It's crystal clear

It is now crystal clear what voting yes in the independence referendum really means, in spite of all the assertions to the contrary. It means a return to the banking system of the 1700s, with no central bank and no bank bailouts. The Adam Smith Institute seems to think that this would encourage banks to be more responsible. Sounds a bit like putting a fox in charge of the hen house to Calton. Would you really trust a bank with your hard-earned savings in those circumstances? They may tell you that they have enough English banknotes in the vault to guarantee the Scottish notes they are printing but could you believe them? Would you? Meanwhile the SNP continue to cling to the idea that they will get a currency union with rUK in the event of a yes vote, while rumours circulate on twitter that today was possibly Alex Salmond's last FMQs. Oh, that it were true! Calton would jump for joy.

SNP groupthink heading straight for the cliff?

Of course we can still have the pound if we vote for independence. What we can't have is a formal currency union with the rest of the UK. Osborne and Balls have made that quite clear and Calton sees no reason to doubt them or to think that they will change their minds. It is therefore truly sad to hear Salmond continuing to peddle the same old "bluff and bluster" nonsense, while, at the same time, threatening to walk away from the UK's debt if he doesn't get his way. It is even sadder to hear those in his party trot out the same line, as Angela Constance did on the BBC's Any Questions? on Friday night. Do they not have either the brains to realise that they are talking complete rot or the guts to defy the party line and come out with something more sensible? Do they not realise how idiotic they sound, parroting their dear leader. Are they all going to follow him over the cliff, lemming-style? And can Calton be there to pick up the scraps when they do?

Annabel Goldie did a good job of demolishing the SNP party line on Any Questions? - it should be required listening for all SNP MSPs.

It's gone to their heads!

The Deputy First Minister is sticking like a plaster to the idea of a currency union because she believes that it is the "right position for Scotland and the rest of the UK". Now, Calton is not a psychiatrist but, in his opinion, Sturgeon is showing worrying signs of grandiose delusions. This isn't the first time that she has justified a political course of action by saying that it was the "right thing to do". The question is, right in whose eyes? The answer, it seems, is right in Sturgeon's own eyes because she is god and what she says, goes. Judging by her interview on Daily Politics with Andrew Neil she is absolutely convinced that Osborne et al are bluffing and so there is no need for the SNP to have a currency plan B. It didn't matter how many times Neil tried to rub her nose in the facts, she did not waver from her unsupported convictions. Is that not the very definition of delusional? Regardless of where the currency debate goes, Calton is now thinking that the real reason to vote NO is because he doesn't want to be governed by a bunch of nutters. The power of a majority at Holyrood has obviously gone to their heads. Maybe we should be asking Westminster to take some powers back off them!

SNP - losing touch with reality?

Calton is seriously concerned about the collective mental health of the SNP government. They seem to be increasingly losing touch with reality and are, instead, living in a world of their own making. Having tried to bully Westminster into accepting a currency union with an independent Scotland by stating that it would "make sense", they now accuse Westminster of trying to bully them now that Westminster are refusing to play the game. It seems that the SNP are so lost in their own assertions they are unable to cope when someone introduces a note of reality. Interviewed on Newsdrive today, SNP MP Stewart Hosie was completely unable to accept the fact that it looks like all three main parties at Westminster are going to give currency union the thumbs down tomorrow. He clung to the idea that it is only a bluff, like a drowning man clings to a plank of wood. Well good luck with that, Stewart. As far as Calton is concerned, Osborne, Balls and Alexander will bring some much-needed clarity to the independence debate if they rule out a currency union. Far better that we know where we stand before we vote in September, rather than believing all the SNP's assertions and Oprah-style positive thinking. It is now becoming crystal clear that the SNP are so convinced of their alternative reality that they have no plan B for an independent Scotland's currency. They cannot imagine anyone not agreeing with them. It seems to Calton that such an attitude is bordering on the delusional.

Things can only get better?

The SNP truly are deluded. Faced with negative comments from Wales over the Sterling zone and warning noises from Spain over EU membership, their response is to say, effectively, that the rUK would be mad not to include Scotland in a currency union and the EU would be insane not to want Scotland as a member. Well, which of them has lost their marbles is a matter of opinion - in Calton's opinion it's the SNP, not Wales or Spain.

The other common delusion currently doing the rounds is that things couldn't possibly be any worse than they are at present, under the Westminster government, so we would be better off voting for independence. Wrong. Things not only could be a lot worse, they will be a lot worse. You've only to look at the costs involved in some of the proposals in the White Paper (renationalised mail service, separate TV, new passports, separate tax system) to realise that Scotland will be the poorer if we go it alone. Divorces cost money and it's the Scottish people who will foot the bill for this one. Far from being a richer, fairer nation, we will be impoverished for decades and it's pensioners and the poor who will suffer the most. If that's scaremongering, Calton is guilty as charged but the vision the SNP have set out for Scotland is what is truly frightening.

(Oh, and by the way, Calton was half-asleep yesterday morning but he's sure he heard someone from the SNP say that "independence in Europe" is the only sort of independence currently on the table, and, of course, that is no independence at all. Nice to have that clarified by the Yes campaign.)

If this is Utopia, no thankyou

It may well be sensible, reasonable, logical, etc, etc for the rUK to be in a sterling currency union with us post-indy but the noises coming from England and Wales are not positive at the moment. It would inspire more confidence if the SNP listened to those noises, rather than ignoring them, and answered the questions the noises generate, such as the one posed by Drew Smith at Holyrood this afternoon (35 mins in), instead of ducking the issue, as the Deputy First Minister did.

Calton has still to digest the contents of the White Paper (literally) but one thing did stand out today and that is the SNP's nightmare vision of an independent Scotland bankrolled by the taxes of women freed from the drudgery of caring for their own children by increased state provision of nurserycare, which will, in turn, provide 35,000 low paid jobs for women, caring for other women's children while their mothers work in the modern equivalent of the old mills - call centres and warehouses. The irony of it all seemed, unfortunately, to be lost on Ms Sturgeon as she enthusiastically presented this Utopia that could be ours, if we vote yes. Yet another reason to vote NO.

Sheep, deer and now windfarms?

At last - someone on the Yes campaign talking sense about a Scottish currency post-independence. Dennis Canavan usually does talk sense, which makes Calton wonder why he is backing Yes Scotland? Oh well, we all have our blind spots, although Canavan is spot on with his analysis of why Scotland should have its own currency rather than Sterling. Unfortunately the SNP continue to be deaf as well as blind to the views of their Yes Scotland partners, or perhaps Calton should say fortunately, as it plays right into the hands of the unionists and Calton is becoming more pro-union with every day that passes.

Talking of blind spots, it looks like Calton is going to need a few when he visits the mountains in future. If the new plans to protect wild land from wind farm development go ahead, he will be safe from flying into a turbine, however, it looks like the pockets of designated mountainous wild land are going to be surrounded by seas of turbines and so the view is hardly going to be unspoilt. Also, some very scenic and wild lower areas are not included in the core areas of wild land drawn up by SNH, notably large parts of Ardgour, Ardnamurchan, Moidart and Morar, which presumably means that they will be targeted by windfarm developers. This seems completely crass given the near-impossibility of building any houses in some of those areas due to draconian planning restrictions. If new houses have been deemed to be detrimental to the scenic nature of eg Moidart, how much more detrimental will wind turbines be! Calton thinks that SNH should go away and think again.

Settling for Plan B

Calton is indebted to the First Minister for explaining the difference between fiscal policy and monetary policy at FMQs today, however he is not sure if Alex answered Johann Lamont's question, namely, does the First Minister have a Plan B if the Bank of England doesn't give us good terms on Sterling? Calton is also not so sure that you can separate fiscal and monetary policy quite so easily as the First Minister seemed to be suggesting. Granted, the Bank of England is nominally independent of Westminster, however the inflation target which it is trying to meet is set by Westminster and, should one be in any doubt about the link between the Chancellor and the BofE, the former gave the latter a new remit yesterday in the Budget. Would the Chancellor of an independent Scotland be able to do the same? What if the two Chancellors do not agree on monetary policy? Under the SNP's plans, Scotland would be able to set taxes and spending levels but would not be in control of interest rates, inflation or the money supply. Perhaps Johann is putting her question the wrong way round - why are the SNP settling for Plan B for an independent Scotland when we could have a Plan A?

Calton said it first

Calton has been saying for quite some time now that, if an independent Scotland is to truly have control over its economic policy, it needs to have its own currency. Now, leading economist Professor John Kay has said much the same thing. He thinks that it would be right to try and retain the pound but the cost might be restrictions on our fiscal freedom. John Swinney has welcomed the Professor's contribution to the debate which leads Calton to wonder if he actually listened to/read it. So, for the benefit of Signalman Swinney, here it is in plain language - we won't be the ones pulling the fiscal levers if we keep the pound. It would therefore seem wise to have an alternative option if Sterling proves too tricky. It's called the Groat. (Anyone who expected Calton to say the Euro has (a) not been reading this blog and (b) deserves their eyes pecked out.)

The penny is dropping

Nice to see that the penny has finally dropped regarding Scotland's currency post-independence in quarters other than Calton's eyrie. Sadly, Bute House is not one of them. Our First Minister still clings to the idea that we can keep Sterling if independent and share the Bank of England with England. One would have thought that the name of the bank would give Alex a clue as to where its loyalties lie but no, in his hubris he thinks he will be able to tell it what to do. What utter nonsense. Yet another SNP policy built on the shifting sands of assertion rather than the rock of reality.

What do they take us for?

It would be laughable if it wasn't so serious - Alistair Darling makes a very pertinent point about monetary union eventually leading to political union and all the SNP can say in return is that "Dozens of countries have become independent from Westminster since 1945, and none have chosen to return to London rule." Yes, but how many of those countries retained Sterling? Not very many. Either the SNP are a bunch of thickos who can't understand basic economic principles or else they think that we are. The latter would tie in with their arrogant attitude when it comes to listening to the people of Scotland. It may well fall on deaf ears as far as the Scottish Government are concerned however Calton would like to say again that full independence can only be achieved with our own central bank and our own currency. To suggest anything else is nonsense.

It takes two to tango

Alex Salmond's arrogance really is becoming insupportable. All three opposition leaders asked relevant and reasonable questions at today's FMQs and none of them got a decent reply. Calton is particularly concerned about the SNP leader's tendency to brand anyone who dares question the wisdom of independence as a denigrator of Scotland. Cheap shot Eck. Johann Lamont was quite right to question the SNP's hopes of having an influence on the MPC in the event of Scotland becoming independent and wishing to continue using Sterling. Has the First Minister, in his hubris, forgotten that it takes two to tango and that there is the small matter of getting the rest of the UK to agree to us using Sterling to be overcome? Indeed, the Treasury has said that an independent Scotland which retained the pound would "create similar risks to those we see in the Eurozone", which is not going to instill confidence in a monetary union amongst our southern neighbours. If they have any sense, they will tell us to get lost. If Alex had any sense he would stop grandstanding on shaky foundations and get down to some serious discussions with Westminster.

Limited room for manoeuvre

So, Alex Salmond has finally admitted that if an independent Scotland wants to use Sterling, it will have to have a fiscal stability pact with, er, the rest of the UK. That will be the countries which Scotland has just thumbed its nose at and divorced itself from. Does he really think that we are going to get good terms in those circumstances? Especially when you consider that the remainder of the UK will still be 10 times larger than us. We will very much be the junior partner and the only thing worse, as far as Calton can see, is joining the Euro. He notices that the First Minister also managed to neatly sidestep Andrew Neil's pertinent question on whether such a stability pact would limit Scotland's room for manoeuvre. That's because the answer is of course it would! Nice try Andrew but two damaging admissions from the SNP Leader in one interview is probably a bit too much to hope for.

Willie Rennie gets it

When, oh when, are the SNP going to realise that they will not have the full range of fiscal powers that they want if Scotland does not have its own currency? John Swinney is talking through his hat. If he wants 'real independence' he needs to go the whole hog and cut loose from both Westminster and Brussels. We can't have an independent monetary or fiscal policy while tied to sterling or the euro. It just doesn't work. Sharing a currency with another country means agreeing on spending limits, interest rates, acceptable inflation and so on and so on (if we are lucky). If we are unlucky it means having our fiscal policy dictated to us by Germany. If Willie Rennie can grasp that then surely the Finance Secretary can grasp it. No?

Alex where's your bottle?

Calton is not normally a fan of the Red Squirrel of the North however Danny Alexander is quite right in highlighting the dangers of Scotland becoming independent and yet continuing to use Sterling. If the SNP are sincere in their desire to have the fiscal levers needed to strengthen recovery, boost growth and create jobs then they need to have fiscal autonomy, ie their own currency and their own central bank. Becoming independent yet tied to Sterling would leave us in a worse position than we are at present. Ditto becoming independent and adopting the Euro. Calton is not the only one who is starting to question why Alex Salmond does not understand this. Does he not have the bottle to go for full independence for Scotland, political and fiscal?