There are rules in life and there are laws of life.

Laws are something that we just have to accept; by that I mean for example The Law of Gravity.

You may want to jump off a building, as it would be the quickest way to get to the ground, but gravity will ensure that through terminal velocity you will hit the ground hard and (depending on the height) you may kill or injure yourself.

So most people understand that and take the stairs.

Then there are laws of economics.

The law of supply and demand being one that most people would understand.

The law of supply states that the quantity of a good supplied (i.e., the amount owners or producers offer for sale) rises as the market price rises, and falls as the price falls. Conversely, the law of demand (see demand) says that the quantity of a good demanded falls as the price rises, and vice versa.


So the law of supply and demand is relatively simple.  The less demand, the lower the price, the more supply, the lower the price.

You can see this working on a daily basis at the petrol pump where prices rise according to the lack (or perceived) lack of supply.  They go up quick and come down slow - that's another example of a Law!

It's another Law that we just have to accept.

Yet, there are politicians who don't want to accept it.

They want to manipulate or affect the market to try and control it to suit their own agenda and so we have another law - the law of unintended consequences.

But in almost all cases, the consequences are not unintended.

As an example, the Scottish Government (presently controlled by the Scottish Nationalist Party - SNP) are trying to get to a point where they can virtually guarantee that at a next referendum they will secure the maximum amount of votes for their stated policy of independence for Scotland.

They are adopting policies that will suit the people who are likely to vote for them. Workers, non-workers, the unemployed and generally anyone in Scotland who has a job or needs a job or needs government funded benefits of any kind.

The majority of people in Scotland - indeed in most countries - would fall into this category.

The problem is that for every person seeking a job, someone has to provide a position for them to fill.

The breakdown is about 20:1

Scotland's working population is 3,496,000 (3.4m)


The public sector accounts for 21.4% or 560,000 jobs leaving 2,936,000 for the private sector.

So Scotland needs about 146,800 employers, entrepreneurs and business people who can provide those jobs.

The issue is that new tax rates in Scotland ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43116476) new Stamp Duty rates on more expensive houses and the general atmosphere surrounding a number of other issues that affect the job creators and the wealthy means that Scotland is not seen as a place to do business.

I deal with a number of London based investors and their response to Scottish opportunities is now met with the same reaction when I was seeking investment into Ireland; namely,

1. Different legal jurisdiction
2. Higher tax rates
3. Possibility of rental controls
4. Left leaning government making investors "uneasy"
5. Easier opportunities in England
6. No Permitted development when it comes to planning - making proposals riskier

The unintended consequences are that London based investment does not flow into Scotland at the levels that it really should and that's a shame.

The Scottish Government and the SNP are creating the perception that Scotland is a place that punishes wealth.

The thing about wealth, wealth creators and entrepreneurs is that they will move for better opportunities for themselves and their families.

I have nothing other than anecdotal evidence that this is already taking place.

But back to basics.

It is another law that people will go and gravitate towards the place where they feel most welcome and gravitate away from a place that makes them feel unwelcome.

Investors don't feel welcome when it comes to Scottish based proposals. In this global economy there are just too many other opportunities for them.  It's supply and demand.

Lack of investment means less opportunity, less jobs, less tax, less property purchases, less Stamp Duty.

The consequences are not invisible.  It's just that intelligent people who should know better don't seem to see them.  But they are coming over the horizon.