SCOTLAND would continue to use the pound even if it quit the UK to preserve its EU status, Nicola Sturgeon has claimed.
The First Minister, taking part in a Q&A session about the Europe vote, ruled out Scotland adopting the Euro under the scenario of the country opting for independence after being dragged out against its will on June 23.
The comments pre-empt a promised re-examination of the case for independence and an SNP drive to win over sceptics this summer. Alex Salmond recently said that the case for independence needs "refurbishment", and while he said he still favoured sterling, called for a fresh look at the currency options with the policy area seen as a weak spot in 2014.
The position Ms Sturgeon put forward would mean an independent Scotland within the EU using a currency of a non-member state, a situation that may raise tough questions over whether it could fulfil principles of monetary union that are a prerequisite for EU membership.
Asked about whether she would be prepared to adopt the Euro in a post-Brexit independent Scotland, Ms Sturgeon said: "No, the pound is Scotland's currency just as it is England's currency, that's the currency I think all parts of the UK should use and it's the one I would want Scotland to use. Scotland uses the pound, it's our currency... and that's the currency I think we should continue to use."
However, the SNP leader appeared to backtrack further from her previous claims that a new independence referendum would be a near-certainty should Scotland be dragged out of the EU against its will, noticeably dampening her rhetoric.
While she maintained that the scenario could increase support for independence, The First Minister, who before the Holyrood election regularly said Scotland being forced out of Europe would be a "democratic outrage", yesterday said "many people in Scotland would think that was a bit unfair."
The First Minister participated in a Buzzfeed debate as she takes an increasingly high-profile role in the UK-wide Remain campaign. While reaffirming her support for independence, she said she did not want to achieve her party's primary goal because Scotland's "best friend" had taken a bad decision.
She added: "These scenarios, Scotland being taken out against our will or Scotland tipping the balance to keep everybody in, don't materialise if there's a strong vote for Remain in every part of the UK, and that's what I'm arguing for.
"I'm arguing principally in Scotland as you would expect but also when I get the chance in other parts of the UK to say 'let's all vote to stay in' and then none of these scenarios, and you could hypothecate endlessly about the things that might happen, but none of that arises if we all vote strongly to stay in.
"I know everybody believes, with some justification that politicians spend all of their time pushing the pieces around the chess board and trying to work out what suits their best interests best. Sometimes they do, I'm not pretending otherwise. But on this, I take a quite straightforward view of it.
"Yes, you know I want Scotland to become independent, but I don't want Scotland to become independent because our nearest neighbour and best friend has taken a decision I actually think would be really damaging for it."
The First Minister, who described herself as a proud Scot and European, also rejected claims from the Leave campaign that voters should back leaving the EU as the institution is anti-democratic. She added: "If there's a real problem with unelected people governing us it's The House of Lords rather than the European Union."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel