Commentators give their verdicts on the latest Scottish independence paper

Kirsty Hughes -  founder and director of the Scottish Centre on European Relations

The Scottish Government’s new economy paper sets out a strong, medium-term picture of how an independent Scotland could develop a new economic and social model within the EU. Painting a picture of a higher productivity, sustainable, fairer economy, it compares that to the low growth, unstable, unequal UK.

What the paper is rather weaker on is many of the details of the transition path: How long until a Scottish pound is introduced, when a harder border to England will be introduced or when Scotland might re-join the EU (though perhaps more on that in a later EU paper).

READ MORE: RECAP: Latest on Liz Truss no-confidence fears as Jeremy Hunt reverses tax plans

Likewise, the paper does not deal with the question of whether Scotland could join the EU while using sterling. Potentially it could, for a transition period, but that’s not definite (and needs to be dealt with in the later EU paper). It's also optimistic, and unclear, on where the fiscal deficit may be before EU membership.

The paper does add good, useful analysis and ideas on the future Scotland-England Border. One key part of this is policy ideas on easing some of the barriers to services trade (the biggest part of rUK-Scotland trade) which will exist once an independent Scotland is in the EU. And the paper is good on benefits from migration and inward investment.

But there are no estimates of overall costs of new barriers to Scotland-rUK trade. The paper underlines the costs of Brexit but plays down the costs of there being an EU external border new border to rUK. And there are no estimates of how long it might take before the economic benefits of independence, including growth of trade with the EU and the rest of world, would take to surpass costs of barriers to rUK trade.

Overall, the Scottish Government’s new paper gives a much clearer picture of the new economic strategy an independent Scotland could have. But debates on the overall transition path and on deficit, debt, currency and borders will still continue.

Ruth Wishart - Journalist and broadcaster

Well it’s been a long time coming, but the Scottish Government’s latest paper on the post-independence landscape was finally published; somewhat overshadowed in many media quarters by the continuing soap opera at Westminster.

It’s not the least of the ironies of being chained to events in the London Parliament that the long-trailed statement from the First Minister, gets ambushed in terms of its timing by yet another bourach in the Commons.

The burden of it is welcome – a formal recognition that Scotland unchained has the industrial muscle and human resources to perform at least as well as other comparable nations. Recognition too of belatedly being able to borrow to invest and utilise revenues from the final years of fossil fuel exploration.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon 'teases' BBC journalist James Cook for interrupting during press conference

Over these many decades, such revenues were poured straight into the Treasury and used by London governments to ameliorate a raft of failed and damaging policies.

The acceptance that we require to have our own currency too is welcome, though many will wish fervently that the period of using sterling will be brief and the installation of a Scottish Central Bank swift.

Many things have changed radically since 2014, not least the fact that any Unionist tempted to trumpet that Scots should rely on the broad shoulders of the UK, and wrap itself in the security blanket of a United Kingdom, would quite properly be laughed out of town.

There will of course be debate and negotiations around the trade implications of Scotland rejoining the EU whilst England stays out.

Yet there will also be the happy thought that we can welcome the migrants the Scottish economy needs, and restore to the population and students in particular the freedom to live, work, study and travel across mainland Europe.

George Kerevan - Journalist and former SNP MP

We don’t learn a lot that’s new in the latest ScotGov position paper on the mechanics of independence, the third in the series.

Basically, this latest document is a rehash of the earlier SNP Growth Commission report of 2018. There’s lots on Scotland’s economic potential and a list of new institutions to be created – including a Central Bank, but nothing that really confronts the harsh realities that have appeared since 2018. These include the return of galloping inflation, a global energy crisis, and the trashing of UK public finances by the Tory regime at Westminster. If independence does happen next year, then the incoming government will have to confront these issues head on. This paper does not enlighten us on how.

READ MORE: Downing Street issues response to Nicola Sturgeon's economic case for Scottish independence

There remains a commitment to a separate Scottish currency but only when “practical”.  In the meantime we use the current gyrating, unstable pound, with our interest rates being sent into the stratosphere by the Bank of England. And fingers crossed whoever is the English Chancellor does not take punitive measures (trade sanctions, lending restrictions) should they consider ScotGov policies a threat to the stability of sterling. These concerns merit more attention.

That leaves fiscal policy – taxation and public spending – to carry the burden of economic management, as the paper admits. We get several pages noting there will be strong rules to constrain spending and borrowing, to maintain “sound finances”. But the paper blithely fails to reveal what the rules might be. The markets will clock this political ambiguity. The paper also talks vaguely about a new system of financial regulation. But why has no one in ScotGov designed this already, especially in the light of the near meltdown of the pension industry this month.

Gregor Gall - academic, editor of the Scottish Left Review and director of the Jimmy Reid Foundation

As with "Independence in the modern world - Wealthier, happier, fairer: Why not Scotland?", there is much to recommend in "A stronger economy with independence". It is replete with good intentions. But worryingly, nowhere is the key concept of "fairness" defined and spelled out. This was the same in that first paper.

Put very simply, one person's definition of fairness might not necessarily be that of another. It depends upon what politics and economic interests are informing their definitions. Indeed, one could go so far as to say that this other person might even see it as unfairness.

To establish what fairness means, at the most basic economic level, we have to have some notion of what is a minimum income for every citizen and establish by consensus that this can facilitate a decent and civil standard of living which closes off no options in terms of health, education and well-being. And this must be in relation to those that have most, the wealthy and very wealthy.

The paper on Scottish independence released by the Government on Monday (Image: -)

Without that, assertions that Scotland will be or can be fairer under independence are just that: Assertions. Worse than that, if to many "fairness" is palpably not about fairness as huge inequalities in wealth and income continue, this will lead to political disillusionment and abstention and possibly much worse like the strengthening of the Trumpian right.

Having a Scottish fair national minimum wage will institutionalise low pay which cannot in any way be said to constitute fairness. And, having a national minimum wage itself is a recognition of unfairness itself even if it does stop the very worst levels of exploitation. Having greater transparency on reporting on gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps will not in itself make the key difference. And developing a national action plan to extend collective bargaining coverage is not tantamount to extending collective bargaining coverage itself.