A SENIOR SNP politician has rejected calls to speed up the process of Scotland adopting its own currency immediately after independence - claiming such a policy would aid the Unionist campaign.
Stewart Hosie, the party’s economic spokesperson, said he wanted to sound like a “boring banker” to calm the nerves of voters sympathetic to independence but concerned about the economic questions.
Speaking at the Scotonomics Festival of Economics conference in Dundee on Saturday, the Dundee MP argued in favour of the SNP’s current policy of continuing to use sterling for an indeterminate period after officially leaving the UK.
The Scotonomics podcast hosts Kairin van Sweeden and William Thomson favour adopting a new Scottish currency on day one of an independent Scotland.
But Hosie argued that option left too many unanswered questions for voters and claimed it would aid the No campaign in a future referendum.
'Put minds at rest'
Speaking in Dundee's Little Theatre, Hosie said: "This time whatever we do, it hasn’t just got to be technically correct, it’s got to be politically bomb-proof, there can be no Unionist veto.
“We must counter what they’re going to do, which is Project Fear 2 – they will sow doubt on every aspect of the economic plan by sowing doubt over the currency plan.
“So if I sound like a boring banker, talking about a stability mandate and making sure the central bank has the correct level of reserves and making sure the stats are right and making sure all the regulatory framework is absolutely in place.
“If that sounds really dull and uninspiring, then frankly, I will have done my job because it takes away the trump card they have got to undermine all of the economic components of the independence plan.
“It might not sound inspiring, but it will be very comforting to know your pension is actually safe.
“It might not sound very inspiring, but it will be very comforting to know that your savings won’t be eroded by inflation.
“It might not be inspiring but it will be great to know that the order you’ve placed overseas, or the order you’ve made to fulfil overseas will be paid at a price you’ve agreed and that will not be eroded by changes in the exchange rate.
“There’s a version of this story which actually puts a lot of minds at rest and brings a lot of those soft Nos, soft Yeses to us because we’re serious about the job we’ve got to do.
“We’re not just getting really excited in a room full of independence supporters but we're talking the language of real people who want security for themselves, their businesses, their families, their future, their savings. That’s where we need to be.”
