Salmond answers back
In the light of fairly unfavourable comment recently about the performance of the smaller nations, it’s only fair to give Alex his say in Stand Alone Scotland Could Look After Itself ,” including:
“Ireland was also able to act quickly and decisively to bring stability to its banking sector by guaranteeing all deposits. It was to Ireland that many in Britain turned when the UK Government did not offer a parallel guarantee. Dublin’s actions were a clear demonstration of just how effective smaller independent nations can be when the going gets tough”.
Worth noting too how minimalist the independent case has become in the week of the SNP autumn conference, as interpreted by bellwether commentator Iain McWhirter:
“So what am I saying: that an independent Scotland would still effectively be part of the UK as far as banking is concerned? Well, yes. I don’t think anyone seriously believes that Scotland could ever become wholly financially separate from England – the two countries are joined at the hip. Moreover, the last time I looked, the Nats planned to remain in the sterling zone after independence, at least until membership of the euro could be negotiated.
Of course, Labour have every right to make political capital out of independence. The SNP is still formally a separatist party, even though every thinking nationalist realises total separation would be inconceivable. But Labour have to be careful not to make the same mistake they made in Holyrood in 2007 in misunderestimating (as President Bush might put it) Scottish voters.
Scots did not vote Nationalist in 2007 because they thought it would bring independence – far from it. They only started to lend their votes to Salmond after he made it clear that supporting the SNP would not mean a vote to leave the UK. Scots have used the SNP essentially to deliver a better form of home rule, to shake up Labour and to get more out of the Scottish Parliament.”
Will Alex ever admit it? Get away!
So what am I saying: that an independent Scotland would still effectively be part of the UK as far as banking is concerned? Well, yes. I don’t think anyone seriously believes that Scotland could ever become wholly financially separate from England – the two countries are joined at the hip.
What exactly doe she mean here? Does he even know? If Scotland is independent it will operate its own banking regulation system, independent of England, which banks must comply with or get out of the game. If Scotland ends up in the Euro, then it will have different fiscal policy to England. UK banks operate in Ireland and vice versa, and they are all connected, but I don’t think that is what he means.
Scots did not vote Nationalist in 2007 because they thought it would bring independence – far from it. They only started to lend their votes to Salmond after he made it clear that supporting the SNP would not mean a vote to leave the UK. Scots have used the SNP essentially to deliver a better form of home rule, to shake up Labour and to get more out of the Scottish Parliament.
All very nice assertion. The thing is UUP members started “lending their votes” to the DUP and SDLP voters to SF many years ago. You don’t tend to hear that argument much these days, though.
I think that non-Scots don’t grasp the reality that the majority of Scots want-in principle-Scotland to be an independent state.
If they are convinced that it will not be an economic disaster they will support it. The Labour Party has long understood this, and that was one of the reasons why the true value of North Sea Oil was deliberately hidden, and actively denied, by all unionist politicians for decades-only the freedom of information act forced this truth into the open.
Having been proven such blatant liars in the past, Labour is no longer automatically believed on the issue of the economics of Scots independence.
My advice to the Scots would be never to trust any politicians and the further the politicians are from you,your distrust ratio should move accordingly with some extra thrown in for margin of error purposes.
The Irish Free State ( more independece than Home Rule ) operated within the Sterling system for 60 years ?
I don’t recall any of our politicians demanding we should break with Sterling because it was English /British derived . The reasons we broke with sterling IIRC were economic . If they appear to some now to have been political it’s only because most people can’t recall the economic reasons at the time the change was made .
Could an independent Scotland do the same ? Why not ?
You don’t tend to hear that argument much these days, though.
Such a good read i had, really enjoyed checking your posts.
“The SNP is still formally a separatist party, even though every thinking nationalist realises total separation would be inconceivable.”
It’s cute that that non-argument should utilise the No True Scotsman fallacy.
From an absolutely academic viewpoint Glenrothes is now unbelievably fascinating. Let’s see what happens there.
And Dave – the Aberdeen criminal was probably on holiday from Brighton…
And Online dating – what’s your views on Glenrothes?
mmm well all I can say is when is a civil war not a civil war? when its The Troubles…
The reasons we broke with sterling IIRC were economic . If they appear to some now to have been political it’s only because most people can’t recall the economic reasons at the time the change was made .
If they appear to some now to have been political it’s only because most people can’t recall the economic reasons at the time the change was made . baby names