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Scottish independence: Support for Yes drops if voters think it will cost them money – Daily Record
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Scots are far less likely to back independence if they believe it will cause public spending to drop, the introduction of a hard border, or the pound being replaced, a new poll has found.
A survey carried out by Survation on behalf of pro-UK campaign group Scotland in Union found that 50 per cent of those asked would be less likely to vote Yes in a referendum if it meant their personal income was reduced.
Respondents were given a number of scenarios around the question: ‘If you thought the following scenarios were likely to occur as a result of Scottish independence, would this make you more or less likely to vote for independence?’.
The introduction of a hard border between Scotland and England could dominate any future referendum campaign.
41 per cent of the people asked in the survey said they would be less likely to vote for independence, compared to 17 who would be more likely if border posts were put up.
If people knew that taxes would increase following independence then 45 per cent of the 1,040 people asked said they would be less likely to vote ‘Yes’, while 36 per cent said they would be neither more or less likely.
The Scotland in Union poll comes days after Nicola Sturgeon’s campaign to end the Union has received a boost.
A survey found a narrow majority in favour of Scottish independence.
The survey, by pollsters Opinium, asked 883 people how they would vote if the referendum question asked was ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’.
Once don’t knows were excluded from the total, 51% said they would vote Yes and 49% said they would vote No.
Here’s all you need to know about the Scotland in Union poll:
Campbeltown wind turbine factory closes permanently – BBC news
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A wind turbine factory in Argyll has been permanently closed, with administrators now selling off equipment used at the site.
Owners CS Wind effectively mothballed the Campbeltown factory, which manufactured offshore and onshore wind farm equipment, in the spring of 2020.
The company said “deteriorating market conditions” had led to a lack of new contracts and declining revenues.
All staff have now either left or been made redundant.
Three-quarters of the 94-strong workforce had already departed in August 2020 with only a handful of staff left running the facility.
The manufacturing plant, located at the Machrihanish Business Park near Campbeltown, was bought by CS Wind, a South Korean firm, in 2016.
At the time it was Britain’s only UK facility for manufacturing onshore and offshore wind towers.
It previously went into administration in 2011 before a partnership between Scottish and Southern Energy and Marsh Wind Technology saved the factory.
After CS Wind failed to secure major work with the Kincardine and Triton Knoll offshore projects in 2019, the majority of the staff were made redundant.
At the time the Unite union called the move a “major blow to Scotland’s renewables manufacturing capacity.”
“Market conditions” are being blamed for CS Wind (UK) being wound up, yet market conditions for wind power have never looked better.
Thousands of towers are required for turbines being planted in the North Sea, with a huge further boost planned in the next 10 years.
Existing onshore windfarms are being renewed after 25 years of torque and tension from generating power.
So there must be other explanations for the repeated failure to make the Campbeltown factory into a success story.
Part of the problem is thought to be the South Korean ownership failing to give the plant the support it needed in the past five years. There’s been a stand-off with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which provided public funding.
But there is a wider question about the failure to link the renewable power revolution to a manufacturing base in Scotland.
The Scottish government sunk more than £37m in three BiFab yards in Fife and Lewis for fabricating offshore platforms. That also went into administration.
For more environmental fails, click here: https://www.scotlandmatters.co.uk/environment-matters-2/
Holyrood scraps plan for public energy company – Daily Business
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A plan to set up a state-owned energy company has been dropped by the Scottish Government, Daily Business has learned.
Four years after promising a state-backed company delivering low cost power, ministers are now focusing efforts on a “new dedicated national public energy agency” that will be more of an advisory body.
First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon told delegates at the party’s 2017 conference that the government would create a not-for-profit energy company promising low prices for consumers.
It would buy its energy on the wholesale market or generate it in Scotland – from renewable sources.
Since then there has been little sign of progress and in June this year, Green co-leader and now government minister Lorna Slater, criticised Ms Sturgeon for not moving fast enough on the plan.
At the weekend Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the new SNP-Green partnership made no mention of the energy company plan in a 50-page joint policy statement.
“It’s astonishing there is not a single mention of a public energy company in the SNP and Green coalition agreement,” he said. “It adds to an ever-increasing list of broken promises from the Scottish Government.”
Labour, he said, has been calling for the proposed company to move beyond the paper stage so that it can start supporting the development of renewable energy in Scotland.
For more economic news, click here: https://www.scotlandmatters.co.uk/economy-matters/
Leaving Union would be Brexit times ten, says Sturgeon adviser – The Times
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A leading economist appointed to Nicola Sturgeon’s panel of advisers has warned that the damage from tearing up the 300-year-old Union between Scotland and England risks being equivalent of “Brexit times ten”.
Mark Blyth, professor of international economics at the Watson Institute of Brown University in Rhode Island, was announced as a member of Sturgeon’s council of economic advisers in July amid claims that it would “bring forward bold ideas that will transform the economy”.
Events facing axe over vaccine passport plan – Daily Business
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Some events planned for Scotland may be cancelled or moved to other parts of the UK if the Scottish Government does not respond to concerns over vaccine passports.
A business chief says that losing big events just as the sector is getting back on its feet would be another blow for the economy.
Vaccine passports will become mandatory to enter nightclubs, big music concerts and top football matches under new plans unveiled by Nicola Sturgeon.
Scottish Chambers of Commerce chief executive Liz Cameron has issued a list of seven key concerns in a letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Among them is a warning that vaccination certification “would add yet another layer of administrative burden to sectors that have already been amongst the hardest hit”.
Ms Cameron adds: “Through our initial conversations with businesses, we understand those operating in the live events sector are putting in place contingency plans including considering cancelling events or re-organising for elsewhere in the UK, putting Scotland at a further economic disadvantage.”
For more business news click here: https://www.scotlandmatters.co.uk/economy-matters/