Alistair Carmichael, Secretary of State for Scotland, with his interpretation of the Independence White Paper.
There are a lot of things in the Scottish Government’s White Paper that I’m in favour of.
I want us to have the same UK pensions we have now. The same Pound as our currency. The same free movement throughout the UK that we enjoy just now.
My big problem with the White Paper is that these are good reasons for staying part of the UK not for leaving it.
It is striking how many things they want to keep from a UK they have been complaining about for decades.
An even bigger problem is that it is dishonest to claim that these things can be guaranteed by an independent Scotland.
They can’t.
They need to be agreed with the rest of the UK that we would just have left and with many other countries.
The White Paper also includes proposals to improve childcare after 2016. The Scottish Government could make changes on childcare right now with their powers at Holyrood.
Being made to wait for what you need until the pro-independence camp gets what it wants is no way to treat Scottish families.
It is obvious the only way to guarantee keeping the benefits of the UK is to stay in the UK, a UK that is getting its economy back on track, reducing inflation, creating jobs and getting on with the job of securing Scotland’s future.
People across Scotland will be frustrated at the lack of detail in Alex Salmond’s “blueprint” about what independence really means and costs for you and your family.
The simple fact is we all waited ages for answers from the Scottish Government and then none came along all at once.
We know no more than we did a year, a month or a week ago. They have come up with a wish list without a price list.
The question of how much independence would cost was completely ignored in the White Paper.
I very much doubt Sunday Post readers and people across Scotland will accept such a shoddy approach on this serious issue.
What currency Scotland would have is a key question for most people.
The Scottish Government needs to admit we can’t force the rest of the UK to agree to a currency union.
It would need to be agreed by both sides but that looks highly unlikely.
That is a worry.
The same is true of whether a separate Scotland would automatically join the EU they say yes, but the Spanish Prime Minister, who would hold a veto over that decision, says no.
I am critical of the White Paper not for the sake of it but because it doesn’t do what was promised.
If Scotland chooses to leave the UK, people need to know if they would keep the pound as they have now, and what impact it would have on their pensions and their prospects.
Half-baked promises from the Scottish Government, who will say anything to win independence, are not a substitute for real answers.
You and Scotland deserve better.
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