Alex Salmond promises the pound in White Paper on Scottish independence Alex Salmond is expected to dismiss warnings that the English will refuse to share the pound as he unveils his long-awaited blueprint for independence Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond will today unveil the Scottish Governments White Paper on independence. The Scottish First Minister will this morning unveil a 670-page White Paper detailing his plans for a separate Scotland, including proposals for its currency, pensions, defence and EU membership. Nationalist ministers said the document will be voters’ “guide to independence” so they can vote ‘yes’ with confidence in next September’s referendum. But much of the document, including Mr Salmond’s economic case for independence, is expected to assume Scotland and the remainder of the UK would agree a eurozone-style currency union. The First Minister has refused to come up with a ‘Plan B’ to sterling despite warnings from the Chancellor, the Welsh First Minister and the Scottish Secretary that a deal to share the pound is unlikely. Opposition parties predicted that the White Paper would be a “wish list” that Mr Salmond cannot promise to deliver because the English, Welsh and Northern Irish would have the final say. 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Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister, described the document as “the most comprehensive blueprint for an independent country that has ever been produced.” She added: “This is a document for the people of Scotland; it is their guide to independence, and it will provide both a vision for Scotland’s future and the answers on independence that people have been seeking.” She said the White Paper will include the answers to 650 questions but it is not expected to name a ‘Plan B’ on the currency for fear of scaring off voters. Alistair Carmichael, the Scottish Secretary, said at the weekend that independence would mean Scotland “walks away from the pound” and a deal to share sterling would not work. Alistair Darling, the former Labour Chancellor and leader of the pro-UK Better Together campaign, told BBC Radio Fours Today programme this morning that the bid to share the sterling is a non-starter a that could turn into a legal straightjacket limiting the economic powers. At the very least today, what we must see is what the plan B is, if you cant get a currency union - either because no one will agree to it or because you dont like the terms and conditions - whats your fallback position? Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, said Ms Sturgeon has “raised the bar by claiming the answers to all these questions and more will be in the White Paper.” She added: “If the SNP fail to do this, the document will be nothing more than an uncosted wishlist.” The Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated last week that an extra £3 billion of savings would have to be found from 2021 even if Mr Salmond’s most optimistic predictions about North Sea oil revenues come true. A Treasury analysis published today said this was equivalent to an eight percentage point increase in the base rate of income tax, which would mean the average Scot paying an extra £1,000 per year. In a letter to Mr Salmond sent last night, Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: “This would be at the same time as Scotland’s economy would face a disproportionate pressure from the decline in North Sea production and an ageing population … “The White Paper published tomorrow must address the tax rises or spending cuts required to balance the books in an independent Scotland.” He dismissed the First Minister’s claims that the sum could be made good purely through additional economic growth. This would require a separate Scotland to double the UK’s average growth rate, he said, a feat he said that no European country had matched since 1970. According to the Treasury’s calculations, basic rate taxpayers in Scotland currently contribute an average of £2,517 each to the public purse. However, increasing the basic rate of income tax from 20p to 28p in the pound would lead mean this contribution rising to £3,523. Mr Salmond’s plan to make good the £3 billion without tax rises or spending cuts would only be possible if Scotland’s annual economic growth rate increased to 4.4 per cent, the Treasury said. This compares with the IFS’s projection for Scotland of two per cent and for the UK of 2.4 per cent. A spokesman for John Swinney, the Scottish Finance Minister, said: This rushed and panicky letter from Danny Alexander shows just how rattled the No campaign are by the launch of the White Paper and its positive vision for Scotlands future. Meanwhile, a group of MPs and peers today warned that keeping the pound would mean a separate Scotland having to stick to Westminster’s austerity plan. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taxation said Scotland would “become dependent on the Bank of England as a central bank and lender of last resort, and on the UK Government’s lead for its fiscal responsibility rules”. The study said Scotland would have to adopt its own currency and stay out of the EU “to genuinely go it alone” deciding its own tax and spending levels.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 09:11:19 +0000