Nicola Sturgeon pledges to 'restart' independence drive with SNP report that could ditch the pound

Nicola Sturgeon has announced she is to "restart" her campaign for Scottish independence ahead of a long-awaited revamp of her economic blueprint this week that could see her ditching the pound

The First Minister said the imminent publication of a report by the SNP’s Economic Growth Commission, set up in 2016, would be an “important moment” in her battle to break up the UK.

It has been reported the 400-page document will recommend that the pound would be used in a transition period after independence, before moving to a new Scottish currency that would initially be pegged to sterling.

Wealthy investors would be given preferential treatment under a separate Scotland’s immigration system using a “golden visa” scheme, it was said, in an attempt to increase the country’s sluggish growth rates.

Appearing on ITV’s Peston on Sunday, she argued that a new debate about independence would bring “hope” to Scotland rather than the “despair” caused by Brexit.

Her intervention came as Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, warned it was “foolish” assume the threat of Scottish independence has gone away and Ms Sturgeon has “staked her reputation within the SNP on delivering a second attempt.”

She argued the UK is too London-centric, as the capital “gobbles up talent, money and status”, and the benefits need to be shared out more evenly across the country. The goal should be that all Scots “feel the UK is theirs too”, she said.

Ms Sturgeon’s demand for a second independence referendum last yeartriggered a huge backlash from Scots voters in last year’s snap general election. However, she has pledged to announce a new timetable in the autumn amid huge pressure from SNP members for a rerun.

Her growth commission, chaired by former SNP MSP Andrew Wilson, will make recommendations on increasing a separate Scotland’s economic growth, reducing its current huge deficit, monetary policy and immigration.

A separate Scotland’s currency was a pivotal weakness of the 2014 Yes campaign after then-Chancellor George Osborne rejected the Nationalists’ preferred option of a currency union to allow Scotland to officially use the pound, backed by the Bank of England.

Ms Sturgeon refused to disclose her preferred timing for another vote but said: "Of course over the next couple of weeks we will, I suppose, restart a debate about why independence for Scotland is an opportunity and what those opportunities are.

She confirmed the commission's report was being published in the coming days and this was significant “because if you think about the last couple of years in the UK it has been very much a debate about how we cope with the damage of Brexit.”

The Sunday Post reported that the commission has recommended that Scotland continuing using the pound immediately after separation, in the same way countries like Panama use the US dollar.

This transition period would be used to set up institutions like a central bank needed for the launch of a new Scottish currency.

It was also expected that the commission will recommend a separate Scotland would attempt to undercut a UK Government scheme that offers entry visas to businessmen investing between £2 million and £10 million in the economy.

Writing ahead of a speech she will give in London about the Union, Ms Davidson warned that the UK “remains under threat” but said it was “unlikely” the First Minister’s latest initiative would be “met with enthusiasm” by “weary” voters.

 “That said, we cannot be complacent. As long as our future relationship with the EU is in flux, it would be foolish to assume that the current trends on Scotland remaining in the UK will hold and that the threat of separation has gone away,” she said.

“The SNP is in power north of the Border and will use that clout to drive a wedge between Scotland and the rest of the country.” She argued that Whitehall must redouble its efforts to “rebuild a relationship” with the SNP government despite the latter wanting to “end that relationship.”

Arguing that the UK is too focused on London, she said more cultural institutions like the British Museum should set up “second homes” outside the capital and most of the UK’s fishing infrastructure should be based in Scotland, where the majority of the catch is landed.

Richard Leonard, the Scottish Labour leader, said: “The idea that a separate Scotland would seek to use the pound without a central bank behind it is a recipe for instability and is the economics of dereliction. We would give up our say over interest rate policy, exchange rate policy and inflation.

“Scotland does not need, and the people of Scotland do not want, this tired argument again.”

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, argued that Brexit should make Ms Sturgeon realise “the damage that tearing up a successful union does” and called on her to instead focus on getting a second EU referendum.