The UK Government has diverted Scotland’s wealth to the UK Treasury to pay off its debts.  Thus it creates 100% of Scotland’s supposed debts and 100% of its phoney deficit. This is the impact of Westminster’s debt loading alone, and upon that accounting trick, rests the entire economic case for the Union.  Would an independent Scotland have to pay the rUK a population share of the UK’s historical debt?  No – there is in fact a very strong case for Scotland to be compensated for having already paid more than it’s “fair share” of the UK’s debt

The Barnett Formula will withhold from Scotland, over the five years covered by the spending review, enough money to have hired approximately 7,955 additional NHS medical professionals. That is not a bonus – it’s a smoke and mirrors mechanism that aims to reduce the Scottish Government’s spending power in real terms.

An Opinion piece in The Scotsman newspaper by columnist Marc Weller indicating methods of gaining independence including self-determination, a referendum without UK approval, legal proceedings, consultation, and other forms of negotiation.  

Voters in Scotland deserve the best evidence-based assessment of the likely economic consequences of independence. We have sought to collect and assess that evidence as part of our analysis of the economic implications for the whole United Kingdom.

Ben Wray analyses new data on the experience of living in Scotland’s private rented sector, and argues for reversing the trend under devolution of increasing privatisation of the rental market.

This paper makes the case for national rent controls and outlines the problems with the current system of rent pressure zones which have so far been inadequate at preventing the problems high rents and rent insecurity in Scotland.

Instead, rent controls could be designed around a points-based system links to the quality and amenities of a property (rather than market rates) and would be attached to the property rather than the lease.

A new Scottish Rent Affordability Index would peg maximum rents at affordable levels.

The 2040 “Vision” document sets out aspirations. The overall message, that a good home and community, as a human right, is a font of wellbeing, rather than an outcome of wealth-creation, is very welcome. The following suggests the levers necessary to deliver this and its associated aspirations. It also notes the places where associated policy initiatives and campaigns are advancing.

The proposals cover a wide range of policy areas including: Existing buildings, land and planning, regeneration, finance, leadership, diversification, technology and materials, and tax and wealth.

This paper presents a model for building an unlimited number of houses for social rent on a zero-subsidy basis using the Scottish National Investment Bank.

These houses would be built to extremely high standards of thermal efficiency and on a stable finance model ensuring costs to the tenant are far lower than the private market.

The case is made that this model could be used as a post-pandemic stimulus scheme which will reform and secure the housing and construction sector.

The food and drink industry is growing, and new businesses are emerging. There’s a bustle of activities in communities, with new growing projects and food networks.  The dietary gap between rich and poor is widening, with the rise in food banks; and the public health impact of the Scottish diet is set to grow.

A report by Common Weal, Friends of the Earth Scotland and Unison Scotland into divestment of Scottish pension funds from fossil fuel companies and re-investment into socially and environmentally useful investments.