'Skintland' magazine cover slammed - The Press Association

(UKPA) – 1 hour ago 

Scotland's former first minister Henry McLeish has said the front page of The Economist magazine likening Scotland to an impoverished nation reveals "the sparsity of knowledge" the magazine has on the issue of independence.

Mr McLeish, who served as first minister from 2000 to 2001, told the Scotsman newspaper the magazine was "patronising and eccentric".

The latest edition uses a map of the country, renamed "Skintland", with puns instead of place names such as "Glasgone", "Edinborrow" and the "Highinterestlands".

It is followed by an article concluding that independence would come at a high price and could leave Scotland as "one of Europe's vulnerable, marginal economies".

The magazine article states: "If Scots really want independence for political and cultural reasons, they should go for it. But if they vote for independence they should do so in the knowledge that their country could end up as one of Europe's vulnerable, marginal economies.

"In the 18th century, Edinburgh's fine architecture and its Enlightenment role earned it the nickname 'Athens of the North'. It would be a shame if that name became apt again for less positive reasons."

Mr McLeish told the newspaper: "As a reader of The Economist over many years I'm not surprised at how patronising and eccentric it can be. It reveals the sparsity of knowledge about the subject and comes from the magazine's traditional right wing stance on most political and economic issues."

Westminster SNP group leader Angus Robertson said the piece had "succeeded in uniting Scots in condemnation of their juvenile approach" to reporting Scottish affairs.

He said: "Their attack on Scotland and on the communities of Scotland has backfired in dramatic fashion - it has gone down like a lead balloon. Many people thought that The Economist front cover was so ill-judged that it must be a spoof until they saw it on newsstands.

"It also now appears that this cover was only used in their UK edition and not their international edition - it seems they have shied away from attacking Scots overseas, and incurring the wrath of Scotland's influential ex-pat community. This whole episode has hugely damaged The Economist's credibility. When their attitude and coverage to Scotland is so ill-judged, it raises questions about their reporting of other nations."

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