Independence and the Currency: How Can Scotland Change the Banking and Monetary System?

The people of Scotland are in a unique position – the independence debate has presented us the opportunity to re-imagine our nation afresh.

The people of Scotland are in a unique position – the independence debate has presented us the opportunity to re-imagine our nation afresh. We can ask: what would the country look like if we designed it from scratch today?

Would we design a system where 97% of all money in circulation is created, not by the mint or the Bank of England, but by private banks seeking short-term profit, where every new pound in circulation creates one new pound of debt for you and I? Or would we have a system where the power to create money is used for the public good, in a democratic, open, transparent way that benefits us all?

Come and explore these questions in an evening of talks, film and discussion:

On Thursday, September 4th we will be holding events simultaneously at the CCA in Glasgow and Summerhall in Edinburgh. At each venue our documentary screening will be preceded by a short talk, and will be followed by a live video link-up between the audiences, for a Q&A directed to a panel hosted in the Positive Money head office.

In Edinburgh, Robin McAlpine of Common Weal and in Glasgow, Adam Ramsay will give a short introduction on monetary reform, followed by a screening of our documentary “97% Owned”, featuring Ben Dyson of Positive Money, Josh Ryan-Collins of The New Economics Foundation, Ann Pettifor, the “HBOS Whistleblower” Paul Moore, Simon Dixon of Bank to the Future and Nick Dearden from the Jubliee Debt Campaign.

The documentary screening will be followed by a live video link-up between the audiences, for a Q&A directed to a panel hosted in the Positive Money head office in London with Fran Boait, Prof Steve Keen and Josh Ryan Collins.