So, an independent Scotland. Neoliberal nirvana or Scandinavian paradise? True, these are not the only choices available but as a useful shorthand for the size of the state and its optimal take of national revenues it will do for the time being. That is, should taxes rise, fall or remain much as they are at present? What external pressures will hamper Edinburgh’s ability to set its own course, free as the wind? And, for that matter, whose dreams are most likely to be confounded and whose worst fears most liable to be misplaced?
That was the subject of an article I wrote for the Scotsman at the weekend. The gist of it:
The battle for independence has entered a new phase. It is one in which realism is replacing fantasy and in which stubborn facts have a chance of supplanting wishful thinking and self-delusion.
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