Meeting of the Parliament 13 June 2018
An independent country would face at least a decade of pain. It would have cuts to public services and would not have the back-up of significant oil revenues. It would have no control over its currency, and its economy would be prone to greater volatility.
Liberal Democrats are opposed to independence, and always have been. The commission confirms why we were right to oppose it in 2014 and why we are determined to stop it now. All the things that I want to achieve for Scotland—a country in which we invest in people through education and mental health services, champion science, innovation and research, take seriously our obligations to future generations and the environment, and treasure individuals’ freedoms and liberties—can be better achieved by our rejecting the nationalist case and the cuts and restrictions that it imposes on our country.
I move,
That the Parliament notes the analysis of the Sustainable Growth Commission; further notes the commission’s statements on public spending, the volatility of oil revenues, the economic volatility of small countries, Scotland’s control over the pound, and the extended period of financial pain, and believes that independence would be damaging for Scotland.
16:00