Scotland & Ireland: A Constitutional Moment for Change?

Our Speaker

Dr Paul Gillespie, Univ College Dublin

Last month, our Greater Glasgow group asked Dr Paul Gillespie to join them. He talked about Scotland and Ireland, comparing and contrasting our two nations : constitutionally, economically, politically and historically. That’s a pretty extensive remit for an hour or so’s meeting but they made a good start!

Paul Gillespie is a former foreign affairs editor for the Irish Times. Now he focuses on research as a political analyst working in the field of Irish, Scottish and UK issues. For example:

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State Pensions and the Economy in Independent Scotland

A couple of weeks back we published a post called Scotland – An Exciting Future. It features a video by Robert Anderson of the Yes Perth City Group. He has also made a video about how the Border might operate in an independent Scotland.

Since then Robert has sent us links to a further two videos – one about state pensions and one about the economy.

Pensions and the economy are probably the two most frequent topics that come up in discussions about Scottish independence. These videos will be invaluable in persuading more Scots that our pensions and our economy will be safe and indeed prosper in an independence Scotland.

Watch the videos here:

Yes Perth City have a lively Facebook page. Check them out by clicking on the image:

UK pensions among the worst in the developed world, study finds

British workers can expect among the worst pensions in the developed world, according to a report from investment bank UBS, which compared the retirement outlook for a 50-year-old woman in major cities across the globe.

Pensions compared

How much a state plus “mandatory” pension will be worth at retirement as a proportion of current income, based on a 50-year-old female in each city
Singapore 73%
Sydney 72%
Paris 69%
Milan 67%
New York 55%
Tokyo 55%
Munich 50%
Zurich 48%
Toronto 42%
London 41%
Hong Kong 41%
Taipei 32%

Read the full article.