These Islands

Good question from @LiamKerrMSP. Stephen Gethins seems unwilling to accept that building infrastructure in Scotland could ever be in conflict with lowering energy bills. With this kind of dimwitted understanding of energy, we should be very grateful that his powers are limited.

The Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland explains why ScotWind lease options were not “sold off on the cheap”. His last point, about the complete absence of a secondary market in the lease options, is something people should think about very carefully.

The letters page of @ScotNational continues to be in despair on currency. This problem is intractable because the only possible solution - a new currency which sharply devalues - is immensely painful and electorally toxic.

If readers of @ScotNational cannot stomach your currency plan, what chance has it got with ordinary voters?

This was a cross-party failure. The bill which allowed it to happen passed unanimously - a damning indictment of the quality of scrutiny in the Scottish Parliament.

John Healey says something with massive significance for the renewables industry in Scotland, and Nicola Sturgeon then chides him for saying nothing of any significance. Presumably because she lacks the political antennae to understand the significance of what he said. #BBCLauraK

Kate Forbes remains shackled to SNP dogma on offshore wind & transmission charges. These grievances cannot be reconciled with the idea that independence would lower bills. Interrogating that quandary really would be an interesting column, but is Kate Forbes capable of writing it?

A very simple question that anyone who understands GERS can answer. Year after year, Scotland gets back in public spending all the North Sea revenues, plus substantially more on top.

This will be fascinating. New projects in Scotland will certainly be disadvantaged. The SNP will be outraged. They will claim that with independence, these expensive projects could go ahead and lower bills in Scotland. A preposterous argument… but that won’t stop them making it.

Another sensible letter on currency published by @ScotNational. Far from solving the currency conundrum, Tim Rideout has simply reminded everyone that no pain-free solution exists.

Jenny Gilruth has now provided the written response to the technical question on the bond programme asked by Michael Marra in quoted tweet. She conspicuously fails to answer the question.

The full 5 minutes of today’s FMQs remake of Jeremy Paxman vs Michael Howard, starring Russell Findlay as Paxman and John Swinney as Howard.

Awkward moment at FMQs as Jack Middleton launches into an enthusiastic round of applause for John Swinney, but hardly anyone else joins in.

As an independent country, Scotland would have to put up with energy bills soaring higher still, and budget cuts that would make a £5 billion black hole look like a trifling matter.

Taking inspiration from Emma Harper, SNP councillor Roza Salih has solved the intractable currency problem.

Well… what a surprise. Hannah Mary Goodlad’s signature election pledge was a sham. I wonder how her “artist in residence” will depict this?

Dave Doogan executes a handbrake turn at the wheel of the SNP grievance-mobile. After years of demanding the abolition of gas standing charges, the SNP will now campaign for their reintroduction.

Here is Dave Doogan explicitly arguing for standing charges to be “redistributed onto the unit price” in order to encourage lower consumption. Now it has happened, Dave Doogan is complaining loudly about the very thing that he asked for (see quoted tweet).