As it pushes for a new referendum on independence, the Scottish government is again taking pains to assure voters that leaving the UK would be a relatively painless economic prospect. But its central claim, that an independent Scotland would introduce a new Scottish currency after a series of tests have been met, and that we would keep using the pound on day one, is deeply misleading.
The truth is that the picture of calm, controlled fiscal transition promised by the SNP is a mirage. That’s because Scotland would have to adopt a new currency immediately after independence. This would cost the average Scottish household 20 per cent of their income – or £7,300 a year.
These findings are published on ourmoney.scot, a new website founded
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