Plans to ditch Scottish bank notes

Source: Campaign for an English Parliament

RBS, HBoS and Clydesdale Banks are threatening to stop dealing in Scottish bank notes unless Scottish banks are brought into line with English ones.

Under current treasury rules, English banks are required to lodge funds with the Bank of England to cover the value of Scottish bank notes they hold every day. Scottish banks are only required to do so for 3 days a week meaning they have another 4 days a week in which to invest the millions of pounds involved and cream off the interest.

The banks involved have complained that this is discriminatory and rightly so - it's as plain as the nose on your face (or elbow if you're Micheal Jackson).

So you'd expect a Scottish MSP, in the face of such undeniable evidence of discrimination in favour of Scotland, to hold his hands up and acknowledge it right? Wrong.

There is no need to change a system which has worked well for years. This discriminates against Scottish banks. What the Treasury ought to be taking on is the discrimination which makes it so difficult to change Scottish notes in England. What this amounts to is a stealth tax on Scottish banks and their customers. Perhaps this is part of Gordon Brown's grand plan to seem more English than the English to get into No10.