I HAVE never read such a negative, timid and foolish view of an independent Scotland from a supposed independence supporter as the interview with Andrew Wilson in the Herald on Sunday. Bear in mind, this man is an advisor to Nicola Sturgeon and is probably dripping the same nonsense in her ear.
He claims that in the event of a Yes vote in 2021 it would take five years to get to independence. That would make Scotland about the slowest of all newly independent countries to reach that goal.
He then states that it would take ten years to get our own currency and that we would have to use the pound in the interim. Again, why would Scotland be the slowest of all new independent countries to reach that goal?
READ MORE: Scotland 'could be fully independent by 2026' , Nicola Sturgeon adviser says
He makes great play of a supposed risk to pensions, mortgages and wages and that an independent Scotland would take at least 20 to 25 years to reach the standards of Denmark. Obvious nonsense. An utterly ruined Germany only took 15 years to become the dominant economy in Europe.
Finally, in a suggestion that is utterly incredible, he suggests that Gordon Brown and Alistair “Lord” Darling should be brought into our negotiations with Westminster. The mind boggles. These two men are the arch-enemies of independence and Brown in particular did his best to ruin the Yes campaign in 2014 with exactly the same arguments that Wilson uses on pensions and mortgages, which even the UK Treasury said were untrue.
Andrew Wilson used the word “risk” or “risky” many times. If we follow his cowardly arguments, we are best to forget the whole thing and let Boris Johnson and his ilk run Scotland for us, as we are just too frightened of the responsibility.
It must be a source of astonishment to him that about 150 countries have become successfully independent in the last 60 years without the timidity that he displays.
Everyone who votes Yes knows that there will be hard work and setbacks on the way but these challenges will be overcome.
Andrew Wilson is using every argument in the Unionist playbook to discourage a Yes vote, to the extent that he cannot really be a be a supporter of independence. He should therefore be removed from his post and replaced with someone who has the courage and ambition to see it through.
James Duncan
Edinburgh
I SHOULD like to support all the points made by L McGregor in his/her splendid letter about the baneful influence of Andrew Wilson. I too was left utterly depressed after reading what Wilson said on economic matters in his interview with Neil Mackay of the Herald on Sunday.
Wilson is steeped in the neoliberalism which has served most of us so badly for 40 years and which has been discredited and shown to be unsuited to a sustainable post-Covid recovery.
READ MORE: Andrew Wilson's Growth Report is scaring people away from independence
His contemptuous dismissal of modern monetary theory reveals that if he has read about it he certainly has not understood what he has read.
His ultra-cautious approach to independence and the sometime-in-the-distant future timetable really make one wonder if he is on our side at all. I have a staunch Unionist friend who dismisses my support for independence as emotional and not remotely pragmatic and cannot see that my view chimes with the people of 190-odd countries that regard independence as normal, whereas his view is the one that is shaped by a sentimental attachment to a Union that is no more. He approves strongly of Wilson’s approach, which suits his desire to put independence off for as long as possible.
The long delay Wilson wants plays into the hands of the Brit Nats. Can he not see that the nice English people he wants a deal with are not the people in the UK Government? The latter bear us no goodwill and are hell-bent on bringing us to heel.
What they could do to us in Wilson’s timescale does not bear thinking about.
Andrew M Fraser
Inverness
ANDREW Wilson is entirely correct when he says it could take ten years to introduce a Scottish currency. But it is no more correct and therefore no more meaningful or meaningless to point out that it could also be done in ten months, or ten weeks or ten days or even less. The essentials of the IT element, as a prominent ex European finance minster once pointed out, could take less than ten hours.
His statement will of course do nothing to motivate the social class E, D and C2 voters that are the bedrock of the indy vote, indeed the next No campaign will use Andrew’s statement to demotivate them from voting.
Some eschew – or the smart ones pretended to eschew – class analysis, but I for one will continue to refuse to do so. To strike a Churchillian pose on Scotland’s economic prospects, while eschewing the very Treasury levers Churchill ordered to be prepared in 1942 to prepare a land fit for heroes, is beyond irony.
Bill Ramsay
via email
I WAS a bit dubious regarding Andrew Wilson’s timescale for a Scottish currency. 15 years???
I’m certain that would give rUK plenty of time to undermine our economy, thus “proving” the decision to become independent was a bad one. When I got to the bit about Gordie Broon and Captain Darling “having a role to play” I nearly choked. Has Andrew been at the waccy baccy? The whole tone of his comments sounded more like an argument AGAINST becoming independent. I fear his spell in banking has had a profound effect, as his “vision” seems to be to create a Scottish version of the existing grossly corrupt banking system. I can’t see the population or SNP conference voting for THAT!
A corrupt system will persist until someone challenges it. An example of where unchallenged corruption leads is the current English government.
Barry Stewart
Blantyre
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel