THE 10th anniversary of the Scottish independence vote was a muted affair with little serious coverage in the UK or international media.

You could be forgiven for believing that very little is happening and that the Lion Rampant is lying dormant in a long hibernation.

That would be very wrong and is certainly not the case for us in the Scottish Currency Group.

We held our second annual conference at the Carnegie Centre, Dunfermline, on September 21-22. It was the first time since the Covid pandemic that we have had the opportunity to meet in person.

Attendance exceeded our expectations with more than 180 people physically present and a further 173 online. Speakers, many of them international guests, covered a wide range of topics relevant to issuing and managing of a currency for Scotland.

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The opening highlight was an online presentation from Dr Thibault Laurentjoye from Aalborg University in Denmark setting the scene by presenting his paper Currency Options for Wales, commissioned by the Welsh Senedd and paid for by the taxpayer – an initiative that the SNP Government could have acted on over these past 10 years.

The report recommends that Wales, if voting for independence, should issue its own currency on day one as the best choice. This supports our studies and conclusions for an independent Scotland.

Tim Rideout, convener of the Scottish Currency Group, said: “Currency was once again a hot topic during debates marking the 10th anniversary of the independence referendum and it will continue to be a live issue for as long as Scottish independence is supported by such a large proportion of Scottish people.”

The conference sessions are now available to view on YouTube. Speakers were diverse and included Dr Jón Egilsson, chair of the Icelandic Central Bank supervisory board, and Malan Johansen, executive director of Landsbanki Foroya, the Faroe Islands’ Governmental Bank. The latter also explained that all but one of their main island communities are connected by subsea tunnels, no longer relying on ferries!

ROBIN McAlpine was as good value as ever, describing what the independence movement needs to do on strategy and the campaigning front.

He was followed by Rory Hamilton from Common Weal on implementing a Green New Deal – but not suggesting closing the Grangemouth refinery without being ready and capable of transition.

Other speakers were Professor Richard Murphy, David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, and Luke Bates, former head of risk at Tesco Bank.

Our focus within our working group is on preparing the way for the Scottish currency and the Scottish Reserve Bank – very much the nuts and bolts. Topics were not confined to currency, however.

Roger Mullin gave an interesting talk on the need to re-establish a Scottish Stock Exchange and David Clarke, from the European Movement in Scotland, outlined how much we have lost when compared to Ireland across the financial sector as well as ideas to address such losses. Andrew Murray provided us with the details of how an independent Scotland could transition easily from the current London regulatory model to a specific Scottish values-based regime.

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Professor Robbie Mochrie from the Heriot-Watt University economics department further developed this topic, reminding us that Canada avoided the 2008 banking crisis precisely because it followed the 19th century Scottish banking principles and model.

We were honoured to have such dignitaries as Douglas Chapman, Ash Regan, Simon Forrest and Lesley Riddoch introducing our guest speakers and adding to the overall optimism of the events.

Lively question and answer opportunities took place throughout the events and we were delighted with the quality of the points from the floor.

The room was buzzing and there was an overwhelming feeling of optimism, an optimism based on the fact people within the movement, such as the SCG, are developing detailed plans for independence.

While the SCG are non-political, we are partisan. All believe that only with independence and our currency can Scotland flourish.

WE need to use our resources to create well-paid jobs in Scotland for our children and grandchildren, ending the perpetual drain south of our brightest and best, and the deliberate de-industrialisation of Scotland since 2014.

Grangemouth is only the most recent example – there’s the new subsea cable going into the North Sea at Peterhead and taking all the wind-generated electricity from the Highlands to Yorkshire as part of “levelling up” in the north-east!

It’s the very definition of a colonial extractive economy – Scotland is an economic desert.

As chair, I ended the event by giving Ash Regan a £1 Scottish banknote to nationalise Grangemouth – something that would be happening now if Scotland were independent with our own currency.

We are looking to engage and develop our plans across the movement. Please join us on our Facebook page.