“Nothing has changed” – Darling responds to SNP White Paper on Independence

Responding to the SNP unveiling their manifesto White Paper today on Scottish Independence, Alistair Darling (the Leader of Better Together) said:

“Nothing has changed as a result of this White Paper. The nationalists have ducked the opportunity to answer the big questions about Scotland’s future. 

“We have waited months for this and it has failed to give credible answers on fundamentally important questions. What currency would we use? Who will set our mortgage rates? How much would taxes have to go up? How will we pay pensions and benefits in future?

“It is a fantasy to say we can leave the UK but still keep all the benefits of UK membership.

“The White Paper is a work of fiction.  It is thick with false promises and meaningless assertions.

“Instead of a credible and costed plan, we have a wish-list of political promises without any answers on how Alex Salmond would pay for them.

“As for the promises, they could deliver on childcare now. Their excuse for not using the power they already have beggars belief – Nicola Sturgeon said they couldn’t act now because women would go to work and the tax they pay would go to the UK Treasury. That is our treasury, not that of a foreign country.

“With so much uncertainty and unanswered questions about the cost of independence, leaving the UK would be a huge leap in the dark – especially when we know that devolution works for Scotland. We can have the best of both worlds – a strong Scottish Parliament with the strength and opportunity of being part of a bigger United Kingdom.”

10 months to go…