This looks at three myths about Scottish independence:
MYTH 1: You'll have had your referendum.
MYTH 2: Scotland has a huge deficit because we spend too much on public services.
MYTH 3: The costs of establishing Scotland as an independent country will be huge.
The decision on Scottish independence is a decision for the people of Scotland. When making that decision it should be clear which currency an independent Scotland would use. If the people of Scotland vote for an independent Scotland with its own currency, that democratic mandate should be respected.
All of the plausible negotiating strategies represent clear advantages for an independent Scotland. Even the least advantageous (the Annual Solidarity Payment) presents a scenario where Scotland would save around £1.5 billion per year in debt interest payments compared to that currently assigned to Scotland in GERS.
While opinion polls in the past few months have recorded unprecedented and sustained support for independence in Scotland, economists said the short to medium term economic and fiscal difficulties of leaving the UK look substantially greater than they did when voters rejected the idea in 2014.
It’s that time of year again when unionists start spreading lies about how an independent Scotland is subsidised by taxpayers money from the rest of the United Kingdom.
With every passing election, Scotland seems to move closer to independence. Investment Monitor explores the obstacles the country would face should it leave the UK.
There is no question that an independent Scotland could run a sustainable budget. But like the UK, an independent Scotland would face major fiscal challenges both in the short and long run. Based upon the latest data, an independent Scotland is likely to face greater challenges than the UK as a whole (at least in the short-term).
There is no set of official accounts that tells us how an independent Scotland’s economy would fare, nor what its finances would look like. Any attempt to analyse Scotland’s finances is instantly hampered by the fact that Scotland is not an independent nation and therefore does not have the same financial data, trade statistics, costs and revenue information available to work with that a normal independent country would have.
The accounts don’t suggest Scotland is in debt at all. People just don't understand how to analyse the UK Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland report (GERS).
A poll for Prospect Scotland found that 75% of Scottish voters would vote for independence if they felt that the economic plan for an independent Scotland meant we would be better off.