Matt Ridley: We owe our prosperity to 2 men from Glasgow

Hi rational optimist. A special treat for you today: a new Matt Ridley essay that traces mankind’s prosperity back to 2 Scottish men from 1776. Enjoy.

A quarter of a millennium ago, the world was changed by two men from Glasgow. In the spring of 1776, Adam Smith, a former professor of philosophy at Glasgow University, published “The Wealth of Nations,” his extraordinary book about how prosperity is mostly a spontaneous phenomenon deriving from the human habit of exchange and specialisation.

Melanie Phillips: A referendum should be for the whole nation

 

The Scots have no right to amputate the UK

Once again, Scottish nationalism is on the march.

The Scottish National Party wants another referendum on independence from the rest of the UK. A referendum on this was held in 2014, when on a turnout of more than 84 per cent more than 55 per cent of voters said “no” and almost 45 per cent said “yes”. 

Kate Hawkesby: James Shaw is a complete hypocrite

 

For a government obsessed with optics, it beggars' belief that more thought wasn’t given to James Shaw’s decision to travel all the way to Scotland for a climate change conference in 8 weeks' time. 

I mean, let’s get past the glaring carbon footprint of all that travel and look at the other hypocritical aspects of this. 

This is a party who objected so strongly to Parliament being resumed in person that they refused to attend; such was their horror that travel should take place during Delta. That same sentiment seems to have conveniently been overlooked in this case. 

Add to this, the fact that he will take up an MIQ spot which has magically appeared for him at the end of it all.