Whilst I’m no fan of the chancellor, what he will say tomorrow will be a perfectly rationale defence of the interests of the rest of the UK if Scotland voted for independence.
The SNP’s reaction to the news that George Osborne is set to reject their plans for a currency union with the rest of the UK should Scotland vote for independence has been predictable to say the least.
In his response to news, Scotland’s finance secretary John Swinney has accused the chancellor of seeking to “bully Scotland”. Good party political stuff it might be, but what Osborne’s speech tomorrow will highlight is the naivety of the SNP’s proposals.
The fact remains that it would not be for an independent Scotland to dictate to the rest of the UK whether it would be able to stay within Sterling.
Yes it is true that the pound is as Scottish as it is English, but the very act of independence would mean divorcing Scotland from the rest of the UK. It would end Scottish inclusion in a UK wide military, it would end Scottish representation within the UK wide diplomatic service and ultimately it would end Scottish claims to remain within Sterling.
What Osborne’s speech will do is to highlight the SNP’s failures to convince the very people they would need to convince that an independent Scotland, keeping the pound, would be good for the rest of the UK.
Already Wales’ first minister Carwyn Jones has opposed the idea of a currency union on the basis that it would not be in the best interests of Wales. Speaking in November, he declared:
“Given the experience of the Eurozone in recent years, and the uncertainty which surrounded the various bail-outs, I am not convinced that a shared currency would work from the Welsh perspective.
“I would be uncomfortable being part of a currency union where there are competing governments trying to run it. If there is a disagreement, who has the final say? This is a recipe for instability and these things matter, particularly in times of crisis.”
Is this bullying Scotland as John Swinney might put it? Or is it a perfectly rationale argument put forward by a leader standing up for the interests of his nation?
Likewise, is it bullying Scotland when the ratings agency Fitch warned in December that an independent Scotland remaining in a sterling zone would create instability?
And is it bullying when the former deputy leader of the SNP Jim Sillars last month dubbed Alex Salmond’s currency plans as “stupidity of stilts”?
Whilst I’m no fan of the chancellor, what he will say tomorrow will be a perfectly rationale defence of the interests of the rest of the UK if Scotland voted for independence.
Far from bullying Scotland, it is a warning to voters that they might promise the earth, but on the currency union the SNP would need to embark on tough and unpredictable negotiations with the rest of the UK with no guarantee of success.
Rather than sniping and throwing accusations of bullying around, Swinney would do better to persuade the UK why it should accept an independent Scotland within a Sterling zone. So far, he’s failed quite spectacularly to do so.
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57 Responses to “The SNP are wrong on currency union”
Iain Macmillan
As soon as you get someone to write articles about Scotland who has more experience of us than having once fallen asleep on a train and woken up in Edinburgh. It never ceases to amaze me how many of the so called British Left are actually really British Nationalists.
Iain Macmillan
Why do you keep your activity on this site private? You feart of something?
Alec
“Feart”? Is that your pretending to speak another language?
A: Your fellow troll doesn’t even allow access to his profile.
B: Perhaps I have good reason to given your instinctive response clear was to check-up on me, presumably for dirt.
C: Did you log-out to up mark yourself as a Guest?
~alec
Alec
Hahaha! What does that even mean? Apart from an unintentionally hilarious attempt to present yourself as the arbiter on Scottish matters, succeeding only in coming out as a rather twattish optical isomer of a boorish nationalist bigot?
Here’s how constructive Internet debate works… you don’t behave like a petulant child who demands respect before he shows basic manners. You see an argument you disagree with, you make your case… you don’t spam the place with deeply pedestrian, brain-meltingly unfunny but earnestly serious tosh.
~alec
Alec
D: Editing your comment post hoc – in this case, removing “Feart or something?” – with the result that I look as if I’m responding to a fantasy makes you look as if you’re not committed to serious debate.
~alec