It's Scotland's Oil
Westminster has variously claimed over recent years that only about 30% of oil resources in the North Sea would actually belong to Scotland. This is based on an assumption that the Scotland/England border would continue out to sea in a north-north-easterly direction. This is typical propaganda and complete nonsense.
In fact, Westminster already recognises that the North Sea north of the 55th parallel falls under Scottish jurisdiction, and international convention decrees that this would be the dividing line. Some 90% of the UK's oil and gas reserves lie within Scottish waters, and this percentage is set to rise as new fields to the west of the Shetland Isles and into the Atlantic are explored.
Since 1975 some £120bn ($180bn) of Scottish oil revenue has flowed to the London Treasury. Meanwhile some 30% of Scots live in cold damp housing, below the official European Union poverty line. It is a disgrace. Scotland is the most energy rich country in Europe, yet is probably the only country to discover oil and get poorer.
The only hope for a future that does not depend on Westminster's decision, is for an Independent sovereign Scottish Parliament, freely elected by the Scottish people. Only the Scottish National Party (SNP) promises such a Parliament.
If you have any comments (good or bad) on these pages contact
hamish@rmplc.co.uk.
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