Sterling dilemma

Scottish Secretary of State Alistair Carmichael’s candidness in asserting that a sterling union with an independent Scotland “is not going to happen” can only be welcomed (your report, 23 November).

However, it does raise some concerns about whether he is fit to represent Scotland’s interests in the Westminster government. Either he truly believes in what he has said, and would hence support a block on a sterling union irrespective of whether it was in the interests of the constituents he has been elected to serve and the country whose interests he has been appointed to represent, or he doesn’t believe in it and is simply speaking under instructions from his coalition colleagues. 

Unfortunately for Mr Carmichael, neither alternative appears to bode particularly well for his political future. 

Thomas Roberts

Wester Coates Gardens

Edinburgh