No ifs, no buts: Salmond must put his cards on the table
George Osborne, Danny Alexander and Ed Balls weren't lying when said they would not sign up to currency union with Scotland. It is not that the honour of these man is somehow beyond question. It's that they have now stated the case so strenuously that their credibility would not survive a U-turn. It would be the end of their career.
You might not trust what a politician says, but you can be sure they'll not put their career at risk. If the trio intended to back-peddle, they'd have used at least some caveats.
This morning, the Scottish affairs committee reached the same conclusion. Chair Ian Davidson commented:
"We have had complete clarity and openness on this from George Osborne, Ed Balls and Danny Alexander: from the leadership of the three main political parties in the United Kingdom. There is no shadow of doubt. All were unequivocal.
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"The Scottish government tries to give the impression that a currency union is still a possibility. It is not. This parrot is dead. Now voters urgently need to be told what the Scottish government has as a Plan B."
Osborne, Alexander and Balls were given the opportunity to introduce caveats when they appeared in front of the committee. They didn't.
Balls said:
"It would not happen, it should not happen, and it will not happen if there is a Labour government.
"Our position is unequivocal: it would not be in the interests of the rest of the UK or Scotland to attempt to negotiate a currency union. It can't be negotiated. It would be flawed, risky and unstable, and I wouldn't embark upon it. No ifs, no buts."
Osborne said:
"I have an obligation to put the facts in front of the people of Scotland as they make this decision, and the fact is—no ifs, no buts—that Scotland will not be able to share the pound if it votes to become independent. It is therefore incumbent on those who want Scotland to become independent and who want to take this great economic risk to spell out what their plan is. I have heard no plan."
Soon enough supporters of Scottish independence will have to face up to the fact that Westminster is not bluffing. It is not interested in providing a safety net for a separate country with a banking sector which is disproportionately large in relation to its economy. Supporters of Scottish independence, whose entire purpose is supposedly to put the country's future in the hands of its people, should have no interest in a system which would tie their economic future to that of another country in which they have no say.
The report concluded:
"The leadership of the three main political parties in the United Kingdom have made statements precluding a currency union, so unequivocal as to leave themselves without any room for manoeuvre. Now, no present or future chancellor or government could depart from this policy without totally destroying their credibility. We believe no change to the stated policy of no currency union is possible, either in the run-up to the general election of 2015 or beyond."
The conclusion is sound. On a personal or a party political level, Westminster simply could not afford to allow currency union any longer. It will not happen.
Salmond is desperate not to acknowledge it, not least because it would reveal how little political substance there is to be found beneath his swagger. But as a matter of basic political responsibility, he must at least lay out his Plan B so people can make an informed decision.
Instead, he issued his stock response to any mention of currency. He said:
"The pound is as much Scotland's as it is England, Wales and Northern Ireland's.
"And the fact a group of anti-independence Westminster MPs feel the need to issue a lame report like this shows just how vulnerable the 'no' campaign have become on this issue."
It's ironic that someone whose aim in life is to give the people of Scotland more power does not trust them enough to provide them with the information necessary for them to make decisions.
His opponents are not guilty of the same crime. Westminster parties are being increasingly clear about the extra powers they intend to hand to Holyrood in the event of a 'no' vote. Over the weekend, Labour's national policy forum made a binding commitment to a new Scotland Act in the party's first programme of government, if it wins in 2015.
Salmond is a talented politician. He would have been able to make the case for an independent currency if he had resisted the temptation to make his campaign for independence as conservative as possible. Now he is strapped to the mast, his assurances growing less convincing by the day.
In the six weeks or so before polling day – when the status-quo side of a referendum tends to enjoy a surge in support – the currency union question will make a sharp spotlight for his policies and his style of political campaigning.
