JUST two per cent of Scots think their country’s economy is on the right track and no change is needed, according to a new poll.
Published in conjunction with the launch of a new think tank which will focus on Scotland’s economy, the YouGov poll also found that eight in 10 Scots think “wealth is concentrated in the hands of too few people”.
The new think tank, named Future Economy Scotland, launches on Wednesday after securing support from Energy Transition Fund, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, and comedian Frankie Boyle, among others.
READ MORE: Richard Murphy: SNP must end guesswork and create real Scottish economic data
Its co-directors, Laurie Macfarlane and Miriam Brett, said Scotland needed to embrace bold ideas to transform its economy.
The YouGov poll of 1002 Scots adults, released alongside the launch, suggests that the public agrees.
Just 2% of everyone polled agreed that “Scotland’s economy is broadly on the right path, and no changes are needed” – while 60% said “Scotland’s economy is not on the right path”.
Among those who said the economy is on the wrong path, three-quarters (74%) said that “major” change was needed.
Elsewhere, a total of 81% of respondents said that the nation’s wealth was concentrated in the hands of too few people, while just 14% said the distribution of wealth “is about right”.
Macfarlane, co-director of Future Economy Scotland, said: “The majority of Scots agree that Scotland’s economy is not on the right path, and that wealth is concentrated in the hands of too few people.
“It is clear that we cannot overcome the challenges Scotland faces by making minor tweaks to the status quo. Instead, we must embrace bold new ideas to transform the economy.”
And his colleague Brett said: “Future Economy Scotland’s mission is to develop transformative policies that decarbonise, democratise and decommodify Scotland’s economy, aiming to elevate the level of ambition and maximise the potential of the Scottish Parliament for a sustainable, just and democratic future.”
Macfarlane is the former economics editor for openDemocracy and a policy fellow at University College London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. He co-authored Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing, in 2017 made the Financial Times’s list of the best economics books of the year.
READ MORE: Why the wellbeing economy could be key to Scotland's independence
The year before, Macfarlane published a Blueprint for a Scottish National Investment Bank.
Brett, a former senior economic advisor for the SNP at Westminster, sits on the advisory board for Common Wealth, a London-based think tank. She was formerly its director of research and advocacy, and also stood for the SNP in the Orkney and Shetland constituency.
The two have previously collaborated on a report into net zero, a just transition, and community wealth building for Community Land Scotland.
Their new Future Economy Scotland project has launched as a “non-partisan think tank that aims to create a new economy that is democratic, sustainable and just”.
It does not have a formal stance on Scotland’s constitutional future.
It is understood that Boyle helped the think tank early on, and is not an active funder moving forward. Future Economy Scotland said it aimed to be fully transparent with its funding.
The YouGov poll of 1002 Scots adults was carried out online from April 17-20.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel