The
Geographer
The Scottish Government insists
that, once North Sea activity
and tax receipts are assigned to
Scotland, Scottish GDP per head
will be higher than that of rUK on
Independence Day. A relative GDP
assignment of liabilities would
therefore be less favourable to
Scotland than a population share
assignment. For the liabilities and
contingent liabilities arising from
the UK bailout of failing banks in
2008-9 (including RBS and the
then Bank of Scotland group), I am
not aware of any agreed principles
of international law that may be
applicable.
Shared services
This should not be difficult, so long
as the distinction between assets
and institutions is borne in mind.
As recently explained by Adam
Tomkins, John Millar Professor
of Public Law at the University
of Glasgow, “international law
shows you that, in the context of
a state succession of this nature,
there is every difference between
institutions and assets. Institutions
of the UK become institutions
of the rest of the UK, but assets
of those institutions fall to be
apportioned equitably.”
The assets of the DVLA and the
BBC (studios, computer systems,
vans, etc) may be apportioned
equally. But as institutions, they
would be institutions of rUK after
independence. It is only common
sense that Scotland should then
seek to buy some services from
them, but that would be a matter
of contractual agreement.
Common Travel Area (CTA)
The CTA should be easy, on two
conditions: (i) that the EU does
not insist on Scotland joining
the Schengen Area, which would
normally be part of the acquis
communautaire; and (ii) that
Scotland is willing to co-ordinate
its policy on migration with
rUK, Ireland, the Isle of Man,
and the Channel Islands.
Condition (i) is a matter
of common sense,
which I hope will
prevail. Condition
(ii) may be more
problematic
if the Scottish Government after
independence maintains the
current Scottish Government’s wish
to “take forward a points-based
approach targeted at particular
Scottish requirements… [and] a
new model of asylum services
separate from immigration.”
An immigrant to one member
of a common travel area is
an immigrant to all of them.
Therefore, in negotiations to remain
in the CTA, all of the other parties
would have to approve Scotland’s
migration policy.
Monetary policy, and Nuclear policy
This leaves the two most difficult
areas. The Scottish Government
insists that Scotland would remain
in the sterling area, and would
seek membership of the Monetary
Policy Committee of the Bank of
England. It argues that that is in
the interests of rUK as well as of
Scotland, because the present
UK is what economists label an
‘optimum currency area’. The
UK Government insists that the
rUK government would not agree
to that; a stance backed by both
the Liberal Democrat and Labour
finance spokesmen. Sterling is an
institution, not an asset. Therefore,
after independence, it would
become an institution of rUK. Its
negotiators may then reconsider
whether admitting Scotland to a
currency union is indeed in the
interests of rUK. The ‘optimal
currency area’ argument should
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