SIMON WATKINS: Claims that an independent Scotland could share the Bank of England are nonsense
United front: Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond
All three major political parties have come out against a currency union with Scotland if it votes for independence this autumn – a view I share unequivocally and propounded in this column two weeks ago.
What is risible is the response of Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who last week claimed that Scotland should take a share of the UK’s assets and debts if it became independent.
A fair enough argument, but to claim as he does that sterling and the Bank of England is just ‘an asset’ is arrant nonsense.
While in shorthand this argument is about the pound, it is not about coins and notes, it is about monetary policy – the management of the supply of money and the rate of interest.
The Bank of England is not just a building full of gold, it is an arm of Government and national economic policy.
An independent Scotland wanting to keep the Bank as its monetary policy body would be like insisting that it also use the Treasury, Department for Education or Department of Health, and expecting those Whitehall departments to make decisions and take responsibility for tax rates, health and education policy in a foreign country.
That is of course an option and it is called staying in the UK.
When Salmond calls sterling and the Bank of England ‘an asset’, ignore him. It is a red herring.
Can Sir Stuart Rose get any busier?
The former Marks & Spencer chief is already chairman at Ocado, fashion group Fat Face, Oasis dental care... I could go on. Suffice to say that Sir Stuart is chairman of five companies and has a number of other non-executive or advisory roles.
Now he has been appointed as an adviser to the NHS. The suitability of a store boss to advise a public service is a matter for politicians and health experts to debate.
Sir Stuart has been wise enough to admit that M&S differs from a hospital, but says his skills in managing people and resources could have value. Perhaps he could also do something about the styling of patients’ hospital gowns?
Joking aside, there is a lurking issue here for the business community and that is spotting when a director is too far and too thinly spread. One of the lessons of the banking crisis was that too many chairman seemed to have an inadequate grasp of the firms they were overseeing.
Many critics warned that chairmanships – a role whose oversight is crucial to protecting investors’ interests – were not being treated with the gravity they required.
I would not question Sir Stuart’s commitment to carry out the roles he has taken on, but his portfolio is now vast.
While his ambition is a credit to him, it runs the risk of cheapening the title of chairman.
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