Referendum 2014

Last week I was interviewed by the Voice of Russia radio station about my views on the referendum debate. I fear it descended into a rammy worthy of the Jeremy

Why did the banks only become Scottish - after they failed? This joke reminds me though, of the one of the rallying calls of the ‘No’ campaign.

If Scotland is ‘better’ than the rest of the UK, then Salmond should be condemning Ukip’s treatment here, writes Brian Monteith

If Scotland became independent, would and could Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland, owned by Lloyds, keep their homes there?

The people of England and Wales who are indifferent to Scottish independence accept the core fact, that Scotland is a country distinct from their own. In their opinion it is up to Scottish people if they want to break from the Union. Good luck, or good riddance, if they do. Of those who are not indifferent some seek to deny Scotland ‘the right’ to independence, by denying that Scotland is a country.

The No campaign has found itself in a shambles as the UK Government’s anti-independence paper is discredited before it has even been published.

The quasi-state funeral of Margaret Thatcher was a reminder of how planet politics was a land once stalked by big political beasts. She may have been a divisive figure in life but in death, politicians of all sides gathered in St Paul’s to sit side-by-side, to as much, one suspects, pay their respects to her as spot who else was there and, more importantly, who was not. And it was an impressive roll call.

Former Labour Chancellor Denis Healey has said Scotland can afford to be independent – and has rubbished claims that Scotland is subsidised by the rest of the UK as "myths".

In a speech today at an international conference, Paul Tucker, the Bank of England’s Deputy Governor for Financial Stability, outlines the virtues of cross-border co-operation in financial regulation - and in doing so shatters Scottish Secretary Michael Moore’s Treasury paper which scaremongers on financial regulation in an independent Scotland.

Sound familiar? The same shit spouted on Twitter by my brother Ian Smart in his disastrous Twitter foray barely a week ago. I am just waiting for Jack McConnell to directly join in. He is supportive enough to re-tweet their musings.

THE UK government’s immigration policies are “damaging” Scotland’s economy, Scotland’s external affairs minister Humza Yousaf claimed yesterday.

FORMER chancellor Lord Healey has admitted the UK government underplayed the value of Scottish oil in the 1970s to combat support for independence.

AN INDEPENDENT Scotland would have “significant difficulties” in underwriting personal savings of up to £85,000, the UK Treasury will claim today in a flagship report.

Welcoming the Panelbase independence poll for the Sunday Times Scotland and Real Radio Scotland - which shows that the gap between Yes and No is now down to 8 points, meaning that a swing of just over 4% would put Yes ahead, and that Yes and No are both at 44% on the scenario of the UK looking likely to withdraw from the EU, member of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee, Clare Adamson MSP said:

Former Labour Chancellor Denis Healey has admitted the Treasury purposely played down the value of Scotland’s oil reserves in the 1970s because of the possibility of Scottish independence. The comments come as a massive blow to the No campaign - the day before another UK Treasury anti-independence paper is published.