Mon, 22 April 2013
LONDON — Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne said yesterday it would not be straightforward for an independent Scotland to keep the pound as its currency, as proposed by those campaigning for the country to break away from the United Kingdom next year. The nation of five million will hold an independence referendum on September 18, 2014, at the instigation of the Scottish National Party (SNP), which runs the country's devolved government.
Pro-independence campaigners say Scotland would keep the pound, at least in the early years of independence, and could later hold a sovereign debate on whether to switch to its own currency.
But Osborne and his deputy Danny Alexander, who is Scottish, said in a joint article that monetary union would not work as well in "a disunited kingdom".
"The pound we share now works and it works well. Under independence all the alternatives are second best. So our question to the nationalists — are you really saying second best is good enough for Scotland?" the two men wrote.
As things stand, opinion polls suggest about 30 per cent of Scottish voters favour independence while 50 per cent would stick with the status quo, but those who want Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom are not taking victory for granted.
The central government in London will publish tomorrow a detailed analysis of the implications on currency of Scottish independence. The article by Osborne and Alexander sought to make the case against independence ahead of that report.
Pro-independence campaigners say Scotland would keep the pound, at least in the early years of independence, and could later hold a sovereign debate on whether to switch to its own currency.
But Osborne and his deputy Danny Alexander, who is Scottish, said in a joint article that monetary union would not work as well in "a disunited kingdom".
"The pound we share now works and it works well. Under independence all the alternatives are second best. So our question to the nationalists — are you really saying second best is good enough for Scotland?" the two men wrote.
As things stand, opinion polls suggest about 30 per cent of Scottish voters favour independence while 50 per cent would stick with the status quo, but those who want Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom are not taking victory for granted.
The central government in London will publish tomorrow a detailed analysis of the implications on currency of Scottish independence. The article by Osborne and Alexander sought to make the case against independence ahead of that report.
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