Retired civil servant Margaret Cuthbert writes a special tribute to Harry McNish, a carpenter on the Imperial Transantarctic Expedition who had to resist his incompetent boss and maintain a broken ship almost single-handedly in freezing conditions to save the crew. Is there lessons from this story for modern day British politics?

Economist Margaret Cuthbert warns that the Scottish Government must become more transparent about its data

Economist Margaret Cuthbert takes a look at the economic circumstance in the UK following the Brexit vote

THE overall Leave vote success in the UK referendum on membership of the EU has led to very interesting times for Scotland where the majority voted to Remain in the EU. Why there was such a difference between Scotland and the north of England is itself of great interest. 

Economist and researcher Margaret Cuthbert has been ploughing through Scottish Government reports to discover what the state of our economy really is. Here she imagines putting these questions to the new economic minister in a live interview.

Economist and researcher Margaret Cuthbert has been ploughing through Scottish Government reports to discover what the state of our economy really is. Here she imagines putting these questions to the new economic minister in a live interview.

In part one, they cover output, employment and procurement: Is competitive tendering necessary? Why is Scotland’s growth rate below that of the UK? And how much is the Scottish Government really able to shape the economy? 

Ministerial statements have been taken from government websites.