Gosling's Grouse: Only the brave

As a fully paid up Englishman, I probably have no right to sound off about Scottish independence - although that has not stopped the Prime Minister or some bosses of DIY companies, so why should it stop me?

I smiled when the debate was taken up by DIY shops. I cannot quite work out why it should be bad for DIY if Scotland is independent or not. But the debate has all the echoes of the 1970s, when politicians on all sides tried to sway the electorate’s opinion on membership to what was then referred to as the EEC – European Economic Community. When the country voted to join the EEC, we were not voting for the raft of legislation and regulation we have now that often bears no resemblance to the real needs of individual member states. Do you ever wonder how different the financial services ...