Start-up costs
Tom Peterkin reports (“Unionist parties challenge Salmond on set-up costs”, 6 June) that the three unionist party leaders have written a joint letter to the First Minister demanding that in the light of the UK Treasury’s £1.5 billion estimate he put a price tag on the start-up costs of an independent Scotland.
Assuming that the UK Treasury’s estimate is not far off the eventual figure, this works out at roughly £300 for every man, woman and child living here.
I cannot help hazarding a guess, therefore, that if instead of deciding to preach the advantages (sic) of continued governance from Westminster, Better Together’s triple unionist alliance had chosen to campaign for Scotland to be given complete freedom to run its own affairs, they would regard £1.5bn as a bargain.
Korstiaan Allan
Whitingford