Day: 25 February 2026

Independence, Europe and the politics of substitution

Independence, Europe and the politics of substitution A chess board with an EU painted pawn and a UK painted pawn

I VOTED YES in 2014 for reasons that were, at the time, simple enough. I believed Scotland should be responsible for itself. I believed decisions affecting Scotland ought, as far as possible, to be taken in Scotland. I believed that political maturity meant accepting risk rather than permanently outsourcing it. I was not driven by […]

A devolution reboot: making Scotland a magnet for talent and growth

A devolution reboot: making Scotland a magnet for talent and growth A view of the Clyde in Glasgow at night with hotels brightly light and other industrial structures

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT, Wendy Alexander, then a leading light in Scottish Labour (she was enterprise minister and went on to lead the party), sponsored an interesting thought exercise. Six leading economists from around the world were asked to assess how to boost the Scottish economy in the new era of […]