Letter: Scare tactics from Warner

GERALD Warner claims Scotland would receive Third World status if separated from the Union (Insight, 8 May). Why does Mr Warner, and others who oppose independence, believe that Scotland would struggle to survive on its own?

Despite the fact that Westminster's latest report (GERS) has Scotland 1.3 billion in surplus while the UK is almost 49 billion in deficit, Mr Warner claims "the economic argument against independence is irrefutable".

He then goes on to cite the banking crisis as evidence, claiming Scotland could not have afforded to bail out RBS and HBOS. This reasoning is both misleading and flawed. The vast majority of countries in the Western world have not been able to afford to bail out their banks, the UK included, that is why we have such massive borrowing and public sector cuts. In an independent Scotland, although not being able to avoid these cuts entirely, they could have been offset somewhat by the billions of pounds we would have received directly from the banks through such payments as corporation tax.

If Mr Warner wants to be taken seriously in arguing the case for Scotland to remain in the Union he needs to refrain from dishonest scare tactics and use rational debate grounded in facts.

Zander Sneddon, Eskbank, Midlothian