ALEX Salmond is to put Scotland's economy at the heart of tomorrow's independence White Paper, with pledges to create thousands more jobs and secure the nation's future.
The First Minister is to state at the document's launch in Glasgow that no country has ever been better equipped to become independent, drawing on Scotland's "vast natural resources, key growth sectors and human talent".
Having named March 24, 2016, as the date he hopes Scotland will break free from the United Kingdom if Scotland votes Yes, Mr Salmond will chair a meeting of the Scottish Cabinet at the Glasgow Science Centre before presenting the "Scottish Government's guide to independence" to the world's media.
A formal statement to Holyrood will take place later.
Mr Salmond will highlight Scotland's "firm foundations", pointing out its finances are healthier than those of the UK and it has raised more in tax per head than the UK for the past 30 years. "The White Paper will make the economic, social and democratic case for independence and show that the better Scotland we all seek can only be achieved by putting the decisions about Scotland's future in the hands of the people of Scotland," he will say.
Alistair Darling, who leads the Better Together campaign, last night questioned the speed of establishing independence on the back of a Yes vote in just 18 months given the need to not only disentangle a 300-year-old union but also negotiate membership of the EU, Nato and other international organisations. "We are entitled to ask what sort of a deal we are likely to get on such a tight timetable and what the back-up plans are," he said.
Earlier, a war of words broke out over the SNP's desired currency union, with Alistair Carmichael, the Scottish Secretary, insisting it would not work.
But the SNP's Stewart Hosie said refusing to allow Scotland to use sterling was "bonkers" as it would create a massive trade imbalance that would result in the destruction of thousands of English jobs.
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