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19 Jun 2012
An expert in economics today predicted that the transition to a separate Scotland would take at least five years.
This differs from Alex Salmond’s own view that the complete process of breaking away from the rest of the UK would in fact only take two years.
Prof Kay, of the London School of Economics and a former advisor to Alex Salmond, made the comments at a Scotsman Conference on independence in Edinburgh.
He said that negotiations with the rest of the UK and the EU would take up three years, with a further transition period resulting in five years of “considerable uncertainty”.
Scottish Conservative Chief Whip John Lamont MSP said:
“This is another embarrassing slap down for assertions the SNP have made about separation.
“If they’re not being ridiculed on fiscal policy, their policy on defence is being picked apart by a range of military experts.
“Now even the timescale for their fantasy is being questioned, begging the question what exactly have they got right?
“Prof Kay raises genuine issues surrounding the damage such uncertainty, over such a sustained period, could cause.”
