The economics of home rule

The Scottish play

Scotland could probably go it alone now, but the economics of independence are steadily worsening

See article

Readers' comments


Eric Mac

I value transparency and integrity in journalism. You will never receive another penny from my household as a result of these two obviously biased articles on independence.

Eric Mac

Note to the Economist. What happened to your balanced professional journalism that once made you so unique and refreshing? You have undoubtedly lost a number of your Scottish subscribers as a result of these two independence articles in this issue.
I am just so happy that I was buying the Economist for my Ipad as 'one offs' as and when the content interested me...
I would be kicking my own ass, if I had taken a subscription and was paying you anything further.
This is a nations future you are playing with, at least give it the courtesy of balanced and factual reporting.

P Smyth in reply to Eric Mac

Just because you do not agree with an article doesn't make it wrong. Interesting you feel offended when an accurate respected publication publishes the truth. Glad to finally see the tide turning again.

Eric Mac in reply to P Smyth

You wish my friend, you really wish. Keep dreaming.
Independence is not a matter of 'if' but a matter of 'when'

It is never going to go away.

Its simple. We don't love you anymore. We never really did. You lied and cheated, you kept the money and you spew bile and hate while blaming us.

We are going and there is nothing you can do except rant and celebrate obvious lies in the media. Be happy!

DJ Glasgow in reply to Eric Mac

I used to subscribe to this publication, but didn't renew in February due to what I felt were consistently negative and condescending articles about Scotland.

This edition has vindicated my decision.

Traquir Alba

Oh Dear the article is more comical than the picture - sad stuff, not worth debating at this level

Eric Mac in reply to Traquir Alba

No... what is sad, is the people who are buying the hard copy off the newsstands and being sucked into the usual Union rhetoric, this time backed up by the Economist brand!! To be honest, I am completely shocked. The articles are a disgrace.

ScorpioFax in reply to P Smyth

No they aren't accurate. They insinuate that Scotland would be responsible for the whole RBS and HBOS debt. Most of the debt was built up outside Scotland, therefore Scotland isn't liable for that portion.

They also state that we would be taking a share of the national debt, yet don't mention that we are entitled to a share of the assets, too.

P Smyth you Brit Nats are all the same ,we the seekers of independence will in the end be liberated,and before we are sucked dry,and not just our oil but also I see that the South East has its eyes on our water,the so called "Joke" by the "Joke" called "Boris" about a national grid many a true word is spoken in jest,but before our country is sold from beneath our feet,and our water run dry we will be free.
Tell me P Smyth how would we separate our part of this island? and where would we take it separatists what a stupid thing to say or do you look for places to say such things or are you supposed to be at a computer by yourself maybe you should get your mummy or daddy to come and see what you have been doing?


And more of the same from the "Economist". Almost as embarrassing as its front cover illustration.
Still, the cover's one redeeming feature is that it will feature in countless history books but not for reasons that will please the London-centric editors...

Peter A Bell

"Scotland’s accounts of revenue and expenditure, based on Treasury data, show that it is not a ward of the state, grossly subsidised from Westminster."

Something we were lied to about for decades. With the enthusiastic connivance of the British media. Why should we believe anything they tell us now?

Peter A Bell

"...after the banking and euro-zone crises..."

But aren't these crises of capitalism supposed to be unique, one-off events? Just like all the ones that went before?

The bottom line is that there is no rational reason to suppose that Scotland would be any less able to cope than all the other nations whose independence is never questioned.


An interesting articles but with some significant errors.
In fact, the only grants are from the central government to the Scottish Government. These are allocated per head via the Barnett Formula, essentially on the same basis as England and Wales. Some have criticised the Barnett Formula, including I believe Lord Barnett himself, because it doesn't allocate according to need. The objections are that Wales should get more because it's poorer; English regions miss out because London takes more than its share of the English allocation, leaving less (and less than Scotland) for the rest of England. These are reasonable points but you are not making them.
Spending per head is currently 13% more than in Britain as a whole, supplying free university tuition, for example, which is not available south of the border. Welfare spending, which consumes a third of public funds, is 11% higher than in England and is rising faster as a share of public expenditure than any other category.
The excess of spending mostly occurs in the UK-wide part. The Scottish Government gets a per capita grant matching collective English expenditure on the same items and it has no tax raising powers. Welfare is "reserved" to the UK and is doled out according to formulas that have nothing to do with where the recipients live. So if one country has more pensioners that country will be deemed to receive greater expenditure. Each pensioner gets the same, however, according to rules that are set UK-wide.

The tories are cicumventing Barnett and using UK reserve funds to pay for Londons new £4.1 billion sewage system thus robbing Scotland of £400m and after the Scots Govt asked for £300m for shovel ready jobs projects and been turned down, Scotland sends another subsidy south.
Reply to the Econopist propaganda>> It'll drain you - The price of Union with England


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