Salmond rebuts 'arc of insolvency'

Published on Sunday 12 October 2008 22:05

ALEX Salmond insisted yesterday that Scotland would have been better off in the current economic crisis had it been independent.

The First Minister was responding to Labour claims that an independent Scotland would have experienced the sort of difficulties currently affecting Ireland, which is in a recession, and Iceland, which has had a banking meltdown.

Mr Salmond argued that Scotland would have been able to act quickly and decisively, like Ireland had done, to restore confidence in its banks, and might have been more like Norway, which is cushioned by a multi-billion-pound oil fund.

The argument was started by Jim Murphy, the new Scottish Secretary, who seized on remarks made by Mr Salmond several years ago when he praised Ireland, Iceland and Norway as the "arc of prosperity" and said Scotland should aspire to join that group.

Mr Murphy derided the three countries as the "arc of insolvency".

But Mr Salmond responded by insisting that Ireland and Iceland were not suffering because of their size, but because of the global crisis.