The Battle for Britain: Scotland and the Independence Referendum
David Torrance
Language: English
Pages: 384
ISBN: 1849545944
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
A 300-year-old union. A comprehensive debate. A historic decision. On 18 September 2014, Scots will decide their future: should the country quit the United Kingdom and take control of its own destiny, or should it remain part of what advocates call the most successful political and economic union of modern times? Everyone in the country has a stake in this decision. Now, in this fascinating and insightful new book, David Torrance charts the countdown to the big day, weaving his way through a minefield of claim and counterclaim, and knocking down fictions and fallacies from both Nationalists and Unionists. He plunges into the key questions that have shaped an often-fraught argument, from the future of the pound to the shape of an independent Scottish army. With access to the strategists and opinion-makers on both sides of the political divide, this book goes straight to the heart of the great debate, providing an incisive, authoritative, occasionally trenchant guide to the most dramatic constitutional question of our times - the battle for Britain.
Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship
Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain
Britain: The Country and its People: An Introduction for Learners of English
Independence debated at length, an economy in crisis, anxiety over immigration, the Queen celebrating her Jubilee and a hung Parliament preoccupied with matters Continental. All of which serves as a reminder, if one was needed, that in politics there is nothing new under the sun, and particularly so when it comes to the Scottish Question. Indeed, many of the issues discussed in this book have been raked over since the late 1960s, when the SNP first achieved its electoral breakthrough. But this.
Indeed complications. A House of Lords committee flagged up issues over data protection (the law prohibited making available information about juveniles), while it also seemed unlikely all eligible sixteen-year-olds would be able to vote given the required cut-off date for registration. The Scottish government, however, was confident it had dealt with all this, also announcing that only the official ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns would be given access to the final merged list of all eligible voters.
British Isles – naturally benefited Scotland too. Anticipating rUK’s withdrawal from the EU, meanwhile, the Scottish government had finally announced plans to create its own currency (to be called, all in the name of continuity, the Scottish pound), thus avoiding the obvious difficulties associated with being tied to the monetary policy of a country now firmly on the EU exit route. Again this was not easy but, having demonstrated fiscal probity in the first few years of independence, the.
Kingdom can take great pride in’). Later they met, as two leaders within one kingdom, at the entrance to St Andrew’s House, an imposing 1930s edifice which used to house the old Scottish Office. Aptly, one of the allegorical figures above its large brass doors is called ‘State Craft’, depicting a male figure holding open a scroll with both hands. But the day did not feel statesmanlike, or particularly historic. As the Prime and First Ministers shook hands for the assembled media there were no.
Of any further tax relating to land, and look at the practicalities of devolving capital gains tax in relation to land’. Employer’s national insurance contributions could also be devolved ‘if needed’, as they accounted for between 9 and 13 per cent of current devolved spending. This package, argued Trench, would put around 55–60 per cent of devolved public spending ‘directly in the hands of devolved governments’, 43–50 per cent of which would be taxes ‘fully’ under their control (as opposed.