With Brent crude trading at nearly $90 a barrel, there was never a better time for the SNP to rekindle its old battle cry of "Scotland's oil". According to Alex Salmond, figures show that an independent Scotland in charge of its own resources would be the third richest country in Europe and the sixth richest in the world. The not-so-subliminal message is that Scotland would be transformed into a world-beating Celtic Lion if only it were not being weighed down by the rest of the UK and an unstoppable momentum is leading towards independence. Poverty in Scotland is dismissed by the First Minister as "the depressing social legacy of the Union".
The view from south of the Border could hardly offer a starker contrast. In Middle England, with the help of large sections of the press, Scotland is viewed as the land of milk and honey, not to mention free care for the elderly and no university top-up fees, all at the expense of the English taxpayer. Last week an English MP asked why his Lancastrian constituents should be paying for free prescriptions for the Scots. Of course, they are doing no such thing but in England, too, the backlash is generating more talk of Scottish independence.
In fact, the balance between what the English and the Scots generate and spend shifts back and forth and there will always be arguments about who gets the better deal. Current figures may flatter Scotland because of the oil price but prices fluctuate, oil production has peaked and Britain is now a net importer of oil and gas. Mr Salmond also fails to mention that Scotland's current standing economically owes much to Labour's success at growing the British economy. Or would it prefer a return to the era of boom and bust suffered under the Tories?
As for the anti-Scottish backlash that has certainly gathered momentum in recent days, Scots could counter that they have to contribute to major infrastructure projects such as the Jubilee Line extension, the M25 and the 2012 Olympics, from which they gain little.
Both sides in this debate need a reality check. We should get that from the SNP when John Swinney delivers his budget, finally showing how his government plans to pay for the eye-catching give-aways pledged to date. It will show us whether the SNP really plans to govern within devolution or use every opportunity to cause dissension in the hope of engineering the SNP's ultimate solution.
In his visionary speech to the SNP conference yesterday, Mr Salmond claimed the better the party governed, the stronger the case for independence. Not necessarily. Is the case for independence any stronger now than it was in May? If Scotland thrives under the current devolution formula, why change it? Mr Salmond and his team would do well to remember that much of the bounce to the SNP was attributable to voters tired of a lacklustre Labour-led administration at Holyrood and ready to believe he might make an inspiring leader, rather than from an ardent desire to break up the UK.
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