Scottish independence: Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon plan to hand control of spending to London, this isn’t independence but being held financial hostage by a foreign power, Scots would be trapped in poverty cycle!

Dear All

It is becoming increasingly clear that Alex Salmond is out of his depth on independence, and his ‘jolly fat man’ persona is starting to crack as we see at FMQs.

Despite there being an ‘independence campaign’ run by his and Nicola Sturgeon’s cronies, the real work of independence hasn’t been done.

Awhile ago, I said that there needed to be planning for a Scottish Pound, so that if Scots wanted true independence, we can’t have anyone controlling our currency, SNP clique rhetoric is ‘we can make our country into anything we want it to be’.

Their vision of Scotland stinks to high heaven like a burst colostomy bag in a packed sauna.

We can’t have someone else in what would be a foreign country setting our interest rates, or setting our public spending limits, this would place Scotland at an enormous disadvantage.

Scottish freedom would be nothing of sort.

Alex Salmond’s plans are flawed to keep the pound after independence, London with effective control of public spending levels in Scotland.

Far from living people out of poverty as Salmond and Sturgeon suggest, we would condemn those at the bottom to a more restricted choice.

That wouldn’t affect the SNP clique; who are sucking up as much money and power as possible as they see themselves as the ‘new establishment.’

There is a financial crash at the moment, we all recognise that, but there is another crash on the way, a political crash, poll after poll shows that Salmond and Sturgeon’s ‘positive’ vision is being rejected all over Scotland.

Alex Salmond needed two terms of successful government in order to try and make an attempt at independence, this term of the Scottish Government is an omnishambles.

Nothing has been done of note on government reform and local government reform; this was the main thrust and direction of the second term, not independence.

The preparation!

Salmond and the SNP jumped the gun because they wrongly believed that they could carry the popular vote, their increased support was based on Labour’s unpopularity.

That isn’t a basis to make a run at independence, instead of strong government; we have weak government under Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.  

To return to money matters, Scotland would face a deficit “cap” with the Bank of England looking over the shoulders of the Scottish Government, and if they don’t agree saying no!

What type of independence is that?

Getting lender of last resort status from down south is at best doubtful, why would England take the risk?

Scotland would have to turn over control of its assets leaving the country in a right pickle.

A former economic adviser to Alex Salmond warned last week that Scotland must be ready to adopt its own currency after independence, seems people agree with the George Laird vision!

The former advisor says keeping the pound would not deliver real economic freedom.

Professor John Kay said Scotland would not have “equal” status in any currency union, makes a mockery of the Sturgeon claim of ‘equal partnership’, Ms. Sturgeon is growing increasingly bizarre and as others have also commented such as Nigel Farage, out of her depth.

The UK Government is in the process of publishing a series of papers setting out the impact of independence, if the Scottish Government had done the work, these papers would have had a lesser impact.

Chancellor George Osborne said the SNP has yet to set out the case for independence.

80 years of Nationalism and no case beyond spin and rhetoric, it’s time that Nationalists started asking the hard questions because Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon have failed to make the case for Scotland’s independence in a meaningful way.

Osborne said:

“The SNP, if they’re going to persuade the Scottish people to vote for independence, are going to have to answer some pretty fundamental economic questions about the currency they would use, the fiscal agreement they would seek if they want to use the pound with the rest of the UK, and some pretty fundamental questions about the financial services based in Scotland, with the Royal Bank of Scotland based in Edinburgh.”

He added:

“Those are the questions they are simply unable to answer at the moment and as a result I think people doubt the case they’re making for independence.”

So far, we have seen gross stupidity, falsehoods portrayed as facts, incompetence and the SNP Government that has lurched to the right.

The independence campaign isn’t representative of Scots, people aren’t flocking to Alex Salmond and recently Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon spectacularly failed to win the student independence referendum.

That was despite help from SNP Cabinet Ministers, SNP MSP’s, SNP Activists and full time Yes Scotland campaigners on the campus.

Nicola sturgeon couldn’t get the educated student vote from her own university!

Alex Salmond could lead people to a ‘curry house’ but he can’t lead a country to freedom, it requires someone with a vision and both he and Nicola Sturgeon don’t have one, the proof is what we have seen done in the SNP Government since May 2011!

Time for a quote:

“My problem is that I have too many talented people and not enough Cabinet positions’.

What a pathetic statement, there is a genuine lack of talent in the Scottish National Party.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University