AN independent Scotland should not be allowed to share the pound with the Uk, says Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of Wales, who made clear he would seek to block any attempt to create a currency union.
In his strongest intervention yet on the referendum debate, the Welsh FM insisted independence would not make Scots any more Scottish but would mean Scotland would become "as foreign to Wales as France, Germany or Belgium".
His remarks are meant to underline the forceful opposition to First Minister Alex Salmond's assertion that, despite the blanket rejection by the three main UK parties to a currency union, one will happen if Scots vote Yes next month.
Mr Jones made clear he believed in community and solidarity, characteristics, he said, he shared with Scots. "But the difference I have with Nationalists is I do not believe community has to stop at a border. It is why I believe in the United Kingdom."
The Labour politician noted how, when people considered the difficulties the European Union had had in trying to create a single currency, it was remarkable the people of these islands had started building their political, economic and social union more than 500 years ago.
"What we have built together is unique; the most successful partnership of nations in the world. Despite the huge differences in size, Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland have built a country where national identities, far from being suppressed, have thrived."
He said that together Britons had built great institutions and had created one of the most stable currencies in the world: sterling.
While Mr Jones made clear he wanted Scots to reject independence, he said if they did not he would respect their decision. "But," he said, "if Scotland decides it does not want to share in our Union, then Scotland cannot expect to share in the institutions of the Union.
"I would strongly oppose the idea of a currency union with an independent Scotland because I believe it would be bad for Wales and the rest of the UK."
He recalled the 2008 banking crash, when, he argued, there was speed and sureness of decision-making that stopped the economy from going under because of pooled sovereignty.
"There did not need to be a meeting of Welsh, Scottish, English and Northern Irish ministers to thrash out a strategy. We had one Chancellor, who happened to be a Scot, who could act in all our interests.
"As Welsh First Minister I do not see why in similar circumstances I would have to wait around for the Finance Secretary of what would then be another country to make up his or her mind while the economy of Wales was in peril.
"I would firmly say No to such an arrangement. And bear in mind, as the First Minister of a nation in the UK, I would want to have more say on the matter than the First Minister of an independent Scotland."
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