The penny drops — keep the UK and the pound

THE reaction to the Treasury analysis I published this week has shifted the Referendum debate up a gear.

I come at this issue as a proud Scot and as someone who has been at the centre of the UK economy for a number of years.

I love Scotland, but I also know how much we are entwined with the other nations of the UK.

With passions high, it’s vital we are all informed with as much information as possible. That’s why the Treasury analysis is so important.

This work was carried out by impartial civil servants, not politicians.

The conclusion is clear — there is no possibility of a separate Scotland having a currency union with the remaining UK.

If Scotland votes for independence, we will lose the pound and the strength and stability that it provides. If you want to keep the pound, we have to keep the UK too.

Being in a currency union as a newly independent state would make it very difficult for Scotland to adjust to sudden changes in the world economy.

The penny is finally dropping for the Nationalists. The people of Scotland now know that a currency union won’t happen.

Alex Salmond has gone from a man with the wrong plan to a man without a plan. They must now be open about what they want to do instead.

Do they want to join the euro? Or set up a new Scottish currency? Or allow someone else’s cash to circulate in Scotland without any control?

Mr Salmond is asking Scots to sign up to the riskiest and most uncertain journey our country has ever taken, with no possibility of turning back if we vote for it.

The least he could do is show us the map we’d have to follow. I renew my challenge to Alex Salmond. Debate this with me as a politician and a Scot —any time, any place.

I love my country. That’s why I will be working tirelessly right up to the referendum to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom and to avoid an outcome where we become foreigners in our own family of nations and are weaker and poorer for it.