News & Articles
Failure to reform House of Lords is good news for the independence movement
The Labour Party has often promised to abolish the House of Lords - but last month it changed its tune and made 30 new peers.Â
These individuals - who in many cases have been recently rejected at the ballot box by voters - now get to make laws for the rest of their lives.Â
Child poverty predicted to rise in most of UK except Scotland
Child poverty is on course to increase in the UK by the end of this parliament, with only Scotland bucking the trend, according to analysis by a respected poverty charity.
This is essentially because the Westminster government continues to discriminate against children born into larger families.Â
Scotland's shared culture is the key to unlock Scottish independence
Believe in Scotland’s ‘Creating Scotland’ campaign aims to align the independence cause with the culture, values, hopes and dreams of our nation;
Media watch: Is the BBC misleading Scotland over its spending?
Scots pay almost £300 million a year to the BBC through the licence fee - that is more than the arts and culture budget of the Scottish government.
The BBC is required to spend at least 8% of its resources in Scotland, nurturing the creative and media industry here. That should be a bare minimum. There is no reason why it should not be more. London does not have to soak up so much of the money and talent - it would not do so if Scotland were independent.
Westminster Effect means Scots experience more fuel poverty than any EU nation.
In a week of freezing temperatures, Scottish households are counting the energy cost of the Union. In energy-rich Scotland, fuel poverty rates are higher than any EU country and more than double that of England.
New Poll Result: Wellbeing Economy points to 66% SUPERMAJORITY for Scottish Independence
By Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp
Make no mistake, this is a breakthrough result for Scottish independence. It demonstrates that, with the right message, there is a path to a 66% supermajority for Scottish independence. Two thirds of Scottish voters would support independence if independence were predicated on a Wellbeing Economic Approach with The Wellbeing Pension. More than that, the poll found that of the groups that are least likely to support independence, all of them moved to majority support in answer to this poll question. Meaning a Yes majority amongst demographics known for showing lower support for independence; Females aged over 55, Labour voters and English born voters, is possible if we make the right case for independence.Â
Scotland’s Waspi Women pay the price of the Union
Scottish pensioners already face one of the lowest state pensions in the developed world. But the group of Waspi women have suffered pension injustice that means they were short-changed on even that.Â
If Scotland were an independent country it could model its pension provision on a country like Denmark and offer a Wellbeing Pension, set at the level required to sustain a life of dignity, where every older person can afford the basic necessities of life.
NEW POLL RESULT - Would offering an independent Scottish republic increase independence support?
By Gordon MacIntyre-KempÂ
In response the recent Scottish budget, The Times commissioned a poll from Norstat (formerly Panelbase) on Scottish independence and found a significant six percent jump to 54% ‘Yes’ when asked the question ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’
Believe in Scotland have always used Norstat as our polling provider and we had a poll of our own going at the same time with the same panel of respondents. However, we asked questions around specific messages and policy areas so we could test how they impact on base independence support.
One of the questions we wanted an answer to is would offering an Independent Scottish Republic increase independence support?
Scots should spik up for oor mither tongues
Scotland has always been a multilingual country -Â although two major home-grown languages, Gaelic and Scots, have been marginalised for centuries. Schoolchildren were told not to use the languages they spoke at home in the classroom, and they were sometimes beaten for doing so. Both children and adults were shamed for using oor mither tongues.
Poverty in families with children now lower in Scotland than England, new study shows
An authoritative new report has found that poverty among families with children is lower in Scotland than it is in England. The study by the Social Metrics Commission (SMC) released this month found that 26% of couples with children are in poverty in England, while in Scotland the figure is 23%. In England, more than half of lone parents, 54%, are in poverty whereas in Scotland it is 48%.