News & Articles
Mediawatch: BBC misrepresents Scottish pupils' reading performance
Listeners to BBC Scotland’s flagship lunchtime news show were told this week that “in Scotland there has been a decline in reading performance among 15-year-olds according to international tests.” That is a very misleading account of what the international test PISA shows. In fact, Scottish pupils’ reading performance in the last test was above the OECD average and just half a percentage point below England’s. It was among the highest performing countries in the developed world.
Scottish Independence Congress overwhelmingly backs Believe in Scotland’s Citizen’s Convention proposal.
The Scottish Independence Congress meets four times a year and is open to all independence campaigning groups across Scotland. Believe in Scotland launched its Yes group organiser meetings in 2019 (initially called the Big Yes Gathering), which was renamed the Scottish Independence Congress in Feb 2023.
Furore deepens over winter fuel cut that shows limits of devolution
The furore over the winter fuel payment is deepening as energy prices rise. Pensioners - many of whom live in fuel poverty - fear that they won’t be able to afford to heat their homes.
Independence lessons for Scotland - Iceland is a renewable energy powerhouse
As an independent country, Iceland has achieved what Scotland can only dream about - It is a world leader in renewable energy, with a completely carbon-free grid. In fact, it is the world’s largest energy producer per capita.
Independence lessons for Scotland from Jamaica
Clearly, there are no direct comparisons between the way Jamaica became part of the British Empire and Scotland. Many British businesses and individuals participated in the slave trade and huge profits were brought back. Scotland's participation in that trade has only recently begun to be acknowledged . Nevertheless, Scotland has strong links to Jamaica - both positive and negative. It is important to recognise these.
Why Norway Chose to Become an Independent Country - Lessons for Independent Scotland
Norway, of course, is one of the richest countries on the planet - in part due to its sovereign wealth fund which holds a share of the oil profits from Norwegian waters and stands at $1.3 trillion. It is also one of the most egalitarian, with a strong sense of social cohesion. Norway celebrates its national day on May 17, as a community event, with picnics, sports and festivities.
Why Quebec's independence dream went wrong - lessons for Scotland
Between 1990 and 2005, about 50% of people in Quebec said they wanted independence from Canada. But since then, that has fallen to a third. Here are three reasons why Quebec independence support fell away and why those circumstances differ from the Scottish independence movement.
New Zealand's century-long journey to independence
New Zealand gradually became independent of the UK in a slow and gradual manner - one tiny step after another until one day they basically realised they were an independent nation. So much so that they do not have an independence day, because no one really knows when it was. This century-long journey to independence might seem rather rapid in comparison with Scotland, where even establishing a Parliament took longer. But there are interesting lessons to learn.
Independence lessons: How Ireland built a strong economy
Ireland is a stable and prosperous independent country. It has used the powers of independence to build a strong and diverse economy.
What an independent Scotland can learn from Denmark
Denmark is about two thirds the size of Scotland with a slightly larger population of 5.8 million. It comes in the top five of the Scotianomics Wellbeing Index. It is also far wealthier – the GDP per head is about twice that of Scotland. So how does independence work for Denmark? Here are five lessons for an independent Scotland.