Peter Geoghegan

Could Indy Referendum Become A ‘Border Poll’?

Peter Geoghegan on January 10, 2012, 9:54 am | Readers 81

As Brian Walker notes elsewhere on these pages, David Cameron’s pronouncement that a binding Scottish independence must take place within the next 18 months has significantly altered the dynamic of the debate on Scottish sovereignty. SNP deputy Nicola Sturgeon has warned against impositions from Westminster on the timing of the vote and the nature of the question(s) asked. An article in today’s Scotsman suggests that such interference from London could lead disgruntled Nationalists to boycott any independence referendum, drawing a …

Letters from Iceland

Peter Geoghegan on April 1, 2011, 9:21 pm | Readers 22

While Ireland’s mounting debt mountain continues to cause chaos in the Eurozone, I’ve spent the past week in the one country that embraced default back in October 2008: Iceland. Not that Iceland really had much choice about defaulting; the debts of its three privatised banks, Landsbanki, Kaupthing and Glitnir, were almost ten times GDP when the kreppa (or crisis) struck. The big issue in Iceland at the moment should be next week’s referendum on Icesave. The high-interest internet arm of …

Voting Rights for Irish Emigrants

Peter Geoghegan on December 20, 2010, 3:53 pm | Readers 24

The thorny issue of voting rights for the Irish diaspora emerged again yesterday on the Marian Finucane show. As reported over at thejournal.ie, TCD lecturer Elaine Byrne suggested allowing the Irish diaspora to vote in elections for the Seanad as a means of allowing more voices have an impact on Irish politics. Meanwhile in the Sunday Times, Eleanor Fitzsimons noted that ‘according to the law, those not “ordinarily resident”, that is living in Ireland on 1 September in the year …

Public Thinkers Beyond The University?

Peter Geoghegan on December 13, 2010, 10:38 am | Readers 6

Last week a BBC Radio 3 scheme looking for “a new generation of public intellectuals” closed. Initiated in collaboration with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the scheme aimed to unearth a new wave of public thinkers with an expressed “interest in broader cultural debate”. The competition was open to all – as long as you worked inside a university and in a discipline that the AHRC supports (so economists, political scientists, sociologists, etc, were all excluded as well …

Scottish Parliament Faces Budget Crisis

Peter Geoghegan on November 10, 2010, 12:30 pm | Readers 2

Budgets, budgets, budgets. While EU monetary commissioner Oli Rehn has been in Dublin trying to force through the Republic’s budget, across the water in Scotland a budgetary crisis looms large. The Scots might not be on the verge of calling in the IMF but at present Holyrood is on course for a serious shortfall next year. George Osborne’s Comprehensive Spending Review cut the Scottish Government budget by £1.3billion in 2011-12 (a 4.2 per cent reduction overall). As if this cut …

We’ll All Pay for Devolved Administrations’ Budget Cuts

Peter Geoghegan on July 29, 2010, 5:47 pm | Readers 2

The reality of massive public spending cuts has finally hit the devolved administrations (if not all their politicians). As Mick highlighted in his recent essay, NICVA’s report suggests that Stormont will have to make budget cuts of (at least) £1.2 billion in the next five years. Earlier today, the Independent Budget Review in Scotland recommended a fall in public sector employment of between 5.7% and 10% by 2014-15. In both Scotland and Northern Ireland, the debate about ring fencing health spending (which …

Calman Will Deepen Scots Economic Misery

Peter Geoghegan on July 26, 2010, 5:02 pm | Readers 3

In May, the new coalition in Westminster pledged to implement the long-delayed Calman Commission recommendations for the Scottish Government. The Calman report, originally published in June 2009, was sat on by New Labour, but now its recommendations for Holyrood seem certain to be introduced within the coming months. The most eye-catching feature of Calman’s proposals is in the area of fiscal policy. Since 1998, Holyrood’s budget has doubled and many in the Parliament, particularly within the SNP, have long complained about the …