FORMER chancellor Alistair Darling has helped to launch a new think tank dedicated to providing Scots with the “true facts” about the nation’s future in the run-up to the 2014 independence referendum.
The Scotland Institute in Glasgow is pledging to offer “clear thinking” on the issues surrounding the independence debate and to help voters consider the pros and cons.
Labour MP Mr Darling said the independent think tank would make a “useful contribution”, as he appeared at the launch alongside Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson, Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw and former SNP minister Jim Mather. The think tank was founded by Glasgow-based academic Dr Azeem Ibrahim, a policy adviser to Pakistani politician and cricket legend Imran Khan.
A series of reports on poverty rates and the implications for defence of Scotland leaving the UK will published by the group within the next few months.