A critique of "Strength in Union: The Case for the United Kingdom", and especially Alister Jack's view of Scotland in the Union.

Policies to get banking oriented to customer benefit rather than profit.  Pointers on how to establish and run a Scottish Central Bank.

Is Scotland a Nation or a Region. MP David Cameron called Scotland a Nation in September 2014 in the run up to the Referendum. In 2021, Alister Jack, Secretary of State for Scotland, refers to Scotland as a region.

― There is a well-understood set of criteria which are viewed as being key to the health, safety and welfare of care workers.

― During the Covid crisis there is well-documented evidence of how poorly these criteria were properly ensured for care staff in Scotland.

― There is an internationally defined and accepted hierarchy of actions to ensuring that staff health, safety and welfare is properly protected and this must underpin our approaches in future.

There is a serious question about how the Scottish Government acts when promoting legislation that pushes at the edges of devolution and how it submits itself to the scrutiny and accountability of the UK Parliament. It's not  that the edges of devolution should not be pushed. They absolutely should. When doing so results in wins, those wins could lead to significant powers being opened to the Parliament for use.

Craig talks to David Patrick, author of recently published book Front-Page Scotland which looks at how stories about Scottish independence were reported in the newspapers throughout the 2014 independence referendum campaign.

Craig speaks to Peter Ryan – expert on currency and banking systems and author of several papers for Common Weal and the Scottish Independence Convention - on currency in an independent Scotland. 

How does the Scottish Government score in the Worldwide Governance Indicators?

1: Voice and Accountability - good

2: Political Stability - good. Better than England

3:Government Effectiveness - good and more trusted than England

4: Regulatory Quality - good although an independent Scotland would need some new regulatory bodies

5: Rule of Law - good. It has a well-regarded legal sysem

Trading in sterling for a transitional period would mean goods from Scotland will avoid currency exchange issues.  If the UK doesn’t sort its borders with the EU, the resulting fall in the value of sterling will mean that trade with the rest of the UK increases, not decreases. Scotland will be the only nation from which rUK can afford to import. Where else would the rUK get the oil, electricity and food it needs from? It will be cheaper and just as easy to import from Scotland.

Scotland's ambition does not end with winning independence. That is just the start. It y offers us the freedom to create the country we want to live in.

The issues we should prioritise include: 
healthy life expectancy, 
enhancing feelings of personal security, 
tackling the poverty which afflicts pensioners, 
low-wage workers and children, and 
ensuring our young people enjoy positive opportunities to forge fulfilling careers and happy lives.