SALMOND'S PLANS UNRAVEL.

As the debate over Scottish independence gathers pace, it's clear that the plans of megalomaniac Alex Salmond are unravelling.

Last week, George Osborne made it clear that an independent Scotland would be just that - independent. He ruled out Salmond's plan for a sterling currency union and was backed up in this stance by the principle financial representatives of the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties as well as by the top civil servant in the Treasury.

Next, the current president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, appeared on television on Sunday and stated fairly categorically that an independent Scotland would have to apply for membership of the EU but could well be disappointed. Oh, Lordy, Lordy !

A cornerstone of Salmond's attempt to become Prime Minister, President or even King, of Scotland has been his constant claim that independence would change very little; the only real change would be to free it from the unwanted and hated attentions of the government in Westminster. According to Salmond, an independent Scotland would retain the Queen as head of state (though no mention of what would happen once she is gone), would retain sterling as its currency in a currency union with the remains of the UK, and would still be a member of the EU. It is now clear that at least 2 of these claims have 'feet of clay'.

Whatever the people who live in Scotland, for they are the only ones with a vote, decide in September there'll be ructions. If it's a vote for independence, expect a lot of whingeing and whining from the people once they realise the true implications of their choice; if it's a vote to remain in the UK, expect Salmond and his mates to be back arguing for the so-called 'Devo-max', in other words, effective independence within the UK. The second of these would undoubtedly lead to considerable unhappiness in England as Scottish members of the Westminster parliament would continue to tell the English what to do while Scotland was not affected by their decisions.

Ho-hum ! Exciting times ahead.