Scottish Independence - Hard Talk over the pound

[Chinahand]

I do wonder if today will be seen as a watershed moment for Scottish Independence.

 

It looks like all the mainstream "unionist" political parties have agreed to simply tell Scotland that they will not be allowed to keep the pound.

 

BBC LINK

 

It is basically unfriendly - the UK will not share the pound, it is a valuable asset and if Scotland becomes independent sharing this asset will diminish it and create difficulties for both countries as currency unions require messy institutional compromises with sovereignty and policy issues.

 

The Unionists are saying to the Scottish Nationalists that If they want to have a grown up country then it has to be independent with its own currency (or pooled within an established currency union like the Euro), you cannot demand the UK diminishes its own currency - that is what independence means.

 

I'm not sure how the Scottish electorate will view this moment.

 

Will they see it as unfriendly and bullying and harden nationalist sentiments with them going "well, right then - no pound it is then".

 

Or will they see it as being pragmatic showing the realities of Independence and the difficulties and costs it will take.

 

No doubt, the Unionist parties forcing the issue is a deliberate strategic move. Will it be positive, or negative, who knows, but if I was wavering towards independence and I saw the UK being deliberately unfriendly, I wonder if that would make me more or less inclined to support staying in union with the UK.

[Declan]

It's a bluff anyway.

[hillshepherd]

if the jockstraps want INDEPENDANCE then let them have it groats an all no british goverment insurance policy, remember one thing Napoleon salmond was a financial advisor at RBS and encouraged Fred the shred to EXPAND expand expand, nuff said.

[John Wright]

It isn't a real issue though, is it?

 

They don't have to have a currency union between England and Scotland for Scotland to keep the Scots pound worth an English pound.

 

What they probably cannot do is share the same central bank.

 

For 60 years the Irish had their own central bank, their own currency the punt, and their own economic policy. They pegged the punt to the pound at parity and set their own taxes and interest rates to keep it there because the economies were closely connected. just like England & Scotland.

 

But that held them back and eventually they cut the umbilical. But it wasn't a currency union or the same currency.

 

Many countries peg or use the currency of another country.

 

had to laugh at suggestion that sterling was a successful currency though!

[John Wright]

No Lonan, the punt was detached from Sterling in the 1980's and at times rose above and at times fell below parity, long before the Euro

 

And the Euro hasn't pulled anyone down the tubes, its proving difficult to adjust to when you lose the ability to manipulate tax and interest rates and thus exchange rates and are in a system which keep the currency of a weak economy artificially high and that of a strong economy artificially low, which is the opposite of everything since Bretton Woods.

 

The only means of resolving that within the Euro is economic restructuring to increase productivity or by labour moving from weaker to stronger economies, and that is what, unfortunately gives rise to temporary mass unemployment

[John Wright]

the punt decoupled on 30th March 1979 and ran for 20 years wholly unlinked to sterling but within the EERM until switching to the Euro

[Tarne]

They could have a currency based on alcoholic units

[John Wright]

or deep fried battered mars bars and pizza

[woolley]

And the Euro hasn't pulled anyone down the tubes, its proving difficult to adjust to when you lose the ability to manipulate tax and interest rates and thus exchange rates

Possibly the understatement of the century so far.

[John Wright]

Its only 15 years old. It will take many years before we know whether it works or not, unless it falls apart first.

[Tempus Fugit]

where does that leave RBS HBOS etc. ?

[hillshepherd]

No Lonan, the punt was detached from Sterling in the 1980's and at times rose above and at times fell below parity, long before the Euro

 

And the Euro hasn't pulled anyone down the tubes, its proving difficult to adjust to when you lose the ability to manipulate tax and interest rates and thus exchange rates and are in a system which keep the currency of a weak economy artificially high and that of a strong economy artificially low, which is the opposite of everything since Bretton Woods.

 

The only means of resolving that within the Euro is economic restructuring to increase productivity or by labour moving from weaker to stronger economies, and that is what, unfortunately gives rise to temporary mass unemployment

TEMPORARY mass unemployment,5 f**king years temporary,dont make me laugh you sitting in your comfortable office making money "win or lose",hohoho.

[hillshepherd]

Its only 15 years old. It will take many years before we know whether it works or not, unless it falls apart first.

that sounds more like it,but hey the misery in between does'nt matter does it!!!!!!!

[woolley]

 

Its only 15 years old. It will take many years before we know whether it works or not, unless it falls apart first.

that sounds more like it,but hey the misery in between does'nt matter does it!!!!!!!

I said it wouldn't work before it was introduced. Economies involved are far too disparate and it's getting much worse. It didn't work in the past and it won't work in the future. A ludicrous idea that is a conceit of the European grand plan federalists.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17140379

[woolley]

where does that leave RBS HBOS etc. ?

Well since the UK Government holds 83% of RBS shares I suppose they could always move it out of Scotland to Newcastle. Create a bit of employment in the north east. Cause a bit of fun, like.