As Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling went head-to-head for the last time on Monday August 25, both sides were already pre-empting the following day’s media coverage of post-match analyses, and talk of…
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Scotland Decides – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 26 - 49 of 49 articles
We have heard a lot about the implications of independence for Scottish business. According to the latest government statistics Scotland has 340,840 micro, small and medium-sized businesses, representing…
Will the heady blend of Westminster love-bombing, ominous corporate warnings and a saltire flag over Downing Street be enough to persuade the Scots to come back into the fold? We have already looked at…
In the current debate on independence, journalists and commentators regularly claim that “devo max” is the favoured option of a majority of the Scottish people, and some express an expectation that this…
Economic and political dynamite. That’s the only way to describe the new report by N-56, an admittedly pro-independence think tank, that suggests that the remaining tax revenue from North Sea oil and gas…
A common refrain of the Better Together campaign in the Scottish independence referendum is that it is unlike any other poll. If the nation’s choice at a General Election was in error, the government can…
If we wanted a reminder of the class system that still overshadows the British Isles, the announcement by Prince William and his wife Kate of a second baby today fitted the bill perfectly. Call me churlish…
In 1998 Alex Salmond dismissed doubts over Scotland’s Celtic lineage as “ignorance bordering on silliness”. In 2007 he expounded a vision of the country as a “Celtic lion” economy. In 2005 a Scottish National…
The people of Scotland are suddenly facing the realistic prospect that monumental change may be in the offing. As most recently confirmed by a shock YouGov poll, support for Yes appears to be rising fast…
We are now barely two weeks away from Scotland’s referendum on independence. According to the latest polling, the No camp’s lead is disappearing fast. A Yes victory is becoming a realistic possibility…
Debate in the referendum continues to rage over to what extent we can trust the opinion polls. While the Yes side have most recently being putting their faith in the circa one million undecided voters…
Over a cup of tea – that is how it all started. Now it is a viral phenomenon. During the past 48 hours, the Better Together video clip featuring a woman talking about independence has been shared 2,974…
In the second TV debate between Alistair Darling and Alex Salmond, the currency issue was again to the fore. This was almost inevitable after it was the Scottish first minister’s undoing in the previous…
Within less than an hour of last night’s second debate between Salmond and Darling, post-match analysis indicated a win for Scotland’s first minister. The polls showing the latest voting intentions will…
To work out who won the debates between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling, you have to ask the audience. The trouble is that different audiences will tell you different things. If you asked the studio…
When Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling lined up for the first TV debate on August 5, Darling came out the surprise winner for the Better Together campaign. Few would disagree that the positions were reversed…
Women appear to be everywhere in the debate on Scotland’s independence, except in the thinking of the mainstream parties when it comes to seeking ways to promote gender equality and eliminate discrimination…
Sir Tom Devine’s conversion to the Yes cause may seem like a road-to-Damascus event, but should occasion little surprise. Most Scottish historians who have come out on the independence question are yes…
Political campaigners can often be heard complaining that opinion polls do not reflect what they hear on the doorstep. Arguing that they have spoken to many more people than the 1,000 or so typically interviewed…
David Cameron and other prominent unionists have accused Alex Salmond of desperation over his decision to question the future of the NHS in Scotland if it stays in the UK in recent days. The first minister’s…
Tom Devine, Scotland’s most celebrated historian of recent years, sent shockwaves through the country when he revealed in a news report in The Observer newspaper last weekend that he intends to vote in…
With September 18 drawing nearer, the people of Scotland still lack answers about how independence will affect a number of institutions, policies and their everyday lives. It is crucial to uncover what…
On August 5, the house of commons committee for business, innovation, and skills (BIS) published a report on the impacts of Scottish independence on higher education, business, and the postal service…
An independent Scotland would be significantly better off than it is now, according to Professor Andrew Hughes-Hallett of George Mason University in two recent pieces in The Conversation. This is contrary…