With a referendum on Scottish independence 10 months away the Scottish government has unveilled the potential economic gains of going it alone. But as Ivor Bennett reports, if it ends the 306-year union with England, it will also inherit 100 billion pounds of UK debt.
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REPORTER: He's been accused of dodging the difficult questions on Scottish independence. But First Minister Alex Salmond now claims to have the answers.
SCOTLAND'S FIRST MINISTER ALEX SALMOND: "This White Paper is the most detailed blueprint that any people have ever been offered anywhere in the world as a basis for becoming an independent country."
REPORTER: At 670 pages, the blueprint for independence is longer than the last Harry Potter book. Salmond's hope is it'll cast a spell over the skeptics, by finally tackling the three main issues - currency, monarchy and EU membership. The plan is to keep all three.
SCOTLAND'S FIRST MINISTER ALEX SALMOND: "The Bank of England, sterling is part of the assets, they are as much Scotland's assets as London's assets, they are certainly not George Osborne's assets."
REPORTER: Britain's North Sea oil is another asset Scotland's staking a claim to. The resources would supposedly provide the platform for economic growth. But along with the assets come liabilities. If it leaves the UK, Scotland would take with it a chunk of Britain's national debt - to the tune of 100 billion pounds. A reason that, many analysts say, makes independence unrealistic. Barclays' Will Hobbs.
WILL HOBBS, VICE PRESIDENT RESEARCH, BARCLAYS: "It's difficult to see how, in the event of independence, which chunks of debt would go which way. And I suspect that the UK is better off as one country. And I think the overall trend in the world is towards less regional governments rather than more."
REPORTER: With 10 months until the vote, many in Scotland are still undecided - the latest polls suggesting as much as 15 percent. But with as many as 47 percent currently against independence, and just 38 for it, there's a lot of ground to make up.
