UKC

Hi, can anyone suggest any balanced/objective sources of information that I can read about the pros and cons of Scotland becoming Independent(I know completely objective information probably doesn't exist!). I need to do a lot more reading before the referendum - so any suggestions would be great. Thanks

In reply to bubu:

I think you're asking for something that doesn't exist. Let's face it the arguments are based around the question "what will Scotland be like after independence?". Which is crystal ball territory, so all there is is conjecture from either side, one saying Scotland will be better off, the other saying it will be worse. I don't think anyone is capable of sitting down and saying "objectively after independence Scotland will be like this...". Not possible, which is why there's so much rhetoric flying around from every direction and no facts. Leap into the unknown or stay in the union? That's the only choice.

In reply to bubu:

On the economics side this stuff from the National Institute of Social and Economic Research is good. I think it's genuinely unbias.

http://niesr.ac.uk/research-theme/economics-scotland

Avoid the 'Business for Scotland' website. Basically yes campaign propagandists. (And I'll be voting yes).

In reply to bubu:

I think there is a Facebook page where you can ask questions.

Ben Sharp is right. There's going to be absolutely no unbiased opinion here, you might be best sifting through economic data pre referendum anouncement. You'd have to look at a wide rage of raw figures and how they are collected to make your own mind up I think. Anything published recently will have the greasy paws of referdum all over it.

That of course is a massive undertaking, few will be trying to be objective like yourself. Goodluck, just mistrust everything anyone is saying especially anyone trying to paint things all in one direction, or are using too much rhetoric/comedy. Cold boring umanipulated non cherry picked statistics are best. Rather you than me.

In reply to bubu:

If you have to pick one then look no further than here:

http://wingsoverscotland.com/

Excellent running commentary of Scottish and UK politics, focussing obviously on the independence debate>

In reply to bubu:

https://devolutionmatters.wordpress.com/author/atrench/

In reply to rif:

http://derekbateman1.wordpress.com/
http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/

In reply to bubu:

I see someone's already given you a link to a green ink type of pro independence site but I guess you're smart enough to figure out what that one is.

Prof Brian Ashcroft of the Freaser of Allander Institute does a very good blog on Scottish economics and there are a lot of good relevant articles: http://www.scottisheconomywatch.com/ (in particular check out "Has Scotland already spent it's oil fund?")

Being an academic he tells you where he gets his numbers from so you can make your own judgement.

The IFS have done a lot of stuff on Scotland in the last year. Again they tell you where they get their numbers from so you can judge for yourself. They also have a page which explains their funding so you can decide for yourself between the articles and the funding how independent they are.

http://www.ifs.org.uk/searchIFS

I've got a link to a video on currency matters somewhere. I'll post it when I get hold of it.

In reply to bubu:

Here's the link to the currency video I was talking about: youtube.com/watch?v=mBC0mLFz91o&

It goes through the four different options that would be available.

There's a lot of stuff here from the UK Government, so you can read into it whatever you want but regardless there is a lot of factual stuff here and the one or two pages graphics are very good: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scotland-analysis

..for example if you want to see the letter written by Nicholas MacPherson to the Chancellor spelling out his reasons for recommending staying out of a currency Union you can it's here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/2...

(no need for any conspiracy theories)

You might find this website useful, it seems to host a variety of opinions, pro, anti and neutral: http://www.scot-buzz.co.uk/blog/north-sea-oil-revenue-forecasting-cautionar...

..and here's a Glasgow University website that publishes a lot of stuff on the Scottish economy: http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/cppr/currentpublications/#d.en...

In reply to bubu:

..and finally..

an interview with Prog Gavin McCrone of the infamous report.

youtube.com/watch?v=x2F-H01Qm1I&

Definitely worth a look .

In reply to Removed User:

Hi Eric,

I've watched a bit of the video and read a bit of Mr MacPherson's letter. Both are pretty badly bias.

Just saying.

Donnie

In reply to Donnie:

I'm honestly surprised that you should say that the video was biased in some way especially as it was released by the organisation you recommended, the NEISR. I thought it was pretty much down the line factual.

Re the letter. The point is not whether you agree with it but that you understand what the basis for rejecting a currency union is. There is an awful lot of uninformed nonsense and speculation surrounding this issue and there's no harm with familiarising yourself with key documents.

In reply to Removed User:

Aye, there is indeed "an awful lot of uninformed nonsense", in other words politicking. Of which that letter is a perfect example.

In reply to Removed User:


Really! I hadn't watched it - only read the papers on ageing population and a blog on how debt would be split which I thought were good though neither was particularly good for the yes camp. I've always thought of NIESR as unbiased commentators, perhaps a good thing I didn't know before I watched it. I'll get back to you with points I take issue with.

(Main one was that it suggests that Scotland would have to pay higher interest rates on existing UK debt)


The point is that it purports to be unbias Civil Service advice and it's not. Again, I'll get back to you with the things I take issue with.

In reply to bubu:

Just a point of detail on the IFS reports. You wont find this info anywhere but there reports are based on one massive assumption - that an independent Scotland will have the exact same policy basis to assess costs by. This includes costs around the House of Lords and multiple other things that iScotland would not do. They make a simple proportional calculation.

I know this as I emailed one of the main authors - Gemma Tatlow.

In reply to bubu:

The finest source of information is to seek out normal economic, political and social data for the 4 nearby countries that have gained independence during the last 110 years. These are Iceland, Ireland, Finland and Norway.

Examine the populations and resources of those countries and compare them with Scotland.

Work out whether the people of those countries have had a decent life in intervening decades. (Maybe try not to be too distracted by 2008 economic problems that are similar to the UK.)

In reply to Jim Fraser:


You cannot be serious! Not really a valid comparison at all.

In reply to bubu:
These are three interesting pages on the BBC website. Though trying hard to be unbiased I suspect the BBC are a wee bit pro-British if anything (Great British Bake Off, Great British Sewing Bee, Great British Year, Great British everything on the TV!). But these three articles seem like good reasons to me to vote for independence.
Scotland in Numbers -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24866266
EU Referendum -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25152028
London -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25444981