{"id":91455,"date":"2026-04-07T07:26:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T06:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=91455"},"modified":"2026-04-07T07:26:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T06:26:41","slug":"paying-attention-to-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2026\/04\/07\/paying-attention-to-scotland\/","title":{"rendered":"Paying attention to Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scotland, as I notice every time I go there, is very decidedly another country, and one to which most people in England have rarely visited or never been.<\/p>\n

Politically, this difference is very apparent. This is\u00a0 the latest opinion polling data for the forthcoming Holyrood elections, from The National<\/a> (of course):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It seems certain that Scotland will be electing a pro-independence government in May. There may be an SNP majority. If it falls short of that, some form of alliance with the Scottish Greens (a separate party to that in England and Wales) should deliver its agenda, which John Swinney now says includes a referendum in 2028, which is why everyone should be paying attention.<\/p>\n

These are the estimated voting intentions:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

52% will be voting for independence parties. Only 25% will be voting for the far right in the form of the Tories and Reform, when that figure in England is likely to be 40%.<\/p>\n

Those with an interest in where politics might go in England and Wales might need to look at what is happening in Scotland. It is setting the agenda for change, as is its media. The National is the leading left-of-centre, radical newspaper in the UK right now, and from today it is on special offer at \u00a320 for a year<\/a>. It's worth much more than that:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Amongst other things, that's a year's worth of my Monday column for \u00a320, but that is far too narrow a view. This paper has a courage few others share. Just its interntaional coverage is worth \u00a320. Give it a look.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scotland, as I notice every time I go there, is very decidedly another country, and one to which most people in England have rarely visited
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