We’re told again that England is “unlikely to let a separate Scotland use the pound”. I’ve made the point before in this blog, both in relation to Scotland and about comments made about “forcing” Greece to leave the Euro, that this is not something that a government can stop. Despite the bluster, the Treasury paper on currency union makes a central point clear: if Scotland decides unilaterally to use the pound, it can. When George Osborne asks, then, why the UK should accept a formal arrangement with an independent Scotland, the answer is plain: because that way you have some say, and otherwise you have none.