Nicola Sturgeon to set out Scottish Government's currency policy

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will set out her government’s economic arguments for independence later today, providing clarity on which currency an independent Scotland would use.

The economic prospectus, due to be unveiled at a press conference in Bute House, will explain whether the Scottish Government plans to continue using the British pound, if Scotland becomes independent.

Scottish Government’s currency policy has most recently been based on the 2018 Sustainable Growth Commission report, which called for an independent Scotland to retain the pound for around a decade post-independence, outwith a formal currency union - a process known as ‘sterlingisation’.

The paper is also expected to include a £20bn ‘Building a New Scotland Fund’, funded from remaining oil revenue and borrowing.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon delivers her keynote speech during the SNP conference at The Event Complex Aberdeen (TECA) in Aberdeen, Scotland. Picture date: Monday October 10, 2022. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS SNP. Photo credit should read: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Ahead of the launch, the First Minister said: “Scotland has an abundance of skilled people, innovative businesses, and natural resources. We have everything it takes to be just as successful as comparable independent European countries.

“Our analysis from the first paper in the Building a New Scotland series shows that a dynamic economy and social justice go hand in hand. Each makes the other stronger.

“Scotland’s economy is one of the best performing in the UK – however the UK economy, particularly post-Brexit, is now lagging many EU and international comparators.

“The UK economic model is demonstrably failing and increasingly holding Scotland back. Independence is now essential to build an economy that works for everyone.”

Scottish Labour Finance spokesperson Daniel Johnson said: “The SNP need to drop the spin and come clean with people about the catastrophic reality of their economic plans.

“Despite wasting 15 years in government peddling the same old agenda, they still can’t answer even the most basic questions.

“They are gambling people’s livelihoods based on fantasy economics and wishful thinking.

“The last few weeks have exposed the high price we pay when reckless, ideologically-driven governments make impossible promises and unfunded plans.

“We need a change from this failing Tory government – but more chaos and economic turmoil isn’t the answer. We need a Labour government to build an economy that works for everyone and put an end to years of division and decline under the SNP and the Tories.”

The paper has been authored with “full input” from Scottish Greens ministers, according to Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie, although many areas of economic policy are excluded from the Bute House Agreement between the Scottish Greens and the SNP.

Scottish Conservative finance spokesperson Liz Smith said: “The Scottish Greens are well known for their extreme views on the economy, which extend as far as being uncomfortable with the very idea of economic growth.

“Nationalists are already unable to address the big questions over pensions, currency, and trade, but having this paper partly authored by the Greens will likely mean that these questions won’t get a sensible answer any time soon.”

The Scottish Lib Dem finance spokesperson, John Ferry, said: “The SNP Scottish Government seem determined to bring another economic crisis into our lives with their misguided currency plan, that they themselves rejected in 2014 on the basis of the damage it would cause.

“They need to stop pedalling this fantasy that a Scottish government cutting us off from our currency base and central bank sometime in the mid-2020s is somehow in our national interest.”