Category: Scotland

UK prime minister David Cameron ‘We desperately want you to stay; we do not want this family of nations to be ripped apart,’ said Mr Cameron David Cameron has made his most impassioned appeal to Scots to stay in the UK, urging them to choose a “brighter future for Scotland by voting No” rather than a “leap in the dark with a Yes vote”. With opinion polls showing the result of the September 18 referendum too close to call, the prime minister and Labour leader Ed Miliband have postponed their weekly clash at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday to join the No campaign in Scotland. More On this story On this topic IN UK Politics & Policy Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, will also campaign against independence. Writing in the Daily Mail , Mr Cameron said the “United Kingdom is a precious and special country . . . so let no one […]

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If you had told someone in 2012 that in just two years the eurozone would remain bonded together but the United Kingdom might not, they would have thought you insane. But here we are. It’s been a good three centuries, but now Scotland may want out of the United Kingdom. The stakes are enormous for Scotland, and quite high for the rest of Britain. But the debate over Scottish independence also sheds important light on how debates over the nature of the state that are as old as Hobbes and Locke apply in a modern world of instant communication and cryptocurrency. The latest polling on the referendum, to be held Sept. 18, points to a narrow edge for Scots who wish to pull out of the state that they have been part of since 1707 and go it as a nation of their own. Previous polls, by contrast, had […]

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EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 08: A Yes campaign placard is placed in a window in the Grassmarket on September 8, 2014 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Better Together campaign has denied plans to set out a timetable for giving more powers to Scotland were a sign of panic. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Scots were promised “modern home rule within the United Kingdom” on a breakneck timetable on Monday if they rejected independence next week, as a new poll confirmed that support for separation was growing. Gordon Brown , former Labour prime minister, was given the task of trying to halt the independence bandwagon , promising a “Burns Night declaration” on new powers on tax and spending for the Scottish parliament by January. More On this story On this topic IN UK Politics & Policy The promise of new powers for Holyrood came as a TNS poll put the […]

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EDINBURGH (Reuters) – The rival campaigns in Scotland’s fight over independence are running neck-and-neck nine days before the referendum, with a surge in support for those who wish to break away from the United Kingdom, a TNS poll showed on Tuesday. The number of people saying they would vote "No" to independence had dropped to 39 percent, down from 45 percent a month ago. "Yes" support was slightly behind at 38 percent but had gained ground from 32 percent a month ago. "This poll reveals a remarkable shift in voting intentions," said Tom Costley, head of TNS Scotland. "It is too close to call and both sides will now be energized to make the most of the last few days of the campaign and try and persuade the undecided voters of the merits of their respective campaigns." The poll follows one in a Sunday newspaper that put the pro-independence […]

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LONDON — Shaken by polls showing momentum shifting toward independence for Scotland, the British government will offer proposals for greater political and fiscal autonomy for the Scots if they vote to remain within the United Kingdom in a referendum on Sept. 18, George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, said on Sunday. The narrowing polls have caused considerable anxiety among politicians and business leaders, driving down the value of the pound and raising questions among investors about the stability of the economy and the fate of the current British government. The vote, which could bring an end to the 307-year union between Scotland and England, is also regarded as important to the future of the British prime minister, David Cameron. As leader of what is still formally known as the Conservative and Unionist Party, Mr. Cameron, already facing internal divisions over Britain’s membership in the European Union, may not […]

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LONDON (Reuters) – Supporters of Scottish independence from Britain have taken their first opinion poll lead since the referendum campaign began, indicating a real possibility that they might win, according to a YouGov survey for the Sunday Times newspaper. With less than two weeks to go before the Sept. 18 vote, the poll put the "Yes" to independence campaign on 51 percent against "no" camp on 49 percent, overturning a 22-point lead for the unionist campaign in just a month, the Sunday Times said. YouGov said that the results excluded those who would not vote and those who did not plan to vote or did not know how they would vote. With those groups included, secessionists would be on 47 percent and those championing the United Kingdom would be on 45 percent, it added. It said that the poll, conducted after pro-independence leader Alex Salmond was widely judged to […]

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Sterling Chart Sterling fell to a 10-month low on Monday after the campaign for a Yes vote on Scottish independence took the lead in a poll that left the pro-union camp scrambling to head off a surge in support for a breakaway from Britain. Chancellor George Osborne on Sunday promised within days “a plan of action to give more powers to Scotland”, including more control over taxes, welfare spending and job creation if the country rejects independence on September 18. However, behind the scenes some senior Tories were preparing for possible defeat. More On this story On this topic IN UK Politics & Policy The pound was down 1 per cent against the dollar in early trading to $1.6163, its weakest level since last November. Sterling is 0.2 per cent weaker versus the euro, the single currency now able to buy 80.02p. UK government debt is underperforming peers, too, […]

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The role and future of oilfields off Scotland and their revenue streams have been a source of debate in the run-up to the Scottish independence referendum. BP ETAP (Eastern Trough Area Project) oil platform in the North Sea, pictured here in February, is around 100 miles east of Aberdeen, Scotland. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images ABERDEEN, Scotland—Scotland votes next month on whether to split from the U.K., and Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing is trying to reassure oil companies that the country’s large energy industry will flourish after independence. "Our (energy) policy has been primarily designed by industry," Mr. Ewing said in a recent interview, promising that won’t change in an independent Scotland. Britain’s oil and natural-gas reserves, much of them off Scottish shores in the North Sea, have become a particularly fraught flash point in the debate over independence, which culminates in a Sept. 18 referendum. Recent polling suggests Scots […]

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Depleting oil and gas production will begin to be felt by 2030 and will have serious implications for the economy, jobs and balance of payments in an independent Scotland, according to Sir Ian Wood. Sir Ian, an authority on the sector, has warned that an independent Scotland without new hydrocarbon regions being discovered will have no more than 35 years of depleting offshore oil and gas production left, and this must be taken into account in the economics of independence. The industry, therefore, cannot figure significantly in Scotland’s medium-term economic calculations, he said. During an interview with EnergyVoice.com, Sir Ian contradicted the Scottish Government’s own figures for remaining North Sea resources and tax income. He said that even with further tax breaks and less complex regulation in the North Sea, only a further 15-16.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) are likely to be recovered. The Scottish Government has […]

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Depleting oil and gas production will begin to be felt by 2030 and will have serious implications for the economy, jobs and balance of payments in an independent Scotland, according to Sir Ian Wood. Sir Ian, an authority on the sector, has warned that an independent Scotland without new hydrocarbon regions being discovered will have no more than 35 years of depleting offshore oil and gas production left, and this must be taken into account in the economics of independence. The industry, therefore, cannot figure significantly in Scotland’s medium-term economic calculations, he said. During an interview with EnergyVoice.com, Sir Ian contradicted the Scottish Government’s own figures for remaining North Sea resources and tax income. He said that even with further tax breaks and less complex regulation in the North Sea, only a further 15-16.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) are likely to be recovered. The Scottish Government has […]

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