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| True Scotsman |
McConnell believes joining the euro is inevitableJack McConnell believes that Britain will join the Euro eventually.http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1020882006 McConnell believes joining the euro is inevitable JACK McConnell has said it is inevitable Britain will eventually join the single European currency. Appearing at a question-and-answer session at Edinburgh's Stevenson College, the First Minister said: "I personally don't have a problem with the euro as a currency for Scotland and the UK. "I can remember the days when there were lots of different European currencies and that was not necessarily healthy." He said the existence of major trading blocks like India, China, Russia and South America made it necessary for Europe to have a single currency and a single market to compete. "A small place like Scotland or Britain or Sweden is not going to be able to do that. In the long term, I don't have a problem with Britain being part of the euro." Mr McConnell also called for primary school children to be taught foreign languages, including Mandarin Chinese. He said Scotland had a poor record on language skills, but there had been pilot studies teaching French to five and six year-olds and he had been impressed how naturally they picked up a second language. He said: "We are not going to have the skills we need until more young people learn French or Spanish or Chinese." |
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| azzuri |
Maybe his view will be a little different when the coming recession hits Europe-wide. | ||
| SLG |
The only Scots Tory MP is in the papers today criticising McConnell and telling him to stay out of international affairs! Mibee McConnell is just hoping that if the UK enters the Euro it will make Independence a bit easier 
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| Morph |
I dont agree with scotland entering the Euro, i feel the best move for Scotland in an independant senario would be fiscal autonomy with agreements brokered with the EU, in the same terms as a country like Norway. I dont think further steps into Europe, eg the Euro, would benefit us | ||
| Aventinian |
I don't really have many quibbles with giving up a separate British currency. Admittedly it's nice and quaint to have, but then again so were sixpences and shillings.
However if McConnell thinks jumping on to the sinking ship that is the ECU is a good idea, or indeed inevitable, then he's just bloody daft. |
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| True Scotsman |
I agree with you Morph, I don't think the Euro would benefit Scotland. I support a bilateral agreement with the EU like Switzerland did as I think it would be too Scotland's advantage. Something like a Scots-EU Bilateral Agreement. Another opition would be too join the European Economic Area which I think would also benefit Scotland. Swiss-EU Bilateral Agreement Information. http://www.europa.admin.ch/ba/expl/uebersicht/e/ European Economic Area Information http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/eea/ |
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| SF102 |
I think a COMMON MARKET is a great idea . .. the idea of being ruled from brussels is about appealing as being ruled from London is for you lot. Joining the € would be a disaster for most peoples it's too tied in with Brussels for a start and you're unable to set your own fiscal rules. I see the pound .. or sterling as being part of our heritage and as such should not be dumped in favour of anything. I'd be interested in hearing what you'd favour instead of what you've got at present. (as an aside i'm sorry if anything i say is mentioned in other posts but i hope you'll forgive me for not having seen it as there's a sh**load of posts to wade thru in one go but i am doing me best) | ||
| Aventinian |
I certainly don't mind where decisions are made so long as they can be the most effective ones possible and respect the fundamental rights of the citizen. I am very much for the European ideal and respect the good it has done, even if it is imperfect in reality. Doesn't mean I approve of the Euro, though. |
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| SLG |
Even if those decisions could best be made in Edinburgh and apply only to Scotland?
How about the return of the Scottish pound? |
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| azzuri |
The Scottish Pound still technically exists. It is tied permanently at the exchange rate of 1:1 with the English Pound. | ||
| SLG |
I didn't know that azzuri. Lets untie it then, eh! 
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| azzuri |
I believe that's one of the reasons why Scottish notes are not actually legal tender in England. Doesn't explain why the reverse is not true here though... | ||
| Aventinian |
As far as I am aware, there are no legal tender laws in Scotland. Debts are obliged to be settled in any reasonable way, ie you can probably pay off your phone bill with a Clydesdale Bank note, but perhaps two goats and a chicken (regardless of their undoubtedly fine Scottish quality) would be something of a non-starter. | ||
| SF102 |
We went to gib a few yrs ago and came back Gib pound notes . . . .Tesco's refused them even tho they was stamped with ( i think) the bank of england mark an all sorts as well as the Queens head. We had a long heated debate with them about it and the upshot was that although Scottish notes were "legal" tesco policy was that they didn't take them due to not knowing if they were fakes or not. Thinking about the BoE got me thinking about the Scottish "national" bank. Would it be RBS or HBoS or would you have a new company/group/quango in charge of monies? i know BoE is a Govt. funded/owned/agency/dept. but what would you have in the same role. I don't think either HBoS or RBS would take too kindly to the other one getting the gig or the shareholders think too highly of said company being "nationalised" again. Maybe the last part of this post shoulda been given it's own thread (unless it's already been mentioned) |
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| azzuri |
If an Independent Scotland were to adopt the euro (which I'm against btw), then the ECB would make all the decisions.
Otherwise, I imagine a new monetary committee would be set up much like the one that makes the decisions for the BOE. It wouldn't be that difficult to do - the BOE one was only set up by the treasury 10 years ago... |
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| SF102 |
But the point i was trying to make was/is that the BoE has been around for centuries (not that makes it right) and although has been helping shape the policies it's also been the holder/printer of our/my national currency. There isn't a single company/dept. that i can see doing that role for Scotland. Maybe our way isn't the best way and you'd be better off with each bank having it's own notes. |
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| azzuri |
...well that's the way it's done at the moment in Scotland.
You seem to think that by breaking from the UK, Scotland would be 'starting afresh' with no experience of these things. It was a Scot that set up the BOE for pete's sake! We have the experience within our ranks to survive and prosper, of that there is no doubt! |
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| SF102 |
Actually i didn't think you'd be "starting afresh" but i was just struggling with where the infrastructure was and how it would be put in place when the time was right. | ||
| azzuri |
I'm sure it would be a gradual thing. Independence wouldn't come overnight if there was a 'yes' referendum vote - there might be a transitional 'handover period' of about 3-4 months.
This wouldn't just be Scotland that would experience this - so would the rest of the UK. England however would retain most of it's current administrative functions which obviously leaves it less to do than the other home nations. |
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| Aventinian |
I don't reckon colonial notes would qualify as legal tender in England anyway since I'm not certain they're Sterling. All the same, legal tender is for the payment of debts - whereas shops can accept or decline whatever the hell they feel like. I used to find it was fashionable for Scottish people to moan about not getting their notes accepted down south. I am often in possession of Northern Irish notes for a number of reasons, and you usually don't get them passed off in Scotland without some 'witty' remark - I've had them refused a few times too. I think RBS was nationalised at some point - I even recall Tommy Sheridan talking about re-nationalising it. |
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| azzuri |
Yes Aventinian - I often have Northern Irish banknotes refused too.
It's that feeling of being a criminal that gets me when they give the notes an odd look. Then the inevitable comes, "It's Sterling - look" (points at 'pounds sterling'). reminds me of a time I was in Glasgow at a coffee house and went up to pay for our lunch. Tried to pay with a 20 pound Northern Irish 'Northern Bank' note, to which the extremely camp cashier said, "Sorry Pal, I can only accept it if it has a photie o' the queen's heid oan' it!" 
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| neil8r |
Now ah hope ye replied and said so ye don't accept Scottish Bank notes either then 
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| neil8r |
I think the Euro would be a mistake for the UK and for an independent Scotland.
In the case of an independent Scotland why would we regain control over our interest rates to simply hand them over to an even larger group to control. The BoE hasn't helped the economy in Scotland with their interest rate changes over the years i somehow don't see the European Central bank being any better. At least if we had a Scottish central bank controlling things like the interest rates we could then move our country forward for the benefit of our country |
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| Aventinian |
Are you proposing a separate Scottish currency if Scotland was to become independent then? | ||
| neil8r |
put simply, yes |
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| SF102 |
I thought that was a given as well. Whats the point in being "independant" if you're tied to somebody else for currency. |
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| Aventinian |
I don't really know, haven't actively considered it. But there are a lot of independent countries out there without their own separate currency. | ||
| azzuri |
We would need our own currency within an Independent Scotland. There is very little use in having control over other economic affairs if you are not in control of your own currency.
There is certainly no need to join the euro - the Scottish Pound should suffice. Indeed, for the first few years it may in fact be tied as it is just now to a permanent 1:1 ratio with the English Pound in order to keep things stable. |
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| SLG |
That's a bit strong I think. There are a lot of other controls that could still available despite not having control over the currency. That's not to say we shouldn't have our own currency though, just that we need to weigh up the situation. |
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