Tavish Scott: Norwegian model is not quite so attractive

SOCIAL democrats love Norway. Whether its social, tax or economic policy what is there not to like? The weather would be a poor answer to that question. Give me Bergen compared to the spring Scotland has had.

This week our First Minister, Alex Salmond, visited Norway and today the Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg is in Shetland opening a museum which commemorates the bravery of Shetland, British and Norwegian sailors who maintained a vital sea link during the Second World War.

Salmond was promoting renewables and the potential for a North Sea energy grid linking Scandinavia with the UK. This makes sense, so more power to the collective elbow on that. And his announcement of government assistance for Shetland’s bid to decommission North Sea oil rigs in the coming years is also welcome. A Norwegian company is jointly working with Shetland port businesses to make this happen.

However, what takes a bit of a brass neck is to compare Scotland before independence and Norway long after it. For that parallel to be drawn, and inevitably it was by Salmond’s main cheerleaders this week, the questions need answering. So what would be the rate of personal taxation in an independent Scotland? What would corporation tax be? Do the proponents of independence believe that Norwegian rates of tax are the model Scotland would follow? If so, the nation should be told.

The pound or the euro is on this list of questions too. If we are comparing Scotland to Norway, we should remember the Norwegians guard the kroner as a petro currency.

What circumstances would encourage the Norwegian central bank to articulate eurozone membership even if they were full members of the EU?

So if Norway is the model, then an independent Scotland would not seek membership of the EU. That is absolutely not the Nationalist position. Norway is an EU trading partner and shadows EC rules and requirements.

But on fishing policy Norwegians jealously guard the right to take a negotiating position in the interests of their fishermen. Being part of the EU certainly does not allow that.

I sense the euro and the EU will become a more significant issue for the Nationalists, because the SNP contains many who are just as euro sceptical as the Tories, while also retaining a wing that is pretty europhile.

Prime Minister Stoltenberg’s commitment in time to visiting Shetland on his way west is a great honour for a small island community with so many Scandinavian ties.

As Scotland considers the constitutional future, the Northern Isles are considering their future and who better to offer a little sage advice than a Norwegian. After all, the Vikings did the same some centuries back.

• Tavish Scott is LIberal Democrat MSP for Shetland