The treasury minister has warned homeowners in an independent Scotland that they could face £1billion extra in mortgage costs, due to their budget deficit. He also claimed that their independent financial track record could lead to higher borrowing costs and a 1% rise in interest rates.
However, these claims have been dismissed by the Scottish Government who claim that “Banks base their mortgages on the interest rate set independently by the Bank of England, which set in a sterling zone would be exactly the same for Scotland as for England.”
However, Liberal Democrat leader, Willie Rennie has hit back at this, stating that treasury minister Danny Alexander made a fair point in his speech, and backs claims that a 1% rise in interest rates would significantly cost Scottish households, even saying “Perhaps the SNP should focus on their own economic illiteracy and tell the Scottish people that the Sterling zone doesn’t even exist.”
