SCOTS WILL HAVE TO DITCH THE POUND IF THEY VOTE TO QUIT THE UK, HINTS TOP SNP MP
SCOTS will be forced to ditch the pound if they vote for independence, a senior Nationalist MP hinted yesterday.
Stewart Hosie said sterling was ‘not as strong an option’ as it was in 2014, when Alex Salmond called for a currency union with the UK, in the event of a Yes vote.
Mr Hosie said the next independence campaign would not put itself in a position where the UK Government can say no and ‘cast doubt’ on the case for independence.
The SNP’s economy spokesman at Westminster also disclosed that the party wanted the next independence referendum to take place at the UK’s ‘bleakest moment’.
He said he backed Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s assessment that the economic pain of Brexit will reach its peak 18 months from now – the point at which Nicola Sturgeon wants Scots to go to the polls.
It is a clear sign the SNP is determined to exploit the chaos and confusion of Brexit to try to wrench Scotland out of the UK.
At a conference fringe event he was challenged on what was being done on currency plans, to stop the independence campaign faltering again as it did in 2014, when the UK ruled out sharing the pound.
Mr Hosie replied: ‘When we went into the last referendum, the policy of a shared currency was incredibly sensible.
‘There were lots of reasons why it was sensible, not least because the Bank of England is a shared asset, and £50 million of trade moves in both directions.
‘It was utterly irrational for the UK Government to say no to that.
‘Whatever position we come up with in future has to be robust, technically bombproof. So that, however irrational, and by God it was, the UK Government cannot simply say no and cast doubt on other things. Because of the devaluation we’ve had and, I suspect, further pressures to come, particularly because of the appalling situation we are in, sterling is not as strong an option as it was before.’
Miss Sturgeon has said she wants a second independence referendum between autumn 2018 and spring 2019. Mr Hosie said the start of that six-month window would see the effects of Brexit become clear.
‘I think that’s where the bleakest moment will be,’ he said.
‘A deal will be done, but it won’t be as good as we’ve got, that’s clear.’
Mr Hosie refused to say what currency the SNP would propose in its place.
This followed John Swinney’s refusal to answer the same question six times, during a radio interview on Friday. Meanwhile, the SNP’s growth tsar Andrew Wilson is looking at currency options, but has yet to report, despite initially being expected to do so before Christmas.
However, Tommy Sheppard and other senior SNP sources have told The Scottish Mail on Sunday they back a separate Scottish currency.
That could be pegged to the ‘English pound’ to prevent its value nose-diving. But economists have warned that could cost up to £40 billion in foreign reserves.
Murdo Fraser, Scottish Tory finance spokesman, said: ‘Stewart Hosie suggests the SNP may ditch the pound, but there is no mention of what the alternative would be – another question on independence the SNP cannot answer.’
Scottish Labour economy spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘Being part of the UK means we can use the pound and have access to the Bank of England in times of difficulty.
‘That’s a positive argument for remaining in the UK.’
‘A shared currency was incredibly sensible’