THE organisers of the upcoming Scottish currency conference have said they hope “to keep the momentum going” on finding a credible option for currency in an independent Scotland.
The Scottish Currency Group conference is taking place this weekend in Dunfermline, with speakers ranging from Richard Murphy to Common Weal, the European Movement in Scotland and international experts set to take to the stage.
Dr Tim Rideout (below), convener of the Scottish Currency Group, said the conference was organised for two reasons.
“The first is that preparing for the central bank is not difficult, and neither is introducing currency, he told The National.
“The second objective is to shame the complete inactivity and ineffectiveness of the Scottish Government.”
The conference will consider a range of ideas surrounding Scottish currency, both within an independent Scotland whilst also exploring the options available under the current terms of devolution.
“We’ve had five years where we’ve tried to interest the SNP leadership and engage with them,” Rideout continued.
“We submitted the first two reports we did privately to ministers and civil servants without releasing them to the public, in the hope that if it was all done behind the scenes they might actually read them and take some notice.
“But we’ve got to the stage where we’re not interested in being ignored any longer, so we’re just going to make some noise and get on with it.”
Rideout added that the SNP had made a mistake in 2014 by pretending that “everything stays the same” should Scotland be independent.
“Independence is about making the changes that you want to make,” he told The National.
“The whole point about independence is that we’re going to break eggs and create a new omelette which will be more acceptable to the typical person in Scotland.
“That’s going to mean things like comprehensive land reform, taking poverty seriously, higher taxes for some.”
The conference programme is non-party political, instead focusing on speakers who have practical experience in finance, currency and policy.
To find out more about the conference and to get tickets, click here.
