Scotland's Oil

True oil wealth hidden to stop Independence

A secret Whitehall dossier 30 years ago warned of the powerful case for Independence with booming oil revenues, but the information was kept confidential to keep nationalism at bay.
The 1974 Scottish Office report written by Professor Gavin McCrone was classified as secret but was obtained by the SNP under Freedom of Information.

It shows the British Government was aware of the huge wealth of North Sea Oil; of the political implications; and that Scottish independence was not only theoretically possible but economically desirable:

"Thus for the first time since the Act Of union was passed, it can now be credibly argued that Scotland's economic advantage lies in its repeal"

SNP Shadow Justice Minister, Mr Kenny MacAskill MSP said:

"We have been lied to for a generation. 30 years of lies, both Labour and Tory governments have conspired to deny Scotland our rightful wealth.
They knew how wealthy Scotland is and how wealthy our people could be, but they lied to us.

"Rather than expanding our economy, investing in our industry and creating a better society for our people, our wealth bankrolled Thatcher's invidious ideology, and propped up New Labour's Cool Britannia and illegal wars.

"Some countries discovered oil and made the desert bloom. We discovered oil and created, in too many places, an industrial desert.

"Thirty wasted years, there can be no more delay. It was Scotland's oil then, and it's Scotland's oil now. A generation has been failed, now it is up to this generation to use the oil wealth as it should have been a generation before."

Shadow Enterprise Minister, Mr Jim Mather MSP said:
"The Scottish Office not only looked a gift horse in the mouth but tried to prove that a godsend was a curse. Since oil was discovered they have talked it down, telling us it would soon run out.

"Now it's time for us to talk about what we will do with our assets.

"With oil at only $45 a barrel there is still at least a trillion pounds worth of oil left in the North Sea, at $62 a barrel there's 1.5 trillion pounds worth of oil. That's Scotland's oil.

"It's time we took control of our own assets and turned the corner for Scotland, changing us from a branch economy into a fully functioning, fully integrated global player. It's time for an independent Scotland. "

Download the document they buried for 30 years.

View the SNP proposal for a North Sea Oil Fund.