The JSPrice Perception

Alex Salmond (Image: scmp.com) Can you believe it is less than six months until Scotland make their biggest decision in generations? It is hard to believe that it is that close considering it seems like only yesterday when their First Minister Alex Salmond first announced his desire to make Scotland an independent country. Now we're edging closer to Thursday 18th September 2014, people in every corner of the British Isles are contemplating life without Scotland as part of the United Kingdom. It is hard to escape the discussions. Even if you think you have, there is bound to be someone on television or someone you pass in the street that has even the slightest of Scottish accents, you cannot help but think about the prospect of calling them a 'foreigner'. It is an equally daunting thought that hundreds of thousands of 17 and 18 year olds are, as we speak, receiving offers from their first choice University as they start thinking about a new chapter to their lives ...

George Osborne in China (Image: Daily Telegraph) It is always a healthy sign if someone looks up to another. You would like to replicate a person, or people, you believe are better off than yourself - there is nothing wrong with that. However, there is a danger that you may lose track of your own identity. You may want to experience the lifestyle of your favourite actor, but do those tattoos represent who you are? This is something George Osborne has to think about when forging relationships with nations that have an admirable economic record. Our Chancellor is finding ways to continue UK's economic recovery. He is very much the man who craves a good statistic - 'our unemployment levels, down', 'standard of living, improving', and so on. He wants music to the public's ears, which is understandable because if he said the opposite, the feel of Britain will be lower than it actually is. So, Mr Osborne's next stage is to be friendly to very powerful c...