Alistair Darling, writing in the Financial Times, warned this week that the full devolution of income tax to Scotland would increase UK borrowing costs and expose Scotland to the destabilising ups and…
First the No victory in the Scottish referendum, now the debate about how much extra power should be extended north of the border. While the commission tasked with coming up with proposals prepares to…
Political scientist Michael Keating, one of the stalwarts of our Scotland Decides ’14 referendum panel, offers a fascinating view of where the constitutional pieces will land after Scotland’s No vote…
Alex Salmond’s political de mortuis didn’t last long. His local paper, the Aberdeen Press and Journal, put a big focus on his high standing in Strichen in Aberdeenshire, where he lives. The locals said…
The referendum on Scottish independence was hailed in many parts of the world as a shining example of democracy in action. Not so in China. There, in a concerted campaign to shape public opinion, the state-controlled…
One of the unfortunate things about the independence referendum debate is that it did not help us clarify the most likely outcome: the offer of more powers commonly known as devo max. For some, this refers…
Anyone listening to the Scottish Independence debate may wish to have a care for the English regions. Take the West Midlands, equal to the population of Scotland, cradle of the industrial revolution and…
In 28 of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas there was a majority in favour of No. The writing was on the wall as soon as the result was declared for Clackmannanshire in central Scotland. If Yes couldn’t…
Saul Newman, American University School of Public Affairs
The average American may struggle with a keen understanding of exactly how the UK is made up, but it’s safe to say that there will be relief in the US at Scotland staying part of the Union. And, following…
For the European Union, the prospect of Scottish secession from the UK was a key component of the nightmare scenario of everything falling apart, inside and outside. After all, let’s not forget that there…
The vote, in the end, was decisive, with the Better Together campaign winning with 55% of ballots cast. As a Glaswegian living in Southampton, I’ve watched from afar, saddened not to be in my home nation…
In the end, Scots pulled back from the brink. After a referendum that saw support for independence start well behind in the polls, it grew over the long campaign. Dennis Canavan, former Labour MP who chaired…
Scotland has rejected the opportunity to become an independent nation by leaving the United Kingdom. Defeat was conceded by the Yes side as votes were still being counted. So, an astonishing campaign is…
The only question worth asking right now is, who’s going to win? Bookmakers’ odds should be fairly representative of movements in sentiment around the debate, so they can be a great guide to what is happening…
In the last three weeks of the Scottish referendum campaign, Gordon Brown had already emerged as the galvanising force on the No side. This reached new heights on Wednesday in Glasgow when he made what…
On Monday, prime minister David Cameron delivered a big speech in Aberdeen on the Scottish independence referendum. It was a masterly performance. He spoke of the shared histories of Scotland and England…
The figure of Alex Salmond dominated the Scottish independence referendum, much as he has dominated the country’s political landscape for the past seven years. So his resignation following the defeat of…
I moved to Scotland from the US 10 years ago. Little did I know that I would be helping to decide whether Scotland would secede from the rest of the United Kingdom and become an independent country. I…
In my younger years, I would’ve jumped at the chance to vote Yes for Scotland’s independence, and even wrote a poem to that effect: Tree of being Roots of been Branches of to be Scotland now As Scotland…
You can hardly miss all the Scottish writers who are engaged in the business of considering the state of an independent Scotland – writers such as Val McDermid on The Andrew Marr Show, or the poet John…