The fate of the pound and the future of pensions were at the forefront of The Courier’s referendum debate in Dundee.
The Question Time-style event took place in a packed Gardyne Theatre and saw Dundee East MP and SNP Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie go head-to-head with Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife at Holyrood.
They were joined on the panel by Mark Diffley, research director at polling company Ipsos Mori.
Mr Hosie set out the stall for independence, saying it would give Scotland a government with the power to “do the right thing” for its 5.3 million people. He argued that the country’s fiscal position was better than the rest of the UK.
“The act of voting yes will be an act of national self-confidence,” he said.
Mr Rennie countered that remaining part of the UK meant continuing to share the benefits of a single currency and a single market. He considered himself British, Scottish and a Fifer and he wanted to keep those multiple identities.
A question about an independent Scotland’s share of UK assets quickly turned the debate to the pound.
Mr Hosie insisted that a currency union made sense, pointing out that the pound belonged just as much to Scots as it did to anyone else. Scottish exports totalled £100 billion a year and it would “shred the currency overnight” if that sum was removed from the balance of payments.
Mr Rennie retorted: “You can’t compel the rest of the UK to share the pound. It’s not an asset in the traditional sense. If the UK refuses to share, what would the SNP do?”
A recent Treasury analysis concluded there was a “UK dividend” worth around £1,400 a year per person through Scotland remaining in the UK thanks to lower taxes and sustained public services.
The Lib Dems leader said the issue was long-term sustainability and added: “The UK is strength.”
But Mr Hosie said the UK Government’s own figures showed that people would be hit by £2,000-worth of tax rises and service cuts in the next year.
There were equally divergent views on pensions, with Mr Rennie saying the Scottish population was ageing faster than in other parts of the UK and would also have to fund state pensions when oil revenue was declining.
Mr Hosie said the proposed state pension would be “fully affordable” and the dependency ratio how many people of working age there are compared to those of non-working age would be better than the UK’s until 2030.
If the pension situation in Scotland was worse it was because many young people were leaving to find jobs. That was an argument for independence and ensuring the country had the power to tackle economic issues itself, the MP said.
Mr Diffley, whose company has been heavily involved in polling the public on the referendum, said he believed voters would follow their instincts in deciding on such “tricky” issues.
“The bottom line is that people are going to make their choice and put their cross in the box on September 18 without full information. It’s a matter of trust.”
Asked if the referendum was leading to anti-English sentiment, Mr Diffley said it was not a massive amount, although he noted that polling suggested people who had been born outside Scotland were less likely to vote yes.
Mr Rennie said he knew some people who had come to Scotland from south of the border felt uneasy and Mr Hosie said everyone needed to be “careful and temperate” with their language.
An audience member challenged the politicians to come up with positive reasons for their respective positions.
Mr Rennie said the UK was an outward-looking, compassionate country that was well-regarded in the world. Staying united meant everyone sharing risks and rewards.
Mr Hosie described the Better Together campaign as “uninspiring, miserable and negative” and added: “I think independence is positive idea.”