MICHAEL Gove has claimed Scottish independence would be “worse” for the public than the worst-case No-Deal Brexit scenario.
Speaking during a Commons debate on the UK’s impending departure from the EU, the Cabinet Office minister explained the “reasonable worst case scenarios”.
He warned that there could be 7000-truck-long queues in Kent under this scenario. Gove assumes that imports and exports could be disrupted to a similar extent.
The SNP’s longest serving MP Pete Wishart criticised the UK Government’s shambolic handling of Brexit – arguing Scotland’s “best-case scenario” is to get out of the “rogue state” of the UK.
He argued that the positive in all the Westminster chaos is that Scotland is increasingly aware that it has a future as a “normal European nation making our decisions”.
“As a famous son of Aberdeen, he must know which direction the Scottish people are travelling in,” Wishart put to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
In response Gove mocked Wishart’s questioning – telling the Chamber “they usually are remarkable performances”.
He went on: “There are many questions about an independent Scotland that have not been answered.
“What will be the currency that an independent Scotland would use? How would UK pensions be guaranteed in an independent Scotland?”
“What would the replacement for the furlough scheme in an independent Scotland be when HM Treasury is no longer capable of providing that money?
“And as Growth Commission, Andrew Wilson has pointed out an independent Scotland would have to pay a premium for borrowing on international markets.
“No pounds, no pension and poorer, an independent Scotland - unless the honourable gentleman can come up with better answers - is the worst case of all.”
Polling in support of Scottish independence is currently sitting between 53% and 55% - the UK Government itself has not published the results of its own research on the topic, with reports it could be as high as 56%.
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