AN independent Scotland would become "an international outcast" if it refuses to accept a share of the UK national debt, according to former prime minister Gordon Brown.
"There is no hiding place in the international community for a country that reneges on their debts," the Fife MP warned in a speech in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire.
Mr Brown set out "five positives" of remaining in the UK: one million jobs "linked to our membership of the UK"; the £425 million more pensioners receive "from being part of the UK pension system"; £1 billion more spending on the NHS than Scotland's population share; a lower cost of living "as part of the UK" and also keeping sterling.
The Scottish Government has dismissed Westminster's pledge to veto a currency union as a campaign tactic but warned that it would withhold Scotland's share of the UK national debt if Westminster refuses to share the assets of the Bank of England.
Mr Brown said: "Nationalists forget that once Scotland ends the system of sharing - through which the whole of the UK contributes to Scottish jobs, pensions, health care and costs of living - there is no way back.
"Yet their argument that there is an easy option in going it alone looks thinner and thinner every day.
"When pressured by Alistair Darling on the currency, Mr Salmond and Mr Swinney have now made the most dangerous statement of all: that they would default on Scotland's debts. There is no hiding place in the international community for a country that reneges on their debts.
"With a total of 1.4 million Scottish jobs linked to Scotland's trade with the wider world, it is difficult to see how the SNP's 'stop the world, I want to get off' posturing would help Scottish families. You need a coherent strategy for dealing with global capital, global financial markets and global institutions.
"Yet the SNP's proposal to default on the debt would make Scotland an international outcast, with dire consequences for our interest rates and our ability to raise funds."
The Scottish Government insists Scotland cannot "default" on a debt it is not legally liable for, saying Westminster has accepted liability for the whole debt in the event of independence.
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 hereComments are closed on this article