Margaret Thatcher — Both Sides of the Coin

So the world knows that Baroness Thatcher passed away today, and the world has responded accordingly. Media, heads of state, and commentators have shared retrospectives, op-eds, and their favorite quirky Thatcher stories (Milk Snatcher turned soft serve co-creator? It can’t be!).

But here are two of my favorites:

1. An extended conversation on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, where I currently intern. The discussion was such a smash for our host that he held it over for the whole hour. We laughed, we cried, we found out the Iron Lady was a flirt! Either way, our experts agreed she changed the world. Choice quote?

What you have to remember is that when she entered politics and when she started to climb that greasy pole, there wasn’t a single woman judge. There wasn’t a single woman ambassador. There wasn’t a single woman in any leadership position in the civil service. There were no women newsreaders. There were no women bankers, no women brain surgeons. There were no women airline pilots, no women air traffic controllers, nothing. And you couldn’t get a mortgage if you were – you couldn’t buy a car on your own.

You couldn’t buy a house. You couldn’t have your own bank account if you were married. Margaret Thatcher, because of who she was and what she did as a woman leader, singlehandedly changed perceptions about what women could do and what they could achieve.

2. Margaret Thatcher’s Death greeted with street parties in Brixton and Glasgow. I was sad to not be in Scotland today, as a few hundred Glaswegians gathered to mark the occasion. I couldn’t have a discussion about Scottish politics and independence without someone talking about Thatcherism, the tartan tax, and the coal miners during my time in the UK. Here’s this testimonial in The Guardian that phrases things succinctly, mirroring a lot of what I heard about Thatcher:

Builder Phil Lewis, 47, a veteran of the 1990 poll tax riots, said he had turned out to recall the political struggles the Thatcher years had embroiled him in. “She ripped the arsehole out of this country and we are still suffering the consequences.”

Milk snatcher, bum-destroyer, union-buster — you can’t deny she made an impact. Will David Cameron get the same reaction 50 years down the line? Who knows? But he probably won’t get blamed for ripping the arsehole out of the place on the same day he’s praised for bringing it into modernity. Only Maggie can manage that. I raise my cup of tea to her this evening in astonishment at her fame and infamy. Cheers.

Scottish independence: Referendum cost estimated →

Scottish independence: Referendum cost estimated

I’ve missed the bus, so to speak, on the slurry of posts many #indyref followers jumped on a few weeks back: we have a date! September 18th, Scots will head to the polls to vote — the total cost of the referendum? £13.3m according to an impact assessment report. The BBC reports the price includes:

• Costs of running the referendum incurred by chief counting officers, local counting officers and electoral registration officers

• Costs of funding the Electoral Commission for overseeing and regulating referendum campaigns and reporting on the conduct of the referendum

• Publicity costs incurred by the Electoral Commission in the fulfilment of its duty to provide information to the electorate on how to cast their vote

• The costs of allowing each of the main campaign organisations – Yes Scotland and Better Together – a free mailshot to every elector or household in Scotland.

Has anyone made a joke about Scottish bank notes being accepted in England yet?

Bouncing Back →

Bouncing Back

It seems support for Scottish Independence and my time to cover it have bounced back at the same time.

In answering the question recommended by the Electoral Commission, “Should Scotland be an independent country?“, 34% of those certain to vote in the referendum said they would vote ‘Yes’. This is an increase of four percentage points since October 2012 and bucks recent trends which showed support for independence declining throughout 2012 (from 39% in January 2012 to 30% in October 2012).

I’m also pleased to see that some of my favorite topics: the currency debate, public approval of figures from the ‘Yes’ and ‘Better Together’ campaigns, North Sea oil, and Donald Trump are still very much in the headlines. Expect some more audio, more photos, and more link sharing as temperatures warm up in the US and the independence debate boils over in the UK.

Scotland and the EU – Newsnight Scotland

After the EU’s Nobel Prize win, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said that any hypothetical newly independent country (like Scotland, Catalonia, or Flanders) would have to renegotiate membership of the European Union. Newsnight Scotland experts examine the unprecedented nature of Scotland’s possible independence and membership within the EU, and how politicians could maneuver a changing EU landscape after the 2014 vote.

The Long and Short: Professor Iain McLean

I sat down with Dr. Iain McLean, a Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford and Official Fellow at Nuffield College, the British Academy, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He specializes in public policy in the UK, including public finance, fiscal policy, and Scotland’s fiscal future in light of big changes that will roll out with the Scotland Act and possible independence:

Well an independent Scotland would start with its GDP per head at about the UK average, and so, you know, Scotland could be a viable state, there’s no doubt whatever about that, you know, quite a rich one. The biggest predictable problems I see are three. One is the starting debt and deficit, which are too high for an independent state that has to meet international agreements. Second point is that the public sector is a higher proportion of the Scottish economy than for the UK economy as a whole, and that may not be sustainable. Third, and probably biggest problem is that the oil is gradually running out, and if you depend, as the financial projections of the present Scottish Government do, if you depend on using the oil revenue to pay for current services, then you will hit a crunch probably quite soon, much earlier than 2050. The oil will run out in exploitable quality quantities, perhaps in 2040, but long before 2040, the oil company has got the right to offset their decommissioning expenditures, which will be enormous, against their tax liability. So you should bear in mind that tax receipts will run out sooner than the oil runs out.

We talked EU membership, the tricky things about jumping into a currency, and the differences between English and Scottish Politics. Take a listen. Full transcript after the jump:

Sturgeon sharpens independence debate as a battle for centre-left →

Sturgeon sharpens independence debate as a battle for centre-left

I’ve seen Nicola Sturgeon speak to her home constituency near Queen’s Park in Glasgow, passionately lecturing on the idea of “Freedom” while poking fun at Scottish accents, the 10 year anniversary of River City, minimum unit pricing, and smoking bans. Though the audience was rapt, many drilled their representative about the technicalities of independence.

As the debate gears up, Sturgeon will play a big role in the SNP message as Constitution Minister, and possibly a new leadership role in two years as this Guardian article suggests:

Swiftly cutting dead talk of greater devolution, she brought a very specific focus, disavowing romantic nationalism based on identity – the kind which she said the nationalist historian Neil MacCormick would call “existentialist” – to pursue the pragmatic case for independence.

She is, she says, MacCormick’s utilitarian nationalist – the kind which believes independence is a mechanism for delivering specific social and economic outcomes: social justice, redistribution of wealth (Sturgeon makes that a stated goal) and greater equality…

…The longer-term strategy for Sturgeon becomes even clearer when you consider that the pro-UK parties will, as far as nationalists are concerned, have to be held to their promise to devolve even more power to Holyrood. And the SNP may – depending on the scale of their defeat and Salmond’s willingness to carry on – have to do so with a new leader. Sturgeon now has two years to establish her credentials.

For many voters concerned with the technicalities, Sturgeon’s scaled down romanticism and scaled up pragmatism may be more convincing than Salmond’s style. Ed Miliband  and op ed writers have called Salmond a divisive or negligent nationalist, and though many consider him a good politician, others call him a plain Anglophobe.

Sturgeon is no stranger to center stage roles in the SNP. In 2004, she announced she’d stand as SNP leader after the resignation of John Swinney (currently Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth). She opted instead to be depute alongside Salmond, then led the party in Scottish Parliament until Salmond left Westminster in 2007. She’s since been Depute First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.

Major parties have already agreed on the need to unite after the 2014 vote, whatever the decision. If it’s a Yes, there’s a good chance that Sturgeon will be coaching “Team Scotland.”

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For another take on Sturgeon’s first major speech, check out this Spectator post.

Chatting with Strangers, Part 2: A Snapshot of Shetland Life

Shetland hit the headlines recently, with news that oil giant BP will be investing £300 million  into the island’s Sullom Voe oil terminal. Construction of Sullom Voe started in the mid-1970s and today is one of the biggest oil and gas terminals in Europe. BP, which operates the terminal, says at peak production an average of 142,000 barrels per day will be imported there. The discovery of oil in Shetland was a major boost to employment on the island, but also to revenues collected by the Shetland Islands Council (SIC). A small portion of oil revenues collected go directly back to providing infrastructure, public services, and jobs to the people of Shetland — the SIC is the biggest employer on the islands.

Shetlanders have often considered themselves quite different from the Scottish mainland. Shetland, and its island neighbor, Orkney, were former Viking earldoms granted to Scotland as a dowry centuries ago (something some residents won’t hesitate to tell you). The islands lie 100 miles away from mainland Scotland, and so often do their ideas about independence:

In a paper submitted to the UK government’s consultation on the independence referendum, [Lib Dem MSPs Tavish Scott and Liam McArthur] have provocatively suggested that the two island groups’ willingness to stay within an independent Scotland cannot be taken as given.

Nor, if it comes to that, does ownership of “their” oil, which, by one measure, includes a quarter of the oil and gas wealth being claimed as Scottish by Salmond’s nationalist government.

I had a chat with a small business owner, Louise Irvine, and asked what she thought about Shetland being independent. Here’s what she said:

“I think there was a movement back in the 70s towards not complete independence, but like the Faroese Isles with Denmark. But I think that’s died down, I think Shetland folk realize that the oil will run out, so therefore they’re not going to get revenue from the oil. So we couldn’t stand alone, there’s no way!”

Here’s more from Louise from inside her Lerwick shop, where she fills me in on all things wool, island culture, and Shetland attitudes. Take a listen.

Chatting With Strangers, Part 1: Twentysomething Edinburgher

Part of the great appeal of this trip was getting to ‘have a chat’ with likely referendum voters, to get all the anonymous input and motivations behind their choices that I could possibly record. Plus, the idea of ‘having a chat’ rather than ‘talking about’ or ‘discussing’ issues is much more appealing. I was less of a pollster and more of a sounding board.

I sat down with a friend of a friend who showed me around Edinburgh this summer and asked him how he planned to vote on the referendum in two years. His gut said “yes” to the independence, even though he doesn’t believe there will be enough other yes voters to actually bring about a split from the UK. Though his family is pro-union, and he describes himself as a royalist, he believes Scotland can stand on its own two feet, and this might be its only chance to do so. Take a listen:

Gerry Mooney on Scottish Independence →

Gerry Mooney on Scottish Independence

More people filling Americans in on the referendum — this is how I’ll be spending my Sunday afternoon.

For more from Dr. Gerry Mooney on the Social Sciences faculty of The Open University in the United Kingdom, check out is appearance at Murray State to speak about national identity, devolution, and Scottish independence here. 

Devo Plus Report: Improving social outcomes in Scotland →

“Devo Plus Report: Improving social outcomes in Scotland (full PDF)”

A new Ipsos MORI poll for Reform Scotland reveals that, when asked about Scotland’s constitutional future in a single, three-option question, four-in-ten Scots back the Devo Plus proposals for more powers while remaining within the UK, while over a quarter (27%) back full independence and almost three-in-ten (29%) would prefer to retain the current settlement.

Support for the Devo Plus is strongest among women (46%) and young adults (52% of those aged 18-24) but is also the most popular of the three options among all age groups.

Further good news for those putting forward the Devo Plus proposals is that six-in-ten adults (61%) believe that the Scottish Parliament ‘should be responsible for raising most of the money’ that it spends, a central plank of their pitch.