As a proud Scot in exile will I be able to choose which passport I carry if Scottish independence goes ahead? More pressing is whether I would be liable to a Scottish tax levy of up to 3% even if I continued to live out of the country.On documents I write nationality as Scottish but could that change if I remained out of an independent Scotland ? All most troubling. The one interesting point I note amongst the fog of rhetoric and wrangling of words is Alex Salmond wanting people 16 and 17 year old to vote. of ocure he does becuae they tend to be passionate about these things although they may have no understanding of the deeper consequences.Trouble is that youth of today forget that there is a reason why age limits are imposed – it is called life experience.

One rule they should impose in all referenda is that a failure to turn out counts as satifaction with the status quo. It is the best way to avoid crackpots and extremists getting mad ideas ratified. Is Alex Salmond a crackpot, not at all, but he is blinded by the fog of earning a place in the history books and trying to ride a populist wave.

Formations Direct are currently compiling a survey of SME experiences with bank lending. This has been prompted by continued complaints by entrepreneurs that banks are sitting on their cash and when they do offer a loan the terms are onerous. Whether you and your clients have good or bad expereinces of trying to borrow or having loans called in please contact [email protected].

France and Germany would have totally ignored the ECJ ruling on Abu Qatada and bought him a one way ticket to Amman .  But of course the British play by the rules because that’s what we do isn’t it ? It’s about time the country that invented cricket and the Queensbury rules learned that the world has moved on and the boundaries of fair play have shifted somewhat. We all know that whatever Jordan scribbles on a piece of paper is worthless but who cares outside the judicial chamber of the ECJ – perhaps they are looking at substance over form ?

Instead of letting banks hoard the QE cash that is being pumped into UK plc why not prod them to lend by creating a retail division of the Bank of England. No fat cats to pay and no shareholders to keep happy. Not only would it actually lend it would do so at a rate far cheaper than the greedy banks. Just imagine – it would be so popular it could well destroy one or two banks! Not only that it would make so much money that the government could float it in a few years time. And a strapline? “Bank of England – the lending bank”

Yesterday was a day out at the NEC trade fair. It is certainly a day out in terms of being physically out of the office but a day off – certainly not. It was gruelling, not helped by the fact that the powers that be at the NEC deem it necessary to blast hot air all round the exhibition halls. If the recession doesn’t stop deals happening the uncomfortable temperatures indoors certainly does. Did I do well? Oh yes, we bought nicely. All we have to do is flog the stuff. Any takers?

We all know that the job of the company is to maximise shareholder return. How many companies resist the temptation to offshore part of their operation in order to keep jobs at home in the face of a short term gain from closing a division and flogging off the buildings? Is it possible that long term returns would benefit by staying in the UK by avoiding potential unseen issues of being abroad ? Perhaps a company should justify an offshoring move as having to be “material” to the profitability before jumping ship. Long term it is often a folly to have gone abroad. Has anybody counted the cost of lost business for firms with call centres in places that looked good at the time until customers got fed up of speaking to Timbuctoo ? Mind you sloppy service allows comptitors to step in and that is healthy for consumers. I think the problem lies in the fact that everybody wants a boost to the share price on their watch, be it the director of the company or the CEO of a major investment firm holding shares in that company. And let’s not forget the workers and the unions .They often need to learn the meaning of flexibility and sacrifice for the greater good. But let’s not forget some of the red tape shackles that Labour introduced and are too hot to repeal. So hot in fact I can’t mention them.