Scottish independence - A proposal from 'Alex'

Alex Masterley thinks that Scotland have responsibilities as well as opportunities:

'If we could have a word, Mr Salmond. A small matter of the bill, or to be more precise, the National Debt.  I believe it is customary in such arrangements for the parties to an independence agreement to share the debts incurred.  Nobody gets to walk away Scot free (if you'll excuse the pun), and as Scotland represents 1/12th of the population, perhaps you would like to take on 1/12th of the debt.

Although it wouldn't be fair on the lenders to hand over responsibility to Scotland for 1/12th of the currently outstanding gilts.  The gilt holders expect the full faith and credit of the UK Treasury, not some standalone entity that hasn't functioned independently since the 18th century and with no revenue authority to speak of at present.  The only equitable solution would be for the Scottish executive to raise around £60 billion against its own credit to buy out £60 billion of gilts, which we will cancel.

When you have the cash, perhaps we can sit down and have a chat about where we go from there.'

Well said, we hear too much about 'Scotland's Oil' and not enough about their responsibilities.