As she laid out her plans for an independent Scotland today, Nicola Sturgeon claimed Prime Minister Liz Truss’ decision not to tender her resignation demonstrates how “badly broken” UK politics is.
Following the chancellor’s emergency statement today, the first minister said that if she had given in to demands made by Tories and commentators on the day of the mini budget to match the UK government’s tax plans she too “would be dealing with something of a financial disaster.”
She said: “It will also be galling, I think, that the one measure that the prime minister has repeatedly cited to effectively justify the market turmoil of recent weeks, the energy price cap has also been curtailed, leaving many people and possibly many businesses without the support with energy bills that they were expecting.”
Launching her economic prospectus paper on Scottish independence, Ms Sturgeon said a “fairer, more sustainable economy was more possible for Scotland with independence than it ever will be with continued Westminster control”.
She said: “In 2014, the choice before the Scottish people was framed by Westminster parties as the strength and stability of the UK on the one hand and the uncertainty of independence on the other. The reality in the years since has been very different.
“It is glaringly obvious now that the UK does not offer economic strength and stability or financial security.”
Setting out some of her plans, Ms Sturgeon said she would create an independent Scottish central bank and confirmed that the policy of the Scottish government was to establish a Scottish pound.
“We would seek to do this as soon as practicable. The precise timing would be determined not by a fixed timetable, but by a set of objective requirements and criteria guided by advice from the central bank and subject to a decision by parliament in the overall interests of the country.”