NICOLA Sturgeon has today set out her “ambitious” and “credible” proposals to win independence as she prepares to update Scotland in the coming days on her plans for a second referendum. In a major intervention the First Minister referred to the ongoing Brexit turmoil and more people being open to back the Yes case, but she suggested such voters may not be won over with easy answers.
READ THE FIRST MINISTER'S EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE NOW: Sturgeon: Our currency plan is ambitious AND credible – it can win us independence
“I believe we [will win over voters] not with deceptively simple assertions, but with an honest assessment of how we overcome challenges, alongside vision, ambition and a clear prospectus for the future,” she said.
Her article in The National comes a week ahead of the SNP conference where delegates will vote on a new economic framework for independence based on Andrew Wilson’s Sustainable Growth Commission.
The report, published last year, has been criticised by some in the SNP who are sceptical to its approach to independence and oppose the continued use in the new state of the pound which would be used without there being a formal currency union with the UK.
Wilson has suggested an independent Scotland could adopt a new currency when six economic tests are met but critics want a faster route and believe without one economic policy Scotland would be significantly influenced by the UK and could mean continued austerity.
SNP delegates will vote on a revised version of Wilson’s plan which give more guarantees an independent Scotland would work towards having a new currency.
READ MORE: A Holyrood election is the best option for an independence vote
“The SNP is being asked to adopt, for the first time, a policy position...in favour of an independent currency. The resolution sets out that we will do so when the conditions are right, and only when we have completed the necessary preparations. Our ambition is to complete these steps within the first term of an independent Parliament. That is significant and important,” said Sturgeon saying the SNP would “never pursue austerity”.
And she warned critics without six economic tests being met or without a vote in Holyrood that their plans would undermine the prospect of a Yes vote. “The six tests – that we have a functioning and credible Central Bank, that our fiscal position is sufficiently strong, that we have a sufficiency of reserves to manage our currency, and that a new currency would meet the needs of citizens and businesses and the economy overall – are reasonable,” she said.
READ MORE: We should vote for independence while we are still in the EU
“However, it is another thing entirely to suggest the process should not be governed by any tests at all or that there should be no objective input from the independent Central Bank. To do so would be tantamount to telling people we will press ahead regardless of our state of preparedness, or the state of the economy, or indeed the interests of the country as a whole. That would not be a responsible approach to take. And it would undermine rather than enhance the case for a Yes vote.”
In a bid to unite the party, she concluded: “My job – as the SNP leader hoping to lead the party into and through a successful independence referendum – is to put forward policy positions that are ambitious, but also credible... turning our debates into reality depends on winning a majority for independence – and that means persuading Scotland in all its diversity that it is the best way forward. It is that task, more than any, that unites our movement. And it is that task to which we must devote our energies.”
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