Is the Scottish economy set for a fall?
While it has passed over the heads of many financial commentators, the demise of HBOS and RBS have one thing in common, a Scottish edge. For many years Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland were the figureheads of the Scottish economy, the world leaders in their fields, but look at them now. Tired, under funded and in serious danger of going out of business without third party assistance. So what is happening to the Scottish economy?
Anybody who follows Scotland will know that the larger businesses are centred in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh with the oil industry very strong up Aberdeen way, but apart from that what is there? Why has the central base for Scottish business not expanded over the years?
The truth is that great areas of Scotland are uninhabited which a quick trip up the M6 motorway will show. While there are some areas of the UK which are fairly quiet the percentage of uninhabited or under inhabited areas is very much higher in Scotland. Scotland really has all of its eggs in one basket, the oil in the North Sea, a reducing commodity the price of which has halved over the last few months.
Is Scotland really set up to go it alone as the SNP seem to think?
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