by Rab Bruce’s Spider

As usual, the latest economic data has split the country. Those who support Indy are delighted that Scotland’s performance has improved significantly and outperformed that of the UK as a whole, while Unionists are deflated because they have lost another opportunity to criticise the SNP. You could almost hear the frustration from the mainstream Scottish media when the data was announced because they were ready to take full advantage had their predictions of recession been validated. That, in itself, is a sad indictment of the state of journalism in Scotland.

to be honest, though, this split is all rather silly. Whenever there is good news, both sides try to claim responsibility, but bad news is always laid at the door of the other side. The problem, of course, is that the media are firmly on the side of the Union, so it is understandable that Yessers will take a strong opposite view, but neither stance is helpful to the Indy debate. Arguing over who is responsible for a few fractions of a percentage point in GDP misses the whole point of the Indy argument.

It seems likely that the collapse of sterling may have helped GDP by boosting export sales, but the only element of the figures which really gives any indication of how an independent Scotland could operate is the uplift of 3.1% in Production output. This has been ascribed to an increase in work related to North sea Oil which is beginning to come out of its long slump, and to the restored Dalzell steelworks. This latter project only happened because the Scottish Government stepped in to save the plant, and that decision is now bearing fruit. After decades of having our manufacturing base destroyed by Westminster Governments, this significant contribution to boosting Scotland’s economic output shows what could be done if Scotland rediscovered its talent for manufacturing quality products.

But the real issue is that, without all the levers of economic influence, Scotland’s economy will always be hugely affected by Westminster decisions. We can tinker around the edges, but we cannot make major decisions which could make a serious and long-term difference. All this talk of potential recession and/or outperforming the UK as a whole is mere distraction from the fundamental issue. There will be updated figures out in another few months, and no doubt we will go through the whole rigmarole again. Any increase in GDP will be heralded by the Scottish Government, while even a small dip will be proclaimed in the media as evidence of their mismanagement. In truth, it is likely that Brexit will have much more impact than anything else, and that is something which is totally outwith the control of the Scottish Government.

This whole argument is merely a distraction. The news is welcome, no matter who is responsible, because only a rabid fanatic would celebrate bad news for their own country. The point is that we cannot possibly know how Scotland’s economy would fare as an independent country until we become independent and begin shaping our own future. We know that is not how the media will portray things, but please let’s try to rise above their attempts to talk Scotland down. Whatever the economic data shows, our response really should be, "Think how much better we could do if we controlled every aspect of our economy."