Interesting piece on the way forward for Scotland from Deborah Orr:
In many ways, as The Independent’s economics commentator Hamish
McRae has pointed out, Scotland is in a better position than Ireland
was around 15 years ago, if only it could release the mechanisms that
could kickstart its economy. What Scotland needs is fiscal autonomy,
whether this is granted federally or through dissolution of Great
Britain. And not just because of the money either. (Independent)
The significant thing about this proposal is that it has received a degree of support from the Liberal Democrats in the Steel Commission report. There is thus a good chance that there could be a majority in the next Scottish parliament in favour of taking control of taxation. Westminster’s reaction to this demand would be interesting, especially with Gordon Brown newly installed as Prime Minister.
Update 22 Jan The Lib Dems ruled out a coalition with the SNP at the weekend, a move that would appear to commit them to a renewed deal with Labour. It remains to be seen how firm their resolution will be if there is a big swing to the SNP in May.
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