Oct 14 • News & Analysis
A Fresh Start, Not a Fairytale: Why Scotland’s Independence Plan Deserves a Proper Look
You’ve probably seen the headlines:
“Fantasy economics.”
“Make-believe independence plan.”
“£10,000 richer? Pull the other one.”
The usual chorus follows every time Scotland produces a new independence paper. It’s almost reflexive now, London politicians mock, the tabloids sneer, and Scotland’s serious policy work gets treated like fan fiction.
But here’s the part nobody talks about:
The latest paper, A Fresh Start with Independence, isn’t a slogan-filled brochure. It’s a blueprint — detailed, data-driven, and remarkably level-headed.
⚖️ The point isn’t the number… it’s the direction
Yes, the £10,000 figure grabbed headlines. But focusing on the number misses the point entirely.
The real takeaway is this: the report finally puts something on paper that opponents can’t just wave away as “emotional nationalism.”
It maps out a direction, one built on renewable wealth, fair taxation, and actually using Scotland’s resources for Scotland.
Critics call it fantasy. But you’ll notice they never call the current setup fantasy, even as Westminster cuts welfare while sitting on record North Sea revenues and offshore wind profits.
If believing Scotland can manage its own economy is fantasy, what do we call believing Westminster ever will?
💰 Building an economy that looks like Scotland
The report’s bigger win is in tone.
No grandstanding, no utopian gloss. It talks about:
- stabilising the transition to a Scottish currency;
- setting up a national wealth fund;
- fixing the fiscal leakages that send Scottish income south before it ever benefits Scots;
- building sectors where we already lead — renewables, tech, and food exports — instead of betting everything on fossil fuels and London finance.
That’s not dream-talk. That’s just good governance.
And while critics roll their eyes at the word “independence,” investors quietly nod when they hear “predictable, export-based growth with energy security.”
🌍 “Fantasy” is relative
Every time Scotland publishes one of these papers, the UK response is the same:
“You couldn’t survive on your own.”
But here’s a thought:
Denmark has five and a half million people.
Norway has five and a half million people.
Finland has five and a half million people.
Scotland has five and a half million people.
Funny how “too small” only applies when the country in question might leave the UK, not when it sits beside them on every global index of success.
🧭 A reset, not a rebellion
What this paper really represents is a reset, not a rejection. It doesn’t pretend independence fixes everything overnight. It says:
“We’re ready to stop managing decline and start managing our own future.”
That’s the grown-up version of independence, not flags and fireworks, but spreadsheets and accountability.
It’s not “Braveheart,” it’s budgeting.
And that’s exactly what unnerves Westminster most.
🏴 The question isn’t whether Scotland
can… It’s whether Westminster will ever let it.
Scotland has now put forward detailed proposals, clear fiscal frameworks, and transparent modelling. The response from London remains a shrug, or worse, a smirk.
But to the rest of the world, it’s starting to look less like “Scotland chasing a dream” and more like Scotland doing its homework while its partner refuses to read it.
If a “fresh start” is fantasy, then maybe fantasy is what competence looks like when it’s coming from the north. Unicorn & all 🏴
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A Fresh Start, Not a Fairytale: Why Scotland’s Independence Plan Deserves a Proper Look
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