The Herald : European Central Bank would treat Scotland better

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European Central Bank would treat Scotland better

"An independent Scotland "would have to undertake the highly risky gamble of launching a separate Scottish currency that would be used by none of our trading partners". He then goes on to berate the SNP's policy for keeping the pound sterling in an independent Scotland: "It is, frankly, incredible that a central plank of the SNP economic policy is that it would continue to use sterling even after separation from the rest of the UK." If he believes that creating a separate currency would be such a high-risk gamble surely he must accept that retaining sterling is the sensible thing to do? The SNP's policy for retaining sterling after independence from the UK is in line with historical precedent. In 1901, when Australia established its own constitution, it stayed with sterling until 1910, when it established the Australian pound. Similarly, Ireland kept sterling for the first six years of its independence, before replacing it with the punt.

Any future government in a sovereign Scotland could decide to change the currency, either by floating a Scottish pound or entering the euro, if it thought such a change would be beneficial to the Scottish economy. As would be the case if Gordon Brown lost a UK referendum on the euro, a similar result from a euro referendum in an independent Scotland would mean that the status quo would prevail. I don't see why Bristow is trying to make such a meal out of this; it is only common sense.