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| Scottish independence: Alex Salmond says UK should share currency | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Scotland's first minister has said a shared currency after independence would be the best option for Scotland and the rest of the UK. | Scotland's first minister has said a shared currency after independence would be the best option for Scotland and the rest of the UK. |
| Alex Salmond said a range of options on the currency had been set out by his expert panel but a shared Sterling union was the one it recommended. | Alex Salmond said a range of options on the currency had been set out by his expert panel but a shared Sterling union was the one it recommended. |
| He said if the UK claimed ownership of the currency it would also be liable for Scotland's share of national debt. | He said if the UK claimed ownership of the currency it would also be liable for Scotland's share of national debt. |
| UK Chancellor George Osborne again said the currency union would not happen. | UK Chancellor George Osborne again said the currency union would not happen. |
| Mr Osborne appeared on the BBC's Andrew Marr show along with the Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls who has agreed with the Tory chancellor that a currency union would not be negotiated should Scotland vote for independence in September's referendum. | Mr Osborne appeared on the BBC's Andrew Marr show along with the Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls who has agreed with the Tory chancellor that a currency union would not be negotiated should Scotland vote for independence in September's referendum. |
| The chancellor said: "It is of course for the people of Scotland to make their own decision and neither Ed nor I are going to have a vote in this referendum but I think it is important that people go into this referendum knowing the facts. | The chancellor said: "It is of course for the people of Scotland to make their own decision and neither Ed nor I are going to have a vote in this referendum but I think it is important that people go into this referendum knowing the facts. |
| "And the truth is the Labour Party and the Conservative Party, and therefore any combination of government you can think of in Westminster, has taken the view that we can't share the pound, that it wouldn't work, it wouldn't be in the interest of Scotland, it wouldn't be in the interest of the rest of the UK. | "And the truth is the Labour Party and the Conservative Party, and therefore any combination of government you can think of in Westminster, has taken the view that we can't share the pound, that it wouldn't work, it wouldn't be in the interest of Scotland, it wouldn't be in the interest of the rest of the UK. |
| "And so if you walk away from the UK you walk away from the pound and that leaves Alex Salmond as a man without a plan." | "And so if you walk away from the UK you walk away from the pound and that leaves Alex Salmond as a man without a plan." |
| Mr Balls said it would be the "Europe crisis in spades" to try to keep the currency "while breaking up all the other different bonds". | Mr Balls said it would be the "Europe crisis in spades" to try to keep the currency "while breaking up all the other different bonds". |
| He added: "George and I disagree on the bedroom tax, I want to get it abolished, I want a jobs guarantee, I want the 50p tax rate back. But on the issue of the pound I have to say I really do think Alex Salmond is painting a false prospectus and I think it is important that we all call him out on that." | He added: "George and I disagree on the bedroom tax, I want to get it abolished, I want a jobs guarantee, I want the 50p tax rate back. But on the issue of the pound I have to say I really do think Alex Salmond is painting a false prospectus and I think it is important that we all call him out on that." |
| National debt | National debt |
| Mr Salmond told the Marr programme that people could see through the "bluff and bluster" of Mr Osborne and Mr Balls and that they would negotiate a currency union with Scotland. | Mr Salmond told the Marr programme that people could see through the "bluff and bluster" of Mr Osborne and Mr Balls and that they would negotiate a currency union with Scotland. |
| The first minister said not sharing the pound would cost the rest of the UK more than it would cost Scotland. | The first minister said not sharing the pound would cost the rest of the UK more than it would cost Scotland. |
| He said the transaction costs for UK business if Scotland had a separate currency could be about £500m a year. | He said the transaction costs for UK business if Scotland had a separate currency could be about £500m a year. |
| Mr Salmond also said: "If you claim ownership of all the assets of the United Kingdom, like the Bank of England and the currency, then you end up with all the liabilities - that includes £100bn which would otherwise be Scotland's share of the national debt. | Mr Salmond also said: "If you claim ownership of all the assets of the United Kingdom, like the Bank of England and the currency, then you end up with all the liabilities - that includes £100bn which would otherwise be Scotland's share of the national debt. |
| "That's why it is bluff and bluster and that's why people will see through it." | "That's why it is bluff and bluster and that's why people will see through it." |
| Voters in Scotland go to the polls on 18 September when they will be asked the "Yes/No" question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" | Voters in Scotland go to the polls on 18 September when they will be asked the "Yes/No" question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" |