John Kay

Currency is a confidence trick: its value depends entirely on the belief that it has value.

In Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’–‘the Scottish play’ – Macduff poses the question, ‘Stands Scotland Where It Did?’ The answer was not historically accurate and even less reassuring:

‘Alas poor country!
Almost afraid to know itself. It cannot
Be call’d our mother, but our grave.’

– Professor Sir Donald Mackay

The SNP’s decisive victory in the elections in Scotland on 5 May 2011 creates a marked shift in the political landscape.  The Scottish government is now committed to holding a referendum on independence.  In the previous Scottish Parliament (under an SNP minority government) John was a member of the Council of Economic Advisers established by [...]

The SNP’s victory in the 5th May elections, which delivered an overall majority of 69 out of the 129 seats, means that the party can now fulfil its commitment to push for a referendum on independence. But independence, if achieved, would bring complications—both political and economic.

The answer to the question ‘would an independent Scotland be economically viable?’ is plainly yes. But would Scotland, or the remainder of the UK, or both, be better off?

So does tentative adolescence give way to independent adulthood? The likely SNP victory does not alter the fact there is no majority in Scotland for independence and little chance of one.

John analyses the myths and realities of timezones and summer time – and supports moves in the British Parliament to move to Central European Time.

The substitution of transaction-oriented dealings for relationship contracting added to profitability in the short run; but in the long run it eroded relationships that had been the underlying source of much of that profitability.

You are the recently appointed First Minister of an independent Scotland, sitting in the elegant drawing room of Bute House, enjoying a relaxing moment after a stressful day. Then you receive an urgent call from the Governor of the Central Bank of Scotland. A few minutes later, the Governor is shown in. He explains that within a few days the Royal Bank of Scotland will be unable to roll over its facilities and will run out of cash. What do you do?

My primary purpose is to begin a debate here in Scotland, a debate which I intend to take forward in the Council of Economic Advisers, and which I hope Reform Scotland and others who are concerned with the business and politics of Scotland will also have an opportunity to take forward.