{"product_id":"9781509542673","title":"Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot The Great Mistake of Scottish Independence","description":"\u003ch1\u003eShould Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eThe Great Mistake of Scottish Independence\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eJohn Lloyd\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003ePolitical Science \/ World \/ European\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Scottish nationalists seek to end the United Kingdom after 300 years of a successful union. Their drive for an independent Scotland is now nearer to success than it has ever been.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSuccess would mean a diminished Britain and a perilously insecure Scotland. The nationalists have represented the three centuries of union with England as a malign and damaging association for Scotland. The European Union is held out as an alternative and a safeguard for Scotland's future. But the siren call of secession would lure Scotland into a state of radical instability, disrupting ties of work, commerce and kinship and impoverishing the economy. All this with no guarantee of growth in an EU now struggling with a downturn in most of its states and the increasing disaffection of many of its members.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this incisive and controversial book, journalist John Lloyd cuts through the rhetoric to show that the economic plans of the Scottish National Party are deeply unrealistic; the loss of a subsidy of as much as £10 billion a year from the Treasury would mean large-scale cuts, much deeper than those effected by Westminster; the broadly equal provision of health, social services, education and pensions across the UK would cease, leaving Scotland with the need to recreate many of these systems on its own; and the claim that Scotland would join the most successful of the world's small states - as Denmark, New Zealand and Norway - is no more than an aspiration with little prospect of success.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe alternative to independence is clear: a strong devolution settlement and a joint reform of the British union to modernise the UK's age-old structures, reduce the centralisation of power and boost the ability of all Britain's nations and regions to support and unleash their creative and productive potential. Scotland has remained a nation in union with three other nations - England, Northern Ireland and Wales. It will continue as one, more securely in a familiar companionship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cb\u003eJohn Lloyd\u003c\/b\u003e is a Contributing Editor for the Financial Times, where he has been Labour Editor, East Europe Editor and Moscow Bureau Chief. His books include \u003ci\u003eLoss without Limit: the British Miners' Strike\u003c\/i\u003e (with Martin Adeney), \u003ci\u003eRebirth of a Nation: An Anatomy of Russia\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWhat the Media are doing to our Politics\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Power and the Story: The Global Battle for News\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e08 June 2021\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity Press\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781509542673\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePaperback \/ softback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e224\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9.6\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Polity Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44315785920652,"sku":"9781509542673","price":15.26,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9781509542673_fd8df96b-a944-4de6-a90a-822c26008cdf.jpg?v=1780184519","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781509542673","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}