The SNP’s currency plans for an independent Scotland are already mired in confusion.
After insisting in 2014 that a separate Scotland would join a ‘currency union’ with the rest of the UK, the party now backs a new currency at the earliest opportunity.
That means ditching the pound and putting everyone’s wages, mortgages and pensions at risk. It would be a reckless act that would endanger livelihoods, so it’s no surprise it’s supported by only 12 per cent of voters. See here.
But now the confusion has deepened thanks to SNP MSP Emma Harper. She appeared on the BBC Scotland show Debate Night and made a series of wild claims.
She compared the situation to what happens in Ireland and Northern Ireland which use different currencies; then claimed that Scottish pounds can be exchanged at different rates around the world even though this only happens by error; and made the argument that ‘plastic translates anywhere’.
Watch the clip below:
Emma Harper is right that ‘plastic’ – credit and debit cards – can be used anywhere in the world. But plastic isn’t a currency. The sale is still conducted in one currency and there are usually foreign transaction fees attached as any holidaymaker knows.
This confusion just shows that the SNP doesn’t have a coherent plan for ditching the pound.
The overwhelming majority of people in Scotland want to keep the pound and don’t want a new currency.
By remaining in the UK we can keep our pound, protect mortgages, pensions and salaries, grow our economy without extra red tape for businesses, and use a stable currency backed by the strength of the UK’s central bank and 30 million taxpayers.
The SNP should drop its unwanted plan for a divisive second independence referendum and its hated plan to scrap the pound, and get on with the day job of running our hospitals, schools and trains.
Can you help the campaign to save the pound? You can donate here.