In a week’s time, Scotland will not hold a referendum about becoming independent. Everybody is describing it as such. But what is being voted on – and only by those who actually live in Scotland – is separation from England. [...] The problem for the Scots, though, is if they vote ''yes’’ next week, they will not get independence. Rather, they are voting for rule by Brussels. As Mr Cameron has brutally discovered, no EU member is truly independent. [...]
If the Scots do vote to separate then they will have to decide on a currency. Sterling, while genuinely independent, is not an option: it cannot be because of the role of the lender of last resort. The UK Government has ruled this out. Scotland could set up a new currency. But this would cause a flight of both capital and financial institutions that would hole the new currency below the waterline before it had floated off the dock. Or, they could join the euro and replace a relatively sympathetic Westminster and Threadneedle Street with a more distant Brussels and Frankfurt...
