They don't offer any view on one of the questions in dispute over the timing of another Scottish independence referendum: how long is a generation? And what are the counter-arguments? Scottish economy secretary Fiona Hyslop has several. Here they are in full:. She seeks to set out a different narrative, which assumes that other factors, under the control of an independent Scottish government, would counteract any negative impact on trade with the rest of the UK.
To repeat: "There is no reason whatsoever that Scotland could not emulate the success of independent countries of our size. The key questions for the economic debate over independence is: what would be required for Scotland to match that success, how long would it take, and what dislocation and cost would be involved in getting there? A further question for those in favour of the union, which has become more relevant following Brexit: what is the trajectory of the UK economy if Scotland remains within it, will Brexit harm or benefit the economy, and how long will that process take?
And the other big questions about the debate itself, and for us all: does forecasting the economic effects of independence - whether positive or negative - make any difference to that debate? Are supporters of independence, and are voters, willing to sacrifice income if that is required to achieve independence?
Will the debate be decided instead on issues of identity, democracy and politics? This is only one economic analysis of one aspect of independence. It comes from a reputable economic source. Its assumptions are open to challenge. Other studies will come along in this new, post-Brexit phase of the independence debate, and they will also reflect a very different set of circumstances now that the UK has left the European Union.
But the LSE report is set to reverberate around that debate until the issue is resolved - if it is ever resolved. Image source, AFP. A new economic study into trade concludes that the costs of Scottish independence would be two to three times greater than the impact from Brexit, and that joining the European Union would do little to offset that cost. The SNP response is that there is no reason why Scotland cannot emulate the success of other countries of a similar size. The report, from the London School of Economics, is set to fuel the post-Brexit debate about independence.
Other questions concern the conditions under which Scotland could get faster economic growth, the costs and benefits of remaining in the UK post-Brexit, and whether the economic arguments will make any difference to the outcome. Image source, Reuters. Lorry drivers' documentation is checked by police officers at the Port of Dover. Some people thought the change should be bigger and Scotland should go back to being completely in charge of itself.
This is called independence. In , people in Scotland were asked if they wanted to make this change. It is very hard to say what independence would look like, other than to say that Scotland would no longer send politicians to sit in the UK parliament in Westminster, and that the UK parliament would have no say on how Scotland was governed.
How the two countries would separate themselves would be an enormous question for decision-makers on both sides of the border.
The issues would range from what people would have to do to travel between the two countries - would you need a passport, for example - but also how to divide up resources like the UK's military or power plants. It would be complicated, but if people in Scotland said they wanted to be independent it would be down to politicians to answer those questions. However, the issues is one that has plenty of support on both side. One thing the two sides do agree on is how important the issue is to young people in Scotland.
Seb agrees, describing the debate as "huge in Scotland. The independence debate is a big issue in Scotland - a recent survey found Scots thought it was as big an issue for the UK as the environment. So, the questions over how the country should be governed won't be going away anytime soon. Should MPs be allowed to do another job?
How Christmas can still sparkle with plastic-free glitter. However, if we scratch under the surface of the contemporary debate, we again see a similar pattern. Nonetheless, because Scotland maintained a reduced capacity in Parliament to influence decisions, it became entrenched within a predominantly English-oriented government policy. Indeed, the counter argument to this interpretation is that since the Scottish Parliament was established in , the powers granted to the Scottish assembly have undoubtedly increased since its creation.
The Scottish Parliament has responsibility over health, education, housing policy, justice, and communities. Despite this, however, the vast majority of the social security system, as well as foreign policy, defence, and economic issues are still reserved for the Westminster Parliament.
The union, since its inception, has undoubtedly been a balancing act. When the bonds of union have begun to loosen at any point in time, there has always been another policy or government action that has reinforced the knot. However, three centuries of productive union have largely been forgotten about by three decades of neglect. The Scottish independence movement is the trigger for an end to a political union rightly thought by many Scots to be no longer fit for purpose , and the SNP, for the most part, is holding the gun.
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