The Scottish Government

Where do Scotlands comparative advantages lie? As a small country, what are the things where we can be amongst the best in the world? It's incredible that we can produce one of the gurus of Economics (Adam Smith), yet perform so poorly as an economy for so long.

And how can we generate more confidence within the Scottish population that we will be successful? That may not be a question of econonmic growth, but I doubt if the economic growth will come without it being answered.

I think this blogg has just experienced a taste of independance from Mr Mather.

I am hoping that these token gestures known as Blogg's are not thrown out and left to rot and are not how the SNP intend to continue.

Another good idea - implemented well - let down by poor management.

I am totally against an independant Scotland and had it not been the debacle of voting process at the last election then Labour would still be in the seat.I would really like to know how an independant Scotland would cope with the NHS and Care in the Community, both of them offer poor and unacceptable standards of care.With the rising number of elderly in our community and increasing numbers of young people leaving Scotland to live and work in other countries.So what is Alex Salmond plans for this?Forget the silly idea of an independant TV stations there are plenty of other things that need to be addressed.

Quote ‘….the only way to achieve our fullest potential is independence’, Jim Mather, Minister for Enterprise?

You’re hardly in the job and you are making excuses for failure already? If you are not up to meeting the mediocre target of just matching the UK’s growth rate by, wait for it, 2011 then why take on the job? Move over and let someone else do it.

#26 James D Swan

So we can do as well as other independent nations of a similar size, what size are you using, population, land mass, natural resources? It took Ireland 50 years after achieving independence to make any headway as an industrialised nation, and, surprise, surprise, lost a higher percentage of its native population to America and the UK than Scotland did at the clearances. A voluntary exodus not an enforced one! It’s emergence as a growing economy in the 70’s and 80’s came through fairly sizable grants from the EU because it was still a peasant economy and therefore a ‘special needs’ economy.

Iceland’s land mass may be increasing due to volcanic activity but it is hardly comparable to Scotland’s land mass, it also has a much smaller population, geothermal energy on tap and the sole rights to an abundant source of fish. Norway in many respects has the same advantages of Iceland.

Scotland has much more land, islands and population than the latter two countries and has a much more demanding requirement on the infrastructure to provide contact between communities and business. (Hence the Barnett Formulae).

The fact that 95% of companies in Scotland employ only 10 people, by your assertion, is surely the way forward for a service based economy according to the latest thinking in economics. If you want to attract ‘big’ global employers then you would have to scrap the minimum wage and social security payments.

#27 Nicholas H - California

Fortunately, Nicholas, my friends, family and acquaintances live in the 21st century, and while we remember the Declaration of Arbroath and the old work ethics with affection we realise that we have to deal with the current reality. The truth is our skills and education does not meet employer’s expectations and we have an uphill struggle to get the current crop of home grown talent to meet the needs of the 21st century. (If you disagree then answer the question – why are farmers of Fife using Eastern European labour to harvest their crops while young Scots are languishing on benefit with no intention of finding work?)

#30 Gordon McAuslane – Ayrshire.

Coming form Ayrshire I should have guessed that the last thing you would want discussed is the costing of income versus expenditure. To put it bluntly, when the Health Minister announced the shelving of the Kerr proposals for the Ayrshire / Monklands area, I bet you thought you had won!

The proposal, as I understand it was to downgrade an A&E in one area to a reduced level of service as regards surgical services, operating theatres etc. These were to be housed in a specialised facility that would be staffed by the appropriate skilled personnel.

By concentrating the expertise in one facility it was agreed, by the medical fraternity, that surgeons would be able to service more patients more effectively and keep their skills up to date by doing the required number of operations needed to demonstrate their competence.

It was further proposed that the savings from implementing this scheme would allow the NHS to increase to FIVE the number of A&E departments in the area thereby providing a more effective A&E service for minor injuries closer to the communities, AND provide a specialist cancer treatment facility in the area.

I would suggest you have lost, big time, and the SNP by implementing populist strategies will make more losers in Scotland than winners, hoping to blame their lack of ‘prudence’ on someone else.

Add them up, if they ever materialise,

No Community Charge, replaced by a local Income Tax? When?

£2,000 for first time buyers. When?

Subsidised ferries? How much?

No Tolls on Forth and Tay Bridges, (After spending £5,000,000 upgrading the tolls?)

Who picks up the tab for the loss of jobs and the ongoing road improvements for bridge access?

£2,000 ‘handout’ to Scottish graduates, well reduced loans. Who will make up the shortfall to the Universities?

Are you sure you don’t want to know the economics?

For the record, putting the nuclear missiles on submarines means that the missiles at Faslane offer little or no threat to an aggressor. It’s the fact that they are hidden somewhere under the ocean that make the MAD threat

#40. You Again - Fife

Methil, Motorola, Rosyth, mining, fishing, bridge tolls.
Aye things in Fife over the last wee while have been just hunkey dorey.

Your point about being jealous I'm afraid went over my head, when I came home from London I chose between St Davids at Dalgetty Bay, Edinburgh Waterfront or Livingston.

I am against bridge tolls.
I have repeatedly said so elsewhere.

On environmental grounds, I believe they cause congestion and are in any event on the wrong side of the road at both Dundee and Queensferry i.e. traffic is forced to move off uphill after the tollbooths.

Without the toll booths to negotiate, vehicles will remain at a constant velocity and run more often at tick over in top gear using minimal fuel and therefore producing minimal exhaust.

Once the southern end of the Forth Road Bridge road connections are eventually completed, freeing up traffic flow off the bridge, I predict a huge improvement in air conditions in and around Queensferry.

As for who's fault Fife is in the state its in, you only think that the Conservatives have been in power most of the time because that's how effective they have been in producing the Methil you now live in.

Fact is, over the last 50 years it is almost exactly 25 years each to Labour and Conservative, with the balance shading to 'Labour' in the last year or two.
Although I have to comment that never thought I'd ever see Maggie 'the milk snatcher' Thatcher getting a character reference from a Labour leader, or a Labour leader getting the thumbs up from Norman 'on yer bike' Tebbit.

I have no interest in becoming personal with you, I don't even know you, or becoming overtly party political.

As for this being an 'Independence only' site, I suspect you may have rather missed the point.

This site has been provided by the Scottish Government to air the possibilities, and the people of Scotland's preferences, on future constitutional developments in Scotland.

IE if you are in favour of dependence on Whitehall then let everyone understand what the benefits to you are, even if it is just because you want Britain to remain 'Great'.

If you want more controls over the Scottish Economy, or Trade & Industry to rest with Holyrood then why not say which and give a case for each.

My position is that I want Scotland to run her own affairs without having to ask permission from anyone else.

I can't help getting the impression that too many unionistas fear an independent Scotland would somehow be a one party SNP state.


Party politics will obviously still continue after independence, but they will do so within a frame of reference to the needs and aspirations of those who choose to live, work and raise their families in Scotland, rather than those most affluent and populous southern counties and shires of Great Britain.

#43. Rosaleen Lynch - Greenock
Friday, September 28, 2007 13:28

>>>the NHS and Care in the Community, both of them offer poor and unacceptable standards of care<<<
So your answer would be:
More of the same please?

>>>Forget the silly idea of an independant TV stations<<<

Yes let's.
Why don't we also get rid of the BBC and ITV and take our TV from RTE Dublin or from TF1 Paris?

Think of the cost advantages and efficiencies of having someone else produce our news and current affairs for us.

re; 43 Rosaleen Lynch - Greenock

You say 'The NHS and Care in the Community offer poor and unacceptable standards of care and young people have been leaving Scotland for work'and of course you are right but whose policies have allowed that to happen? yes if its not been labour its been the tories in power forever and a day, and they have been responsible for this. So you defeat your own argument for staying in the union when the unionist parties have had years to do something and failed time and again, hence the reason there is a change of government by the scottish people and you must have a crystal ball to say the lost votes would be for labour, who says?, maybe there'd be even more for the snp.

You also said indepependent tv stations are silly ideas! My god, how far some of us have fallen. So its okay for every other country in the world to have their own broadcasters but not your own country Scotland! Astonishing. Do you know the array of positions and amount of jobs that would be available to maybe even (in your own words)the young people who leave Scotland? Its Big business from big Employers.

So what would you rather happen, just watch another countries news as we do now with the English news reporting on their affairs like Health, Education etc which has no bearing on Scotland as these issues are devolved with different polices and aims for Scotland.

I personally have and will continue to vote until i get independence for Scotland no matter the smears the unionist press, media and political parties will throw at Scotland. I was abroad on holiday in Tenerife amongst other European nationalities this year and i will say this to you Rosaleen, i am an equal with every one of them and proud to be Scottish and confident enough in my country that Scotland is as good as any other country on this planet to run her own affairs and nobody will tell me different. Now for someone to say otherwise would be very silly for sure.

Scottish independence is coming.

#44 - Fife

Sorry. What has Ayrshire got to do with Lanarkshire, where the Monklands argument is taking place?

Do you really wish to involve the country in even more expense by sending patients to the overstretched and more pricey Hairmyres and Wishaw with their longer waiting times. Methinks your accountancy on this matter is in error. Monklands casualty is cheaper per head.

What cost to the country if even one wage-earner with dependents did not make the extra miles to the more distant casualty unit?

But, there you are, off on the economic tack again. No consideration for the customers who are paying dearly for their Health Service. The people in the area want Monklands. They don't want to travel further, to end up in an even more serious condition than they started.

As for the consultants, if they want a really full list in a busy theatre, I would recommend a spell in Wishaw General which is working at 120% capacity and has a waiting time of over 19 hours for treatment. They would get more than the required number of operations to demonstrate their skills.

As for Local Income Tax and £2000 for first time buyers, give them time. They have only been in power 5 minutes and already they have achieved more than Labour and the Lib Dems did in 10 years.

If you want to see the total land mass of Scotland used efficiently, and depopulation reversed, you have to give the islanders a level playing field in terms of buying goods and getting themselves and their produce to the mainland markets economically. It is a sensible solution to the geography of Scotland. Ferry subsidies are right.

As for the tolls, I would refer you to #40 Livilion's post of the 30th of September. There may be a few job losses, but probably less than those brought about by closure of Monklands casualty unit.

To pay for all this, we could welcome home our Westminster MPs, saving £4.4 million in salaries and £8.6 million in expenses, the cost of keeping them on the London gravy train. Then there is our share of Whitehall, from the Home Office to the MOD to the Foreign Office etc.. Then there are all the London-based quangos and consultancies, the contractors of failed computer systems, like that in the NHS and lastly the London Olympics, just right for the wide-boys to maximise their take on contracts while the National Audit Office (which would be sacked from any commercial company) looks on.

As a Scotlivingin Ireland I have seen the benifits of devolved government, independence for Scotland isin my view the only healthly way for the people of Scotland to go for a better future, the Republic of Ireland has went from strength to strength maybe like ourCeltic cousins on thisisland Scots can dothe same