ABSTRACT
The UK's fiscal decentralization arrangements are unique. They link the financial allocations to the Scottish Government to decisions the UK Parliament makes on public spending in England. They also have an important historical component. The United Kingdom has been absorbed in an extraordinary constitutional debate since the election of the secessionist Scottish National Party (SNP) as a minority government in Scotland. The SNP's election victory prompted renewed debate among those opposed to independence about how best to accommodate Scotland's distinctiveness within the UK. The prospect of the referendum has again spurred on thinking on the anti-independence side of Scotland's constitutional debate. There is an interesting juxtaposition here of a vision of independence which sees significant continuing fiscal interdependencies between Scotland and the rest of the UK, and a dynamic of debate among anti-independence forces which is pushing towards a very significant increase in fiscal autonomy.
