If academics gave in to that pressure it is to be regretted
Great news. I subscribe to The National but welcome a regular column from someone with wider viewpoint, specially in economics. The reliance of the leadership on the Growth Commission and a rather neo-liberal outlook is depressing. Though there are other voices being heard, such as Stephanie Kelton and Tim Rideout, a weekly contribution will be a breath of fresh air.
Thank you
The Scottish Banking & Finance Group (SBFG) will also be providing regular articles in The National. The first one was published in the March 26th edition. We are about to submit a second shortly.
The SBFG focus is on banking and financial system reform – structural, institutional and regulatory reforms and not just a “nudge” or a “tweak”.
@Jim Osborne
A web search for The Scottish Banking & Finance Group (SBFG)
did find this article:
“Debunking the Unionist myth about a ‘weak’ Scottish currency”
https://www.thenational.scot/news/19188621.debunking-unionist-myth-weak-scottish-currency/
Where might an interested reader learn more or further participate in the debate?
Thanks.
There is a Facebook Group
Richard Murphy says:
>There is a Facebook Group
Thanks for that clue Richard. 😉
further searching using that information does find this public comment from Jim in The National.
Jim Osborne 20th March 9:59 am
User ID: 1715478
why not join the conversation in the Scottish Banking & Finance Group? if you email me at jim. osborne@talk21. com I’ll give you the Facebook link
My determined searching has only progressed in steps and thanks to outside assistance from this Richard and his comments section.
Please Jim can you make this less hard for people?
and Thanks Again you both for all the efforts and work! 😉
[ resumes lurking ]
How about an article about the impact that the powers of independence would have on jobs and prosperity in Scotland?
By way if example, at present, the overwhelming majority of oil, gas and renewables infrastructure, support vessels etc are imported. Less than 40% of jobs in UK oil and gas are BASED in Scotland and many of these are offshore jobs on rigs and support vessels that are crewed by workers that commute to Scotland from elsewhere in the world. Taking account of direct and indirect employment potential, I’d be surprised if Scotland has enjoyed even 10% of the jobs that oil and gas could have supported. I expect that similar effects apply to renewables projects.
With the powers of independence, tax, project licensing and other policies could be used to maximise local employment across all businesses that operate in Scotland. Most organisations operating in or serving Scotland are significantly staffed and managed from outside our borders including oil, gas, renewables, supermarkets, communications companies, public bodies like the MOD, Treasury, foreign afairs etc and much of the food and drinks industry. Many of these jobs would be repatriated to an independent Scotland because businesses would need to publish Scottish accounts, lobby the Scottish Government, use Scottish lawyers, accountants, acquire Scottish premises, engage more marketing and PR staff in Scotland etc. The public bodies would need to be replicated, to an appropriate extent, in an independent Scotland.
Policies should be introduced by an independent Scotland to maximise the local employment potential and this would generate additional payroll taxes, local taxes, corporate taxes and create economic multiplier effects that would benefit many other sectors of Scotland’s economy and society. Tax loopholes could be closed. A more progressive tax system could be introduced.
The opportunities of independence are immense but were not properly addressed by the SNP or the Yes campaign in 2014. The SNP hasn’t properly addressed them since 2014. Instead, they allow British nationalist politicians and the mainstream media to continue the narrative that an independent Scotland would be a financial basket case. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This is an issue worth considering
Possibly this is speculative but for people, like me, whom I should note are strong yes supporters, what happens to savings in £ in certain tax instruments such as a S&S ISA.
Would it be at the discretion of the provider (Vanguard etc…) to offer an account in the new currency or more likely dissolve those accounts – return the funds and it’s up to the individual to find something on offer in the new Scottish system.
I assume the latter and I fear of course that without rational arguments people will be “scared” into voting no.
It would be for the account holder to decide
The account provider must do as they wish
This is good news, glad an honest voice is getting a wider hearing. We’re not all tired of experts.
🙂
Well done,
You might want to have article, on this,
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/30-percent-more-government-doesnt-do-it-does-it
But suppose the data is just not true?
Well it’d be a nice easy article to write : )
Another myth busted.