Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Stewart Hosie (Scottish National Party). It was answered on Wednesday, 6 November 2013 on behalf of the Scotland Office.

Scottish Independence

Question

I expect that Scotland will vote yes to independence next year and in those circumstances, the best hope for businesses in the north-west of England—and, indeed, businesses throughout England, which sell £50 billion of goods and services to Scotland every year—is the maintenance of sterling in a formal currency union, which was described by the

right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling) as logical and desirable. Does the Minister agree with the right hon. Gentleman or with yesterday’s scaremongering “project fear” nonsense from the Chief Secretary?

Answer

I most certainly do not share the hon. Gentleman’s expectation of the outcome of the referendum. He now chooses who to listen to. He used to listen to Mr Jim Cuthbert, who said:

“It’s very difficult to have independence within a currency union. Greece says it all. In any currency union, there are restrictions on individual members and that doesn’t equate to independence.”

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 570 c236
Session: 2013-14
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Business Scotland Sovereignty North West
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk

Scottish Independence

Secondary information

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