Ten economic strengths on which an independent Scotland can build:
Scotland’s Food and drink industry has a turnover of £13 billion a year
Our tourism industry generates more than £6 billion a year
We have more than 20% of Europe’s fisheries catch
Exports, from manufacturing alone, are worth around £15 billion a year
Life Sciences employ 16,000 people and turns over £1.9 billion
Our Creative Industries generate more than £5 billion a year
We have more universities, per head in the world’s top 200 than any other country
Scotland has a quarter of Europe’s offshore wind and tidal potential
Scotland’s ICT sector contributes around £3.6 billion annually to the economy
Inward investment from overseas is at a 16-year high
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And all this Peter, without talk of the millstone around of our neck that is the North Sea oil industry, which is seeing un-precedented development investment with at least 20 -40 years production life remaining of existing fields and untold deposits awaiting exploitation off the north west coast down to the Arran reaches.
ReplyDeleteWe know from www.oilofscotland.org, that the UK government’s own figures, with modesty and caution being the watchwords, predict there could be as much as 38.7 billion barrels of oil left (calculation 38,700,000,000 barrels x £20.67 tax per barrel = £800 Billion in today's money this could reach £1.2 Trillion in 30 years time.) With just 35 billion barrels recovered to date we are still at the half way point.
What is more, given the premium placed on energy resources, there may be two-thirds of the revenues still remaining in the North Sea, with massive development still to come.
It sure is a real bummer!
Thanks, Barontorc!
Deleteregards,
demob-happy Peter - 23 days to go!
Demob - Peter ? - you've got to be joking. The real work's just starting and you better be up for it!
DeleteWe've a nation to re-build.