Admission is no shock to anyone

THE ADMISSION that Scottish independence is uncosted was greeted with predictable gasps of horror from opponents of the Yes campaign.

There have been months of arguing over whether Scots will be better off in or out of the union, and by how much.

It resulted in near farcical scenes earlier this week as Alex Salmond and Danny Alexander faced off with widely differing figures.

Both could not be right and the suspicion was that neither was.

It seems the best the nationalists can do is “guesstimate”, to borrow a phrase from London School of Economics professor Patrick Dunleavy, who has risen to such prominence recently

This should not come as a surprise. The Scottish nation has never broken from the rest of the United Kingdom before.

Should it happen, it will require detailed negotiations over a host of assets and debts. How could anyone think accurate figures can be reached before that process is seen through?

With such a reasonable starting point, what is astonishing is that it took so long for the Yes campaign to admit it has no definitive cost analysis.

There is no point throwing out figures with no basis as it fools no one.

Better Together seized on the apparent gaffe but they should remain wary of stones and glass houses.

If a cost analysis is “impossible” on one side, it is equally so on the other.

Yet again, it is the voters who are being let down in their search for answers ahead of the looming referendum.

The only thing worse than not providing them is making them up to suit a particular viewpoint.