@kevverage

Entrepreneur & Chairman of These Islands: I believe more unites us than divides us

 Edinburgh
gers-explorer.com
Joined March 2009
  • Tweets118K
  • Following1.8K
  • Followers24.5K
13.4KMedia
i keep seeing “yeah but what are the positive reasons for Scotland to remain in the UK?” tweets, so thought i’d have a go at creating my personal Top 10 … #thread
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this is huge - who would vote for independence knowing it would result in all of your cash at bank being forcibly converted into a new Scottish currency and strict capital controls being enforced which would prevent you from moving money out of the country?
Sam Taylor@staylorish2h
Tim Rideout always insisted a new currency could be established with conversion of deposits purely voluntary. But Laurentjoye’s report kills that idea (it always was mad). Deposits convert automatically “without the consent of each customer”. Good luck selling that to voters…
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Kevin Hague retweeted
Sam Taylor@staylorish4h
The IFS says Scot Gov resource funding in 2025–26 will be 12.4% higher in real terms than in 2010–11. @S_A_Somerville claims this is just funding of new responsibilities (eg social security). This is completely false. Obviously the IFS has adjusted for that. They are not idiots.
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Kevin Hague retweeted
Sam Taylor@staylorishOct 23
Does Ross know this clip is from 1987? Does he know that Dennis Healey wasn’t Chancellor then? Does he seriously think that Healey saying he didn’t support independence was why the SNP got just 14% of the vote in Scotland at the 1987 general election?
Ross Colquhoun@rosscolquhounOct 23
Here’s a Labour Chancellor hiding the truth from the people of Scotland. Not so much a “conspiracy” as a matter of recorded history. Yet there are still those who seek to deceive.
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Kevin Hague retweeted
Sam Taylor@staylorishOct 22
McCrone is doing the rounds again. So, a reminder of what really happened in the 1970s.
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Kevin Hague retweeted
Sam Taylor@staylorish8 Dec 2025
The SNP is trying to reanimate the McCrone report conspiracy theory. If you want to know what really happened, read this: these-islands.co.uk/publicat…

The McCrone Mythology

A 1974 memo written by Scottish Office economist Gavin McCrone has acquired a mythical status for Scottish nationalists. But how much of the mythology is true?

these-islands.co.uk
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Kevin Hague retweeted
Sam Taylor@staylorishOct 21
1/ Nationalists often claim the No campaign in 2014 told them oil & gas would run out within 5 years, and this BBC article is always the evidence. Slight problem. The article simply describes a report produced by some environmentalists. And the UK government called it “nonsense”.
BBC News (UK)
@BBCNews16 May 2014
UK's oil, coal and gas will run out in 5 years, researchers warn bbc.in/1qHoUo1

UK 'needs more home-grown energy'

The UK's proven reserves of oil, coal and gas will run out in little more than five years, a report looking at energy resources warns.

bbc.co.uk
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Scotland’s GDP is £233 billion and this (ahem) think tank thinks “Scotland is shortchange by £150 billion a year” 🤦🏻‍♂️
Kevin Hague@kevverageOct 21
apparently Scotland is shortchanged by £150 billion a year!
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i believe the appropriate phrase is “huge if true” 🤦🏻‍♂️
Kevin Hague@kevverageOct 21
apparently Scotland is shortchanged by £150 billion a year!
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apparently Scotland is shortchanged by £150 billion a year!
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makes you think huh? imagine how embarrassed the SNP will be when they find out - they’ve been trying to make a case for independence for decades but failed to spot a missing £150 billion a year!
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Kevin Hague retweeted
Lucy Dunn
@lucyidunnOct 21
Some irritation at FM being asked about a reserved issue. Worth pointing out that the SG, last month, called for energy powers to be devolved to Holyrood, so it’s reasonable to expect John Swinney holds a view Other reserved issues: whisky duty, foreign affairs, independence
Lucy Dunn
@lucyidunnOct 21
🔴 NEW: The Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea has been approved by the UK government When I asked First Minister John Swinney last week if he backed the projects, he refused to give me a straight answer and laid out an energy strategy with no mention of drilling 👇
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autumnmnmn
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absolute unit (check those buttocks!)
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Kevin Hague retweeted
Kevin Hague@kevverageOct 21
Replying to @SSRG2021 @staylorish
the Export Statistics Scotland (ESS) report directly addresses this myth (see below) and the ESS figures have nothing to do with the figures in GERS - so if you’re purporting to be a serious think tank you might want to retract that false claim and apologise to @staylorish?
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Kevin Hague retweeted
Chris Musson@ChrisMussonOct 21
And this morning Scot Gov issued a mealy-mouthed statement saying the proceeds should be squirrelled away into an oil fund. Oh, and the proceeds should be used to cut energy bills. Not at all contradictory
Lucy Dunn
@lucyidunnOct 21
🔴 NEW: The Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea has been approved by the UK government When I asked First Minister John Swinney last week if he backed the projects, he refused to give me a straight answer and laid out an energy strategy with no mention of drilling 👇
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Kevin Hague retweeted
Sam Taylor@staylorishOct 21
Reminder: whatever he might claim today, this is what John Swinney said in February 2025. He welcomed the court’s decision to block Jackdaw, calling it “the only sustainable judgment you can arrive at in considering these questions”.
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i’m very much here for the first sentence
(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodgesOct 20
Hague is demonstrably correct. Going to say it again. The fact there are still people on the right lashing themselves to and venerating Trump is incomprehensible.
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“Scotland isn’t paid for its energy” 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️
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Kevin Hague retweeted
Chris Musson@ChrisMussonOct 19
SNP couldn’t fill up a hall despite insisting they're booming and independence is imminent. For three days, the conference centre felt like an airport at 3am, while loyal attendees were asked to suspend disbelief and slip into an indy dreamworld. Column⬇️ thescottishsun.co.uk/news/16…

SNP’s bizarre circus has become an annual trick played on us all

SHRIEKS from SNP chiefs last week that Andy Burnham was trying to “steal the limelight” from their Aberdeen conference were almost comically absurd. Nats leaders are living on another planet if the…

thescottishsun.co.uk
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got very close to this hare today …
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[he did scarper eventually]
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