Nicola Sturgeon defends plans to lose the pound after Yes Vote amid Tory barrage

Nicola Sturgeon has defended SNP proposals to adopt a separate Scottish currency after independence as she insisted it would only happen when it is “right for our interests”.

The SNP leader came under fire at First Minister’s Questions yesterday over the switch after proposing to keep the pound in the last independence referendum five years ago. The SNP voted to change policy at its conference in Edinburgh last weekend – a move that would see a new currency adopted after a Yes vote when six fiscal tests are met. The UK pound would continue to be used until that point.

Tory interim leader Jackson Carlaw hit out at the switch, saying: “In the independence referendum campaign just a few short years ago, the First Minister pledged we should keep the UK pound permanently, forever, because in her words ‘that was in the best interests of Scotland’. Yet this week she and the SNP voted to ditch the UK pound.”

He added: “How on Earth is dumping the pound in the best interests of Scotland?”

The tory interim leader challenged Ms Sturgeon to name a single business or trade union that would endorse her plans to use a new Scottish currency. Ms Sturgeon insisted an independent Scotland would continue to use the pound while it was in Scotland’s interests.