Referendum 2014

It seems Scotland doesn't have resources. Only impediments to independence.

Not for nothing is economics called the dismal science. If we all took the jaundiced Jeremiads of dour doom-mongers as seriously as Bill Jamieson does it would be boom-time for manufacturers of the sharp instruments we'd all be applying to our vital blood vessels.

It is, of course, a nonsense to say that the independence debate has avoided the subject of our economy. It has been a constant theme. As, indeed, it must be. Not least because the economy provides unionists with a rich vein of material to mine for a campaign which relies almost entirely on scaremongering. You can always find an economist to tell the tale the way you want it told. It sometimes appears that there are only two kinds of books on economics. Baleful accounts of how the world is going to hell in a borrowed hand-basket. And hopeful advice on how this trend can be bucked by those with the perspicacity to buy the right book.

Bill Jamieson's complaint is not, in reality, that the subject of the economy is not being discussed. His complaint is that some are discussing it in terms that are not suffused with the degree of soul-sapping pessimism that he considers appropriate. It's basically just another whinge about how we're doing the referendum debate all wrong. A saturated market if ever there was one.

A debate that does not encompass the potential for progressive change is just as divorced from reality as a debate which disregards the difficulties that Scotland undoubtedly faces whether bound to the moribund British state or as an independent nation. Somebody needs to look for the bright side. Somebody needs to explore the possibilities. Somebody has to temper the grinding negativity of anti-independence propaganda with a positive perspective. If they don't then the queues at the razor counter could quickly become unmanageable. And doubtless some economist would be on hand to bemoan the catastrophic consequences for our economy.

The UK government wants to have it both ways. They want Scotland to take a full share of the debt while being denied the assets that we helped pay for.

Britnat loonies to the left of us! Britnat loonies to the right of us!

A strong contender for scare story of the day. But we haven.t yet checked The Telegraph. Whether it wins the title or not it should be read in conjunction with this article from Left Foot Forward - Target to decarbonise power sector by 2030 could save every British family over £1,000

Murdo Fraser seems quite excited about the fact that a few people in the British Conservative Party in Scotland are now sort of talking about the possibility of perhaps coming up with some pointless jam tomorrow pseudo-promises about "more powers" for the Scottish Parliament. Maybe! Assurances which surely nobody doubts will be rejected by the British Conservative Party as a whole supposing they return to power after the 2015 UK parliamentary election.

Is anybody other than Murdo Fraser inspired by this vacuous exercise?

Simply scaremongering.