John Ferry

Scottish bonds are an expensive mistake Humza Yousaf’s inglorious year as first minister will not be remembered for many lasting achievements. But he does have one legacy.

Good piece here from @staylorish.bsky.social on the millions the SNP Scottish Government is spending to issue bonds that won’t increase borrowing capacity by a single penny. More taxpayer money spent on Nationalist posturing. 👇
spectator.com/article/scot...

Sam Taylor clearly explaining how the SNP is misleading Scottish voters on income tax. Important, necessary work in the age of populists👇

The Tipping Point Last week, the Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute made a significant intervention on a notorious claim about income tax in Scotland. Has the SNP’s statistical chicanery finally run out of ro...

Ahead of the budget tomorrow, the full story of the SNP’s statistical chicanery on income tax.

On bond issuance plan: John Swinney suggests Scottish independence would be shrugged off by the bond market, with an impact similar to that caused by the Wes Streeting briefing war. Absolutely ludicrous.

been watching lots of focus groups - clearly many young Scots believe we “send all our taxes to Westminster but get only a fraction back”

but Scottish Government’s own National Statistics show we consistently benefit from 9.1% of UK public spending while contributing less than 8.5% to UK revenues 🤷🏻‍♂️

The most serious failure of the SNP’s latest independence paper is that it completely ducks the question of how an independent Scotland would get its public finances onto a sustainable footing.

“They are seeking to turn this country into little MAGA Britain”

Former President of Global Affairs at Meta Nick Clegg says Elon Musk and JD Vance are interfering in European politics, which would “never” be tolerated stateside

#Peston

It’s rich of Nicola Sturgeon to criticise flag-waving That Nicola Sturgeon can come out with this stuff without even a hint of self-awareness is truly astonishing.

At no point has Nicola Sturgeon or Humza Yousaf questioned whether actively working to create a divide that directly ties politics with identity might be socially detrimental.

From me for @thespectator1828.bsky.social ✍️
www.spectator.co.uk/article/its-...

It’s rich of Nicola Sturgeon to criticise flag-waving That Nicola Sturgeon can come out with this stuff without even a hint of self-awareness is truly astonishing.

The SNP cynically split Scotland into two opposing camps: virtuous, culturally enlightened nationalists who are welcome to embrace the Saltire, and unionists who must be socially excluded from their Scottishness until they switch to the culturally superior camp ✍️
www.spectator.co.uk/article/its-...

It’s rich of Nicola Sturgeon to criticise flag-waving That Nicola Sturgeon can come out with this stuff without even a hint of self-awareness is truly astonishing.

Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf have been part of the illiberal process that has removed individuality and reasserted national identity as a political driver. Their hypocrisy on flags is astonishing.

New from me @thespectator1828.bsky.social

Get it read! ✍️👇
www.spectator.co.uk/article/its-...

It’s rich of Nicola Sturgeon to criticise flag-waving That Nicola Sturgeon can come out with this stuff without even a hint of self-awareness is truly astonishing.

New from me @thespectator1828.bsky.social ✍️

www.spectator.co.uk/article/its-...

This is a self-serving twisting - of course! - of the reality, but the key thing is it's designed to deflect attention away from the SNP's many failures in government. Ignore it, and don't let them get away with not answering for their failures across education & health, the ferries fiasco etc.

GERS 2025: Full Fiscal Autonomy? Kevin Hague uses the latest GERS figures to compare Scotland’s fiscal position with independent EU countries and argues that a fiscally autonomous Scotland would need to dramatically reduce investment...

Using the latest GERS figures, @kevverage.bsky.social compares Scotland’s fiscal position with independent EU countries and argues that a fiscally autonomous Scotland would need to dramatically reduce investment in public services.

Yes, it’s very frustrating when people whose politics you fundamentally disagree with appropriate your national symbols for their cause…

Fundamentally this latest ScotGov paper is just yet another demonstration that the SNP intends to fight yet another election on issues around independence rather than on their record in health, education, transport, crime and all the other things they have actually been responsible for for 18 years.

The Scottish Government has put out a paper - written by British civil servants - making the case that SNP manifesto commitments are a matter not of politics but of law. This is obviously constitutionally wrong. Our civil service resources should not be used in this way. @johnswinney.bsky.social

John Ferry: It's time to end Scotland's national identity culture war We're encouraged to assert Scottish identity and reject British identity.

I see national identity culture war fighting is unfortunately becoming all the rage. I wrote this a couple of years ago, on how damaging this form of politics is.
www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/opinion/c...

Defence Spending in GERS: Anatomy of a Myth The Scottish Government’s Finance Secretary’s latest attempt to spin the GERS figures is both incorrect and misleading.

Defence spending in GERS. @kevverage.bsky.social explains how the Scottish Government is pushing a dishonest narrative.

it’s GERS day 🎉🫤 - all you really need to know is this:

Scotland (inc N Sea) generated very similar revenue/head as UK avg (£91 higher)

but spending/head in and for Scotland was much higher (£2,669 higher)

and that higher spending is mainly explained by devolved (SG controlled) spending

(1/2)

grateful as ever to the National for highlighting the important and impactful work @theseislands.bsky.social is doing to inform the constitutional debate - if you would like to support our ongoing efforts, you can donate to these Islands here > www.these-islands.co.uk/funding/d5/

a masterclass in rhetorical deception

1. that a big new wind farm “could” be built has nothing to do with current electricity bills

2. Scotland is a “renewables superpower” because the “Westminster run” energy market offers price guarantees to wind farm developers (which impact all GB bill payers)

Britain is not a broken society The country has serious problems but the right’s vision of it has become hysterical

This from Janan Ganesh is very good. Beware those insisting only a full system reset will work because 'can it really be any worse than this'.
www.ft.com/content/c34f...

Nationalism really is *fascinating*. Today we've seen (absolutely justifiable) protests against Trump during his visit, and people are praising "Scotland" for this. Meanwhile the actual elected FM of Scotland announced money for Trump's golf course and says the visit is an opportunity to be grasped.

Zonal Pricing: What Happened? Zonal pricing of electricity is not going to happen. At least not any time soon. The UK Government’s decision, part of the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) process, which it inherited ...

I have seen quite a bit of b*!!*cks talked on @bsky.app about the issue of electricity pricing. This article from @staylorish.bsky.social is really useful in understanding what zonal pricing is really about www.these-islands.co.uk/publications... (1/2)

Zonal Pricing: What Happened? Zonal pricing of electricity is not going to happen. At least not any time soon. The UK Government’s decision, part of the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) process, which it inherited ...

Everything you always wanted to know about zonal pricing. Plus why the SNP is incoherent and unserious on electricity market reforms.

Decent start to the weekend

Peter Murrell granted legal aid after embezzlement charge Taxpayers are set to foot the bill for former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell’s legal costs after he was charged with embezzlement, it has…

I can't get my head around this. Extraordinary.

Peter Murrell granted legal aid after embezzlement charge www.heraldscotland.com/news/2528231...

When I was elected to Holyrood in 2016 we had just 2 councillors in the capital. This is how city of Edinburgh council looks this morning.

An immediate response to Scottish fiscal announcements | Institute for Fiscal Studies IFS researchers respond to Scottish fiscal announcements.

'By 2029–30, a ‘funding gap’ of £2.6 billion a year for day-to-day (non-investment) spending is projected... roughly equivalent to spending on Scottish police & fire services, or the revenue from increasing all rates of income tax in Scotland by around 4 % points.' ifs.org.uk/articles/imm...

1/ In May 2022, Kate Forbes made a significant pledge: Scot Gov would reset the public sector, returning the size of the workforce to pre-Covid levels, & freezing the pay bill. Here she discusses the plan at a June 2022 meeting of the Finance & Public Administration Committee.🧵