Should Scotland be an independent country?

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  • I think Osbourne saying 'naw' to a currency union might actually spur people on to vote Yes - if Scotland is to become a self governing country they should go for a complete break and have the Euro.....

  • Surely they dont even acccept those snide looking Bank of Scotland notes in Scotland?

  • I'm sure a thousand twenty something open spot comedians are working on that very routine as we speak

  • Surely they dont even except those snide looking Bank of Scotland notes in Scotland?

    Had to read this about five times before deciding that you must mean "accept".

    You don't get to complain about a owl ever again, sonny.

  • Had to read this about five times before deciding that you must mean "accept".

    You don't get to complain about a owl ever again, sonny.

    Ha.

    If you live in a glass house. but love throwing stones. Learn to enjoy the breeze.

    .......or somfin.

  • People who live in stone houses shouldn't throw glasses?

  • That's a Scottish Friday night ruined

  • sounds like you might have been dumped recently.

  • Calm down, Jeez old bean, this can't be good for your blood pressure.

  • On a more serious note: Both the Chancellor and the most senior Treasury official have just announced that Sterling is not for sharing. What price the Scottish Europound?

    Actually, Jeez, stripping away the nationalism, wouldn't the comparatively Tory-free politics North of the border be more closely aligned to your own? Why not emigrate to New Scotland?

  • Because people should work together to solve problems instead of self-ghetto-izing into communities that share the same beliefs and intolerance's?

  • Has anyone told them that Scotland doesn't have to ask to use the pound? It's obviously a bit more complicated (they'd probably have to stop printing their own notes [unless they used them as promissory notes] and they'd have 0 impact on monetary policy), but a number of states use foreign currencies.

    Unless I'm missing something. Which I often am.

  • Whoa, Scottish and NI notes are already promissory notes.

    (Although at this point, as I understand it, Scottish notes are backed by very large notes from the Bank of England. This practice would stop, and they'd have to get the money themselves).

  • Nope, it is fully expected that they will use the pound. The positioning now is just to make it crystal that they will not have any input into monetary policy.

  • ^If only the fish in my stream rose to a bait so readily.....

    Of course it's political posturing, attempting to influence a 'no' vote, that's what politicians are for. The Treasury official needs to be taken a little more seriously. In essence he seems to be saying that without fiscal union there can be no monetary union.

  • It influences monetary policy. Not economic policy. In general terms which are probably not satisfying to Economists this means two things - printing more money, or changing interest rates. Neither of these are important for Scotland if sterling remains healthy and they are not in an economic crisis. It's in times of crisis that it becomes problematic as you lose the ability to manipulate the value of your own currency (see: Eurozone crisis or economic crises in countries which had themselves pegged to the US dollar).

  • Should Scotland go independent, and set up their own currency, what should they call it?

    The Sporran would be my choice.

  • Surely Scotland has 3 'choices' if indeed they are choices -

    New currency
    Within Euro
    Within Sterling

    4th choice - bitcoin?

  • From a government point of view monetary policy is a massive part of economic policy. Limiting monetary policy is therefore limiting economic policy. It is not like monetary policy is some tiny part of economic policy that only makes a tiny difference.

    No. The government doesn't have any control over monetary policy (in theory). They are distinct things.

  • Anyway, I'm bowing out as I can see where this is going already.

  • And the Bank of England is entirely free from and immune to political pressure.......

  • Being Canadian?

  • As far as I understand it, (and I'm getting my international law from Yes Prime Minister) an independent Scotland, as a new independent state, would not automatically be a member of the European Union. If they wished to join the European Union then they would be obliged to accept the entirety of the res communis, and thus would have no choice but to adopt the Euro.

    Have any countries joined since the single currency that have not?

  • BQ. That is the current technically correct position. It was put in place to halt seperatism but is not fit for purpose on a mutually agreed devolution. If we let Scotland leave we could both make a strong argument that they should be allowed to retain EU membership on the same basis that they currently have it.

    The alternative would be to remove the freedom of movement for goods and labour, in which case there would be an EU wide shortage of park bench alcoholics.

  • And shortbread.

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Should Scotland be an independent country?

Posted by Avatar for EB @EB

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