Scottish MP Calls for a National Digital Currency – ScotPound
A year on from the national referendum where Scotland rejected independence from the UK – leaving the pound sterling to continue as its national currency, a member of Parliament from the Scottish National Party (SNP) issued a rallying call to his party and the country to begin experimenting with digital currency.
George Kerevan, MP for East Lothian and a member of the SNP called for the country to start experimenting with digital currency and spoke about the British pound not being “the be-all and end-all,” insisting that a new digital currency could help Scotland reach beyond its reliance on the British pound sterling.
Kerevan advocated the use of ScotPound, a digital currency that’s centric to Scotland while speaking at an SNP conference in Aberdeen. His call for the currency is primarily based on a recent report published by the New Economics Foundation that proposed the introduction of a new digital currency – ScotPound, by the Scottish Parliament.
“I am absolutely in favor of experimenting,” Kerevan said, speaking to BuzzFeed News . ““If you wish to persuade people there are alternatives to using sterling, one way of doing that, rather than having an intellectual debate, is to show people.”
The report by the New Economics Foundation contends that a new currency that operates alongside the pound sterling would benefit Scotland both socially and economically. The proposal entailed the idea of a 250 ScotPound (S£) dividend to be distributed to every Scottish citizen upon turning 16 and spending to be encouraged through mobile phones.
“What we need to do now is have a debate,” continued Kerevan,” a discussion, on what the alternative [to the pound] is. Whether that’s a separate currency, sterlingisation, keeping the pound but doing our own thing – it has to begin with a discussion. That debate is beginning to happen.”
Kerevan added that the topic of a national digital currency ought to be considered by the SNP before another referendum. A ready-made alternative to the pound that exists before the next independence debate could would “bubble up” and stir the pot if the party’s members pushed for it, Kerevan contended.
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