LABOUR REVEAL THEIR REAL HEROES - THE SOVIET UNION!

Ms Alexander said she was not a Gordon Brown puppet

During the web chat, driven by questions from BBC viewers, listeners and online users, she was asked to score herself out of 10 for her performance since being elected leader unopposed in September last year.

"Rising all the time, I think is the answer," said Ms Alexander, adding: "Ten out of 10, 10 out of 10."


And Ms Alexander also dismissed claims of arrogance against Labour politicians and said her party's fight back was under way.


She added: "Frankly, as I look across the other benches in the parliament, I don't think the arrogance is on our side.


"I think that what people are looking for are politicians who are willing to listen, I think you will see this week that conference is listening and learning."


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Brown foresees Alexander as next leader of Scotland

GORDON Brown used a wide-ranging address to Scottish Labour Party delegates today to bash the Nationalists, defend the Union and predict Wendy Alexander as Scotland's next First Minister.


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Gordon Brown appears to imagine that all countries should be part of larger unions yet I doubt the former countries of the Soviet Union would agree, or Tibet for that matter. Labour's announcements have all the credibility of Pravda.


It is clear that Labour don't support the Claim of Right for Scotland. If they did they would support a referendum on independence. Instead they push Britishness down our throats and expect us to swallow any old lies. It didn't work for the Tories.

The people of Scotland are Scots first and foremost any party which ignores that fact is doomed, deservedly.

EX LABOUR FIRST MINISTER BACKS NATIONAL CONVERSATION

FORMER Labour First Minister Henry McLeish has described independence for Scotland as “a positive option”. In remarks sure to infuriate his Labour colleagues, Mr McLeish said all positive options for Scotland’s future should be considered, including independence.

“The country is looking ahead and it’s important that all political parties do too,” Mr McLeish said. “We need an open and inclusive conversation to discuss our future, one in which all the positive options are included — the current devolution settlement, more powers, independence and also a form of federalism.

“The key thing is these ideas are debated in terms of how they will deliver a better quality of life for everyone who lives in Scotland — better health, housing, economic performance and education.”

The former first minister’s views will come as a major blow to Labour, which has been rallying support from other opposition parties to take part in a rival constitutional convention, that specifically excludes the option of independence.

Mr McLeish’s remarks came in advance of the launch of the second phase of the Scottish Government’s “National Conversation” on the country’s constitutional future on Wednesday.
“The National Conversation and further constitutional development should be the means to these vital ends,” he added.

“I welcome that the process of open debate is under way with the National Conversation, and look forward to the next phase developing with the prevailing mood of Scotland.

“The constitutional debate is vitally important for every Scot and fundamental for the future of our nation. And of course we should never forget that a confident Scotland should have a bigger role on the world stage.”

The news is likely to overshadow this week’s Scottish Labour Party conference in Aviemore, where Scottish parliamentary leader Wendy Alexander will try to convince delegates to support the transfer of more powers from Westminster to Holyrood, while allowing other powers to be returned from Holyrood to Westminster.

BRITISH INDUSTRY GROUP REFUSES TO DISCUSS INDEPENDENCE

"It's oor ba' and we're no playing."

One of Scotland's business figures who has publicly backed the Labour party in the past has criticised SNP ministers for wasting their time pushing a "conversation" on independence when they should be concentrating on growing the economy.

Iain McMillan, the director of Confederation of British Industry Scotland, spoke out as Alex Salmond, the First Minister, prepares for tomorrow's launch of the second phase of his National Conversation, an event designed to involve "civic Scotland" in the discussion about the future government of Scotland.

The CBI chief said he did not want to "snub" the Scottish Government by refusing to take part [but is doing exactly that. JOE]

A spokeswoman for Mr Salmond said the best way forward was "open debate", and this was what the National Conversation was doing. She said: "Questions about our future need to go beyond government, parliament and the media to include individuals, groups, communities and all political viewpoints."

The launch of the second phase of the Scottish Government's National Conversation is designed to involve so-called "civic Scotland" in the process. Ministers have invited representatives from Scotland's churches, trade unions, environmental groups, universities and colleges, women's groups and Scotland's business community to an event at Edinburgh University.

Mr Salmond will make an opening speech and then the guests will be invited to join a series of discussion groups. The groups will focus on the Scottish Government's strategic objectives – a greener, healthier, smarter, safer and stronger, fairer and wealthier Scotland – and individuals can join any group they choose. These workshops are designed to begin a process ministers hope will take place across the country.

Each of the organisations represented is then expected to take on the discussion with its "stakeholders", reporting back with a detailed position for the consultation at a later date.

TEACHERS OPPOSE MOD PROPOGANDA

Teachers have vowed to stop military recruitment campaigns in schools that promote pro-war "propaganda" to teenagers. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) voted to back staff who resist Armed Forces recruitment drives and called for "education for peace" to be embedded in the school curriculum.

Delegates at the NUT's annual conference in Manchester called for a campaign to undermine efforts to enlist new teenage recruits in an attempt to hasten the return of British troops from Iraq. The union backed a motion committing the NUT to "support teachers and schools in opposing Ministry of Defence recruitment activities that are based upon misleading propaganda".

Paul McGarr, a delegate from east London, told the conference: "Personally, I find it difficult to imagine any recruitment material that is not misleading. We would have material from the MoD saying 'Join the Army and we will send you to carry out the imperialist occupation of other people's countries."'Join the Army and we will send you to bomb, shoot and possibly torture fellow human beings in other countries. 'Join the Army and be sent - probably poorly equipped - into situations where people try and shoot you and kill you because you are occupying their countries.'"

When I see the MoD putting out recruitment material saying that, then maybe I won't have a problem with using it in school. Until then, I think that all recruitment material is misleading and should be opposed."

Opinion-poll verdicts on independence are not the full picture

CONSIDER this: the Union – safe in Alex Salmond's hands. The SNP may be miles ahead of Labour but support for independence is sinking like a stone.

Bizarrely, a successful SNP government is helping to cement Scotland's place in the UK by demonstrating how devolution can deliver for the people. Who needs separatism when things are going so well? Former defence secretary George Robertson was right after all – devolution has indeed killed nationalism stone-dead, albeit not in the way he intended.

That's the general suggestion offered in the wake of the latest opinion poll showing support for independence at 23 per cent. There's only one problem with this analysis – it's utter rubbish.

Full article in the Scotsman

Interesting article. Personally I don't believe support for independence is as low as this though I am sure people will be happier with an ambitious devolved Government led by the SNP than a timorous devolved Government led by Labour.

If the unionists really believed that Scots supported the union they would be happy to allow the Scottish Government to hold a referendum on independence. They don't which is why they want desperately to avoid one.

If the positive arguments for normal powers for Scotland were articulated against the usual scaremongering campaign from the unionists (which ultimately failed at the last elections despite mass media support for it) then I have no doubt independence would win. JOE

St Patricks Day - The day everyone sucks up to Ireland

From Google:

Even the 'call yourself British' Daily Telegraph feels it has to change it's logo:

This just goes to show that the independent Irish Republic currently has a lot more international clout than Scotland.

Evening News being hijacked by neo-fascists?

Comments on two stories on the Edinburgh Evening News suggest that the paper's website is now being targeted by neo-fascists:

Gangs put library under siege

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/latestnews/Gangs-put-library-under-siege.3884348.jp

Terror suspect reunited with family after late reprieve

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/latestnews/Terror-suspect-reunited-with-family.3884379.jp

Why BritGov can't be trusted on ID cards

This story should be the final straw for the ill fated ID cards project. Losing 11,000 military ID cards goes beyond incompetence.

As you can see from the above letter, full story here:

http://www.geocities.com/joe_middleton_sco/ID_Cards.htm the Government has already admitted that ID cards would not "have a significant effect in combating terrorism in the United Kingdom."

This didn't stop them repeating this misleading allegation on numerous occasions after issuing the above letter however! Later on they admitted they were lying but still they have tried to link the two issues in the public mind.

The British Government cannot be trusted to tell the truth about ID cards. They cannot be trusted to hold the information they would contain and they cannot be trusted to keep their word that the scheme will not be compulsory. In the above letter they said it wouldn't be, later on it would be and now supposedly it isn't apart from for students and asylum seekers!

It's time to end this crazy project altogether. No-one should be forced to carry a plastic laminated Union Jack ID card in their pocket and have their eyeballs and fingerprints scanned on a regular basis.

I will refuse to take an ID card if they do come to pass and I urge everyone else to do the same, and don't trust the Government if they pretend they are giving up on it either. This scheme has been killed off and revived more times than Dracula!

Mass Petition Planned For Scottish Independence Referendum

(Swans - March 10, 2008) Recently I attended an international advisers meeting in Barcelona to help organise the next CONSEU (Conference of Stateless Nations in Europe) and it occurred to me that Scotland has a great many advantages in its drive towards independence.

Full article here:

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/joemid05.html

LET SCOTLAND DECIDE - SIGN THE PETITION

WALES AND BERWICK ACT - 1746

This is mentioned in Wendy Wood's autobiography Yours Sincerely for Scotland on p 210 and 211:

With regard to the Royal Charter of 1604 given by James VI Berwick, like Calais was at that time an occupied town, held by another nationality. If it had not still been part of the realm of Scotland it would not have had the English officials as Calais had. King James abolished these officials for he could not as King of England claim occupation of his possession as King of Scots So Berwick, the capital town of its County is in Scotland and belongs to Scotland.

Up to the 16th century Berwick was specially mentioned as 'my' or 'our' town of Berwick in all Royal Proclamations and Statutes but by the Wales and Berwick Act of 1746 'It is declared and enacted that in all cases where the Kingdom of England or hath been or shall be mentioned in any Act of Parliament the same has been and shall henceforth be deemed and taken to comprehend and include the dominion of Wales and Town of Berwick upon Tweed.'

With this bald statement it is quite reasonable to doubt if the Treaty of 1707 was anything more than a complete farce.

So if Berwick has been legally part of England 'for over 500 years' as the media assures us why is the British parliament passing an act claiming it as part of England (along with Wales!) just over 250 years ago?

I contacted Christine Graham MSP of the SNP (who has been asking Questions about Berwick in the Scottish Parliament) and she is now looking into this.

‘MAKE OR BREAK’ TIME FOR INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT

Joe Middleton of Independence First, the campaign for a referendum on independence has claimed that the new petition for a referendum on independence represents a “make or break” time for the independence movement.

He commented: “We need to have a massive public response to this petition. 80% of the public say they want a referendum based on opinion polls but now we need to convert that into a widespread popular response to the new Let Scotland decide petition. If the Independence movement fails on this we will lose considerable authority. It’s make or break time now. It is urgent that we deliver a massive petition to show the public is actively demanding a referendum on independence.”

Independence First are backing the petition which has been launched by the Scottish Independence Convention and have organised a working conference on Saturday 1st March 2008 to help organise the new petition on the ground.

The working conference of civil representatives from across Scotland will be held in the STUC offices in Glasgow at 1pm and will be addressed by Elaine C Smith and Isobel Lindsay of the Independence Convention. Lloyd Quinan and Eric Canning of Independence First will also speak.
Isobel Lindsay commented “The Scottish public need to be active players in the debate on Scotland's future not stuck on the terraces. Whether we have independence or not is a choice for all of us not a decision for elites. This petition gives us a chance to engage people in the central democratic issue of whether Scotland should be content with existing powers or whether we should have the right to make our own policies on war and peace, on social security, on the big economic issues.”

Contact Carol Roscoe (National Secretary) for more information on: 01259219945 or 07983208352 for more information or visit our website at www.independence1st.org

Freedom for the Stateless Nations of Europe : CONSEU

BROWN SAYS BRITAIN MIGHT TRY AND TAKE POWERS BACK

Report in Scotsman

Devolution review 'may lead to loss of Holyrood powers'

GORDON Brown yesterday backed a review of Scottish devolution – but suggested it could mean the return of some powers to Westminster.

The Prime Minister gave his public support for the first time to the Scottish Constitutional Commission, the body which will be set up to look into Scottish Parliament's powers.Mr Brown accepted there might be a case for some financial controls, including new tax-raising powers, to be handed over to Holyrood from Westminster.But he also said the review would examine whether Holyrood should lose control in some areas, particularly over terrorism or agricultural diseases, to Westminster.

Report in Herald

We should be very wary of allowing the UK Government to revisit the Scotland Act. The Welsh Act has already been re-visited by BritGov and they took the opportunity at that point to fiddle the election system to stop people standing on the FPTP and PR Lists, a clear attempt to weaken the smaller parties and strengthen Labour who tend to do better FPTP.

Powers over 'anti-terrorism' are already held (and abused) by the UK Government. This is a chimera behind which GB can try and take over other inconvenient powers such as say the right to refuse planning permission to new nuclear power stations. Any process of delivering greater powers for Scotland has to be led from here because the UK Government simply cannot be trusted to act honestly.

The Scottish Constitutional Convention (devolution version) called for powers over broadcasting and was supported by the scottish branches of Labour, Lib dems and Tories yet mysteriously when we actually got to the bill those powers were removed.

If we want to guarantee the significant extra powers that we need ie foreign affairs and proper control over all our finances then the obvious answer is to demand independence.

Taking more powers along that process seems logical but it possibly encourages the idea that the UK could be trusted not to interfere in other areas. As we can see from these comments we CANNOT trust Labour or the UK Government one iota and that has effectively been our experence of British rule for the last 300 years.

BARCELONA CONSEU MEETING

I have had the honour of being invited to Barcelona this weekend as part of an International Advisers Council set up by CONSEU, which is the annual conference for stateless nations.

We'll be looking at ways to help make the next CONSEU conference even more effective and also discussing the situation with the various other independence movements in Europe. My Independence First colleague Lloyd Quinan is probably the main expert we have in Scotland on this as he keeps tabs on a lot of developments amongst other stateless nations in Europe.

Lloyd has mentioned CONSEU and their parent body (which receives funding from the Catalan devolved Government) on a number of occasions so I am very pleased to get the chance to make this trip. It will be a bit odd going abroad without my other half but it will also be exciting to discuss the experiences of other nationalists.

I know that the Basque country is having a particularly hard time just now with two more political parties banned recently and some Basque activists being given ridiculous prison sentences for the 'crimes' of organising political rallies. What the Spanish Government does is claim that the activists actions have been ordered by the armed Basque group ETA. They don't offer any evidence of this, they don't need to. Batasuna, the left wing political party has been completely banned and most of it's leadership have been arrested by the Spanish Government and are now being tried on trumped up offences. It is a very difficult situation and I think people are quite pessimistic about what will happen next.

The PNV (a sort of right of centre pro business Basque nationalist party and the only one which is allowed to campaign) are in power in the Basque parliament and are campaigning on the prospect of holding a referendum on independence. Some observers doubt whether this will actually happen however as they could have done this some time before. The worry is how the Spanish army might react to such a plan, we can tell from recent pronouncements that Spain is not particularly interested in other countries rights to self determination and the Spanish army has carte blanche under the Spanish constiution to protect the existing state.

Catalonia is also of course moving slowly but surely towards independence. Hopefully I will get a better idea on my trip exactly what stage they are at.

Closer to home of course we have Wales (moving forward at a similar rate to Scotland, although Britain cheekily provided them with an inferior devolution package Plaid Cymru are in power with Welsh Labour and have gained cross party agreement on greater powers for their Assembly) and Cornwall whose case has unfortunately been completely ignored by the British Government. Some Cornish activists have been in touch recently, apparently the local police are giving them some harassment by making dubious use of new anti Terrorism powers. some more information about Cornwall is available here and I will be updating this page within the next few weeks.

It should be a very interesting trip. I'm taking my video camera so look for a video on youtube fairly soon. Shortly after I get back Independence First will be organising a conference (on March 1st) to help push the new independence petition which has been launched by the Independence Convention.

Sadly the media completely ignored the recent launch (not a shock but still annoying) so we will have to rely on word of mouth and knocking the doors to get the signatures in. It will be difficult but it will also be worth it. I hope all the Scottish parties and pro independence activists will pitch in on this, certainly IF locally will try and do our part.

I had a chat with Lloyd this week about CONSEU as he has attended previous gatherings, when I get back we'll have to get together with Kev, Ray, Simon, the two Kens, Chris, Eric, Anja and the other local IF guys and figure out own own strategy on the ground. Hopefully I'll be able to get an article or at least a few letters in the press prior to the Glasgow working conference.

This is a bit different from my usual postings of opinion bits but it's been all right so expect the odd post from 'real life' in future!

Cheers, JOE

CONVERSATION IS TRICKY WITH CLOSED LABOUR MINDS

"Conversation should be more than a whisper"

Of course the SNP is playing for time. It has no hope of getting a referendum bill through Parliament and there must be a sporting chance that eventually the opposition parties will fall out among themselves. Yet surely the electorate deserves something more concrete than a website.

http://news.scotsman.com/opinion/Conversation-should-be-more-than.3775918.jp

The SNP Government have published a White paper on independence, not just put up a website, though no doubt the Scotsman hacks haven't bothered to read it!

Unfortunately to have a conversation it takes both sides to be willing to debate and logically consider all the options. The SNP did this, their paper made a serious attempt to look at the other options short of independence that the Scottish people might be interested in.

The unionists however have spat out the dummy, decided that normal power for scotland is out of the question and have retreated to London only to be told by Gordon Brown (and his mouthpiece David Cairns) that no significant powers will be coming to Scotland whether the public want them or not!

It's all just "the McChattering classes" the Scottish public still love Labour and the union, which is why they gave the SNP their first ever victory and Labour's poll figures are in freefall!

Wendy is showing that she is as much of a puppet as Jack McConnell and Labour are actively proving that they have learnt nothing from the election result and are maintaing the contemptuous attitude towards scottish aspirations that they maintained when in power.

As long as they ignore the logical option of independence those who have some ambition for Scotland will have a conversation without them, we might not get much arguments but let's face it we've heard all their scaremongering rubbish against independence many times before. It didn't wash with the scotiish public in the last election and I very much doubt it will work in any future independence referendum either.

That's why the unionists don't want to give us a referendum, they know their arguments aren't working and they could easily lose it.

Unfirtunately for them, the argument has moved on. The question must now be, why no? Who not have the normal powers every other country has, the seat at the UN the individual voice in the EU and control of our own natural resources?

Why allow ourselves to be used as a military base when we don't want nuclear weapons, why not decide our own future free of control by people who clearly despise their own country and think we are all second rate cretins who can't tie our own shoe laces without England?

There's no good reason to not go for it ourselves.

I believe we can and we will and eventually the SNP positive message will convince all Scots of the virtues of normal powers. Labour's day is done, a bit like the tired British union and the tatty flag which goes along with it.

SCOTLAND: OUR CONFIDENCE IS GROWING

We are in a difficult situation in Scotland, even though we weren't technically a colony and although we played a large part in the workings of the Empire, in fact Britain has also treated us like a colony or at least an occupied country in many respects.

Certainly our original languages have been deliberately disparaged and there was even a concerted attempt to wipe out our national identity altogether and rename us as 'North Britain'. This project obviously failed (probably due to the actions of Scottish patriots like Walter Scott and Robert Burns) but there is an underlying current of imperial racist attitudes towards anything Scottish.

This isn't often entirely obvious but it manifests itself in both the 'we can't do it by ourselves' poltics of unionism and the 'I don't like my own accent' cringe. This has been identified in other countries and the answer to it is to build our confidence by taking back what's ours.

I think our national confidence has grown with the new Government and we are very close to making the logical decision to support normal powers.

"Sovereignty will come only when the final step is not seen as a vital break with the past, but rather as a natural one."

- Scotsman article

I think that the above time has almost come and if the Scots do eventually get the opportunity of a vote on independence, I think they would actually go for it. We've now heard the scaremongering of Labour on numerous occasions and it's no longer working.

The last election proved that. Labour's contribution to Scottish constitutional politics is to contemptously claim it's just waffle from "the McChattering classes". Jack McConnell was never treated as anything other than a joke by his bosses in London and it's pretty obvious they don't listen to Wendy very much either.

Since Labour are so awful and the Tories and Lib Dems in this regard are not much better, Hobson's choice is the SNP. While the SNP rule in the parliament Scotland's confidence will only increase.

LET SCOTLAND DECIDE - INDEPENDENCE PETITION LAUNCHES

The petition is launched at the Scottish parliament, Margo MacDonald Independent MSP signs watched by SNP First Minister Alex Salmond and other SNP MSP's and Elaine C Smith of the Independence Convention (who are co-ordinating the petition).

Deacon Blue at the SIC's Burns night party which celebrated the event. Andy Gray, Dougie MacLean, Jimmy Reid and others were also involved.

You can download the petition form at:
http://www.scottishindependenceconvention.com/

GAME ON!

Independence First are holding a working conference to help co-ordinate the petition on the ground. Details are as follows: Working Conference, Saturday 1st March 2008, STUC premises, 333 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, 1pm – 4pm (registration 12.15pm onwards)

Guest speakers from SIC include Convenor Elaine C Smith, who will be opening the conference, and Isobel Lindsay. All groups are entitled to send a maximum of 2 delegates, cost £5 per organisation. For individuals attending the fee is £2. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available on the day.

For further information and to register for the event please email Independence First National Secretary Carol Roscoe secretary@independence1st.com, or telephone 01764 684446.

Salmond outlines his vision of Scotland as world peacekeeper

An independent Scotland could become a global peacemaker, First Minister Alex Salmond suggested yesterday. He believes Scotland could play a significant role in international conflict resolution, building on the sense of goodwill towards the nation from around the globe.

"Real leadership is not just about winning conflict, it is about having a strategy to defuse it," he said in the inaugural talk on Scotland in the World Forum series being organised by Aberdeen University.

"Resolution of conflict is harder, more subtle. More difficult. But it is an area where Scotland can excel. One only needs to look to the efforts of our Nordic friends in a range of such conflict situations to see the extent of what can be achieved," he went on.

He said global citizenship was about commitment to safety and security around the world.
"For me, therefore, Scottish independence is not just an opportunity to move Scotland forward but a chance for Scotland to give something back - to meet our global responsibilities."
In a separate launch yesterday, the government said it wanted to encourage more overseas firms to use Scotland's legal brains. Business and legal experts meeting in Edinburgh have been asked by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to find ways of making Scotland "the jurisdiction of choice" for solving disputes and going to court.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.2018196.0.0.php

Well said Alex Salmond. We need to get our seat at the UN and independent representation at the EU. We need independence not any form of devolution where Britain still runs our foreign affairs.

Scotland has potential and we now (for the first time) have a First Minister who has positive energy and believes in our country. That's a lot better than trying to pretend we have an Empire by sooking up to the new imperialist element in the USA.

Scotland could lead by example to Wales, Cornwall, the Basque country and Catalonia by getting our independence first, we then have the potential to be a positive rational voice in the world community but we won't get there if we are led by people who still hark back to the Empire like Prince Andrew or Gordon Brown.

We can do a lot better.

IS UK TREASURY TRYING TO MURDER THE SCOTTISH BANK NOTE?

HOLYROOD and Westminster clashed yesterday over the future of Scottish banknotes, with a claim from Alex Salmond that the Treasury is trying a “smash-and-grab” cash raid and a dismissal from Labour that the First Minister was “scaremongering”.

Mr Salmond’s attack voiced fears Scottish banks may be forced to stop issuing their own notes if proposed Treasury rules are put into effect. UK Government Chancellor Alistair Darling last week launched a consultation on measures aimed at improving financial stability and protecting depositors in the wake of the Northern Rock crisis.

This included the level of deposits banks are required to lodge with the Bank of England. The SNP leader claimed the changes could sharply raise costs for Scottish banks, as well as those in Northern Ireland, that issue their own notes and the possible cost could reach £100m a year – making the distinctive banknotes uneconomic.

In Scotland, three banks are allowed to issue their own notes: Clydesdale Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland, which has been issuing notes since 1695. No other country allows commercial banks to issue branded notes. Under current laws, the banks have to lodge funds with the Bank of England to cover the value of their notes, but only for three days of the week. On the other four it can be invested elsewhere, gaining millions in interest.

However, the new proposals would require funds to be lodged with the Bank of England for the entire week. Mr Salmond yesterday claimed the changes were “the greatest threat” to Scottish notes since 1845, the year the Banknotes Scotland Act was introduced to regulate the procedure.

The First Minister said: “This is a real dagger at the heart of Scottish banknotes, which are a proud tradition in Scotland and hugely popular with the Scottish public. It would remove any advantage from issuing notes. I am certain one or more of the banks would stop the note issue.”
Mr Salmond also launched an attack on the Treasury and Mr Darling: “Under the cover of a consultation on financial stability, the Treasur y is launching a smash-and-grab at the Scottish note issue. What makes this particularly underhand and shabby is to cloak it in a document about financial stability.”

A spokesman for Clydesdale Bank said it was “very concerned” about the potential impact of the proposals and was seeking a meeting with the Treasury. He said: “If this were to go ahead it would force us to consider whether issuing banknotes would be viable, a position we do not want to be forced into.”