John Kay

The petty, pragmatic character of Scottish concerns is appropriate, and in a sense reassuring. We should feel relieved that the passions expressed at Bannockburn, or Waterloo, or that prompted Paul Revere’s ride, no longer feature in the politics of western Europe.

On the 14th March John gave evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee as part of its enquiry into The Referendum on Separation for Scotland. Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times, was also in attendance. The committee focused on the economic issues that would arise in relation to Scottish independence. Watch it in [...]

Legal tender is a concept with no practical relevance. The currency that is accepted is the currency people are willing to accept.

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.