No surprise referendum will hinge on the economy

Was anyone really surprised that the latest Scottish Attitudes Survey said that the economy will be the decisive issue for voters in the referendum? It was always going to be the case that people would base their decision on whether independence would be good for the economy. I hate to say I told you so, but in a blog back in September 2012 I wrote: “… the fact is, we’ll most likely see people make their decision on the referendum based on the state of the economy. As always: it will be the economy, stupid!” And, note to all politicians, it’s all about the economy in every election too. But where is the debate on which economic model Scotland should be adopting? What are we going to do about our continuing marginal growth rates? How can we create jobs? The current vision for the economy of the SNP Government and the opposition parties at Holyrood is a fairly traditional economic model, which you could argue has failed us over the past 5 years. When the economy failed in 2008, the impact of fewer jobs and lower wages affected people across Scotland. These are often the people who are found queuing up outside foodbanks, suffering from chronic illness and falling into rent arrears as welfare reforms hit across the UK, and ever increasing numbers are penalised for not having a job. I’m not seeing any ideas from any of the political parties or the campaigns about how to revive our declining economy. How can we make the economy work better? How can we protect people from future downturns or even prevent them from happening at all? That’s what they should be debating. But they have nothing to say on the well-being agenda, on building on the likes of Oxfam's Humankind Index or using Joseph Stiglitz's work despite him being an economic advisor to the government. There’s little mention of the strength of our natural capital or our people either. When the Economy, Energy & Tourism Committee issued the 1st set of witnesses for their inquiry into Scotland’s economic future, my reaction wasn’t that complimentary:

@SP_Economy @ScotParl usual suspects, no one or organisation who will challenge the orthodoxy of Scotland's economic model that fails people — John Downie (@JohnDs_View) January 22, 2014

The fact is our economic model is failing Scottish people. If our politicians and campaigns really want to engage the rest of us in the referendum debate they need to start doing things differently. Approaching the economy differently would be a start. Until we do that, it is just more of the same old same old. Apologies for the shameless plug but they could perhaps start by joining the third sector along with thinkers from across the UK – including the economist and journalist Stewart Lansley, author of The Cost of Inequality, and John Kay, prominent economist and journalist at the Financial Times – at the Gathering as we discuss how to create an economic system that works for the many, not the few.