True, but that’s a mainly Dublin property thing, whilst on the basis of having done many art and social research projects on the island (N and S) in the past fifteen years, I’d suggest that the Republic has made much better use of its EU membership to improve the quality of life of citizens across the country. It’s now a modern liberal state, sure there’s still the occasional corruption scandal, but the standard of living is now higher than NI.
Outside its excellent universities, I always found NI profoundly dour and depressing , whereas were it not for the weather any part of the Republic would be a fine place to live!
Wales produces zilch and is basically a benefits state. Scotland, not much better than Wales. NI - I don’t believe they are run by little wannabes and arent looking to go independant.
Well for what it’s worth my take is that NI gets a £4B subvention every year from Westminster. The biggest “economic” sector" in NI, is the public sector. IMO they haven’t a snowballs chance in hell of surviving on their own and possibly even more to the point, Ireland hasn’t snowball’s chance in hell of paying for them should some romantic notion of reunification come about.
Regarding Scotland’s viability, one would have had similar concerns about Ireland a hundred years ago and indeed it did go through a period of being a priest ridden poverty hell hole, until it joined the EEC, Now it’s a thriving, secular free society. So, Scotland, despite having had its oil wealth ripped off, could also prosper in the EU, and not having to tug the forelock to scum like Johnson might just be the incentive to make them leap.
Indeed it is Mat, except that West Germany had the financial resources to make it happen. Even then the hit was enormous.
Ireland’s economy has done very well over the last thirty years (2008 housing crash and the associated Troika bailout excepted) but it’s heading for a difficult period. A large part of the economy is driven by multinational direct investment which in turn is driven by very favourable corporation tax treatment. That’s why Ireland has a ridiculously high GDP per capita. This tax treatment is now under attack on several fronts (US, EU, World) so there’s a rocky period ahead.
The romantic unification enthusiasts who used to sing “a Nation once again” with such gusto are, literally, dying out. For the younger people in the South unification is more of a nice to have, not a necessity and certainly not at any price.
Notwithstanding the northern headbangers on both sides of the political and religious divide, over time, a lot of time, a united Ireland could thrive but the volatility and annual £4B bill in the interim would IMO put off Southern voters, at least the urban ones.
Given the demographics in the North that could be put to the test through a border poll sooner than one might think.
A very poor article IMO Nigel Not that I argue with its thrust, I’m just not sure what poor old Ireland did to Krzysztof Marczewski, jJakub Rybacki and Jakub Sawulsk for them to single it out. For example, the Netherlands is a bigger tax haven than Ireland and the EU mother of them all is Luxembourg (see attached). But first prize in the World Wide tax haven stakes goes to… the City of London and it’s dirty little secrets in the BVI etc. Delaware doesn’t do too badly either
The only ones getting screwed on tax are the punters, like you and me
When I was young and free and touring France with other English- speakers of varying nationalities I noticed over time it was always better if one could say one was Scottish or Canadian instead of English or American
Yes it does rather have a go at Ireland - it almost implies that the very real increase in prosperity in Ireland is just an accounting sleight of hand - but in fact Ireland has become more prosperous than, for example, the UK by all the relevant measures I’ve seen (eg. incidence of both relative and absolute poverty).
In the context of this discussion, also, the very fact that Ireland can follow a corporate tax haven strategy - whatever its ethics - supports the independence argument. At least it has the choice - Scotland and Wales currently don’t.
There are otherwise a lot of economic and cultural similarities between Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It’s interesting to look at the relative decline of living standards in Wales over the last 40 or so years, compared with the progress in Ireland. Wales even more than Scotland exhibits the characteristics of a peripheral economy within the UK (as once did Ireland).
When you compare them realistically, in fact, all of the economic arguments against independence seem to fall full of holes - on top of which they often seem so reminiscent of the British Empire’s racists and bigots that argued against the independence of the overseas colonies on the grounds that, having plundered and ruined their economies for years (not to mention destroying all stable social structures) only the Great Brits could govern them properly.
It is sad but what do you expect considering the appalling way Westminster (either party but particularly the Tories) has trashed Britain and the British over the decades. Such an unjust, uncaring society.
I’ve always said about France: you just get a fairer deal as a citizen. Your more respected as a human being than you are in Britain.
I like Nicola Sturgeon and listening to the deputy first minister, John Swinney, on the Today programme on Saturday I was impressed by him too.
The Tories are really just the England party now, and really just the south of the Watford Gap party (excluding London) at that. In my opinion Johnson and the ERG’s form of nationalist (as in English) toryism and their attempt to recentralise power back to Westminster will just weaken the Union. Labour is doing a fine job running Wales, the SNP likewise in Scotland and nobody can run NI. We may end up with the United Kingdom of England and Northern Ireland
The point is that the SNP do not want real independence otherwise they would not peddle the idea that they can rejoin the EC. An application that would be rejected by Spain who would fear a backlash from the Basque separatists, would be treated with suspicion from France who would fear a resurgence of the pro Breton separatists and could finally release a backlash from the Germans who do not want to finance yet another failing economy. Unless the Scots can come up with a truly independent financial argument for going it alone, the whole issue will fizzle out when the SNP start to loose their gloss as happens with every government throughout history.
Can you support your claim that SNP ‘do not want real indpendence’? Scotland, as an independent nation, would be recognised internationally and that puts a totally different complexion on the matter. Are you saying that Scotland has a failing economy? If so, can you support your view? In any case, does a spouse, who wishes to divorce, have to have a financial argument to go it alone? I would have thought that anyone wishing to leave an abusive relationship should not need to explain anything.
You’re out of date John - Spain has more recently explicitly committed to accepting Scotland’s EU membership, and your speculation on French and German responses is an amusing fantasy.
As to a ‘financial argument’ - well, as I said, as far as I’m aware all of the financial arguments (some set out above) favour independence - but tell us, what arguments from economics or finance do you think go against independence? Some, such as what currency Scotland will use, raise policy issues, it is true - others, such as how UK debt is apportioned, raise issues for negotiation - but neither of these raise any problems for independence in principle.
We keep hearing dark hints about an independent Scotland not being economically viable, but nobody seems willing to actually set out exactly why.
Not that I argue with its thrust, I’m just not sure what poor old Ireland did to Krzysztof Marczewski, jJakub Rybacki and Jakub Sawulsk for them to single it out. For example, the Netherlands is a bigger tax haven than Ireland and the EU mother of them all is Luxembourg (see attached). But first prize in the World Wide tax haven stakes goes to… the City of London and it’s dirty little secrets in the BVI etc. Delaware doesn’t do too badly either 
