Last week I blogged about the failure of Police Scotland and the Crown Office to investigate and prosecute evidenced cases of landowners who had failed to register with the Register of Controlled Persons in Land - a statutory offence 1/2
As Scotland (one of the most energy-rich countries in the world) faces the threat of aviation fuel shortages, it is worth reflecting on our energy story.
For our children's sake, our future must not be 'business as usual'.
https://t.co/suia3T2zbI
Norway and the UK drilled the same North Sea.
🇳🇴Norway got $2 trillion.
🇬🇧The UK got tax cuts.
Same basin,Same era.... Completely different outcomes.
Norway captured $30 per barrel in government revenue. The UK captured $11.
That gap, compounded over 50 years of production, is the entire difference.
Norway's model was simple: tax heavily (78% marginal rate), take direct equity stakes in fields via the SDFI, own part of Equinor, and put everything surplus into a fund invested abroad.
The Government Pension Fund Global now holds over $2 trillion in assets.
That's $390,000 per Norwegian citizen about 1.5% of all listed equities on earth.
The fiscal rule: only spend the 3% annual real return. Never touch the principal.
The UK started producing earlier, at lower prices, with a lower tax rate (40%) and no saving mechanism.
North Sea revenues flowed straight into the general budget.
Economists estimate the UK missed out on roughly £400 billion compared to a Norwegian style regime.
The windfall largely financed tax cuts in the 1980s rather than a fund.
Where things stand in 2026?
Norway's petroleum sector will generate $63 bn in net cash flow this year alone feeding a fund already large enough to cover 10-15% of the national budget from returns alone.
The UK is a net energy importer.
Since 2021 it has paid countries like Norway more than £100 billion for gas.
One country treated oil as a finite resource to convert into permanent financial wealth.
The other treated it as income.
image source:eia
This factory was destined for Scotland.
England blocked it on security grounds.
It's now going to Europe.
At the same time England approved a Chinese super embassy in the heart of the London financial district.
Scotland will never flourish under this miserable, vindictive union.
Flying over the HS2 route last week. No track, no trains, not a ticket sold. Cost to date £100bn for just 140 miles of track & yes, it’s running years late. Scottish taxpayers send every penny of tax collected in Scotland to @hmtreasury - this is how they spend it! 🤪
Scotland, the "energy capital" of Europe.
Scotland, the most energy rich country in Europe.
Scotland, the highest levels of energy poverty in Europe.
Scotland cannot prosper in a union that is designed to exploit people, extract wealth & leave the poorest dependent on handouts.
This post seems to be getting some unionists foaming at the mouth. Let me be clear about the debt. The Chancellor told us in 2014 (the sermon on the pound) it is not our pound. Therefore, it is not our debt.
"If Scotland walks away from the UK, it walks away from the UK pound."
Tonight at 7:30pm I'll be one of the opening speakers for a DLS cross-party discussion on the political landscape in Scotland consequent on the parliamentary elections last week. Zoom link: https://t.co/BzjugeFTRs @demleftscotland
Let's not get carried away with the election result & pretend everything is great. The majority strategy has failed. We have seen a worrying drop in support in Highland Scotland & the rise of Reform across Scotland.
We must ask why.
A new Survation poll has shown a “miserable” level of support for nuclear power in Scotland. The polling makes grim reading for Scottish Labour and the LibDems who are both promoting new nuclear https://t.co/sesP35z7Wi
NEW: We often hear that Scotland’s more progressive income tax is “driving people out the country.”
New HMRC data shows the opposite. Far more taxpayers are moving to Scotland than leaving it.
Let’s look at the data 🧵
Grangemouth produced 97% of Scotland’s aviation fuel. We now have to import all our aviation fuel.
Scotland is Europe's 2nd biggest oil producer. We now have to import all our oil products at inflated prices.
Scotland: Asset-stripped. Wealth-extracted. Better-together? 🤔
Good investigation by the @FerretScot on 'Britain Remade' the dodgy nuclear industry lobby group - we exposed the group last year https://t.co/etk02TSD6c
An excellent article. We don't need nuclear in Scotland. It is horrifically expensive, puts a massive target on Scotland's back (look at Ukraine) & would give a UK government a 'fig leaf' excuse to ship their nuclear waste to Scotland.
Nuclear is a trap.
https://t.co/wWnUFKwF1x
Without the full powers of independence, we cannot ensure that our industries are safeguarded, our workers are protected, and our communities have the tools to thrive, writes @_KateForbes ✍️