--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idea that an independent Scotland…" description: "\"The idea that an independent Scotland - having separated assets and liabilities from the rest of the U.K. - would expect the rest of the U.K. to be a l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/johann-lamont-9992_assets-and-liabiliti_the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-ha_2594297.png" --- # The idea that an independent Scotland - having separated… ![“The idea that an independent Scotland - having separated assets and liabilities from the rest of the U.K. - would expect the rest of the U.K. to be a lender of last resort, and of course be kind to them, doesn't make any sense.” quote by Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/johann-lamont-9992_assets-and-liabiliti_the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-ha_2594297.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/johann-lamont-9992_assets-and-liabiliti_the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-ha_2594297.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/johann-lamont-9992_assets-and-liabiliti_the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-ha_2594297.png) > “The idea that an independent Scotland - having separated assets and liabilities from the rest of the U.K. - would expect the rest of the U.K. to be a lender of last resort, and of course be kind to them, doesn't make any sense.” [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Assuming Scotland will rely on the UK for emergency financing is unrealistic because fiscal independence entails both assets and liabilities. **In simple terms:** Scotland can't expect UK bailouts after separating finances. Key Takeaway Plan sovereign fiscal policies before independence. Themes economics politics sovereignty Mood cautious analytical Type political economic When to use this quote - budget planning - policy negotiation - public finance - risk assessment Key Concepts fiscal responsibility risk management Questions to Reflect On - What fiscal safeguards are needed for a new nation? - How can Scotland build financial resilience? A Different Perspective Independence may still require coordinated economic ties, limiting full autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assets and liabilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assets-and-liabilities-11727/) [Be kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-kind/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Independent Scotland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent-scotland-1221236/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Last resort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-resort/) [Liabilities Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liabilities-rest-1888372/) [Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest/) [Scotland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scotland/) [Scotland Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scotland-having-1888370/) [Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense/) [Separated Assets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separated-assets-1888371/) ## Related quotes > [I swore I was going to exclusively collect assets and not liabilities for the rest of my life. I swore never to take gambles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blixseth/i-swore-i-was-going-to-exclusively-collect-assets-and-not-liabilities/) [Tim Blixseth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blixseth/) > [Scotland's relationship with Malawi is perhaps unique - with almost every town or village in Scotland having some connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/scotland-s-relationship-with-malawi-is-perhaps-unique-with-almost/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [I know a thing or two about people in Scotland, having knocked on as many doors as I have, and they don't like people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humza-yousaf/i-know-a-thing-or-two-about-people-in-scotland-having-knocked-on-as/) [Humza Yousaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humza-yousaf/) > [To make our state operate more like a business, we must get a handle on all of our assets and liabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-justice/to-make-our-state-operate-more-like-a-business-we-must-get-a-handle/) [Jim Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-justice/) > [Value investors will not invest in businesses that they cannot readily understand or ones they find excessively risky. Hence few value investors will own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investors-will-not-invest-in-businesses-that-they-cannot/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [OWE, v. To have (and to hold) a debt. The word formerly signified not indebtedness, but possession; it meant "own," and in the minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/owe-v-to-have-and-to-hold-a-debt-the-word-formerly-signified-not/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [It would be a very odd chancellor of any UK government that insisted on a course of action that cost their own businesses hundreds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/it-would-be-a-very-odd-chancellor-of-any-uk-government-that-insisted/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [No one would look just at a firm's revenues to assess how well it was doing. Far more relevant is the balance sheet, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/no-one-would-look-just-at-a-firm-s-revenues-to-assess-how-well-it-was/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [Golf is the only-est sport. You're completely alone with every conceivable opportunity to defeat yourself. Golf brings out your assets and liabilities as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hale-irwin/golf-is-the-only-est-sport-you-re-completely-alone-with-every/) [Hale Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hale-irwin/) > [Most people... find a disorientating mismatch between the long-term nature of their liabilities and the increasingly short-term nature of their assets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/most-people-find-a-disorientating-mismatch-between-the-long-term/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [That's been lost. It's a huge problem. What you have is you have the major institutions of the world all wanting to deleverage. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/that-s-been-lost-it-s-a-huge-problem-what-you-have-is-you-have-the/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Would I love to think that one day I would be First Minister of an independent Scotland? Of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/would-i-love-to-think-that-one-day-i-would-be-first-minister-of-an/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [As uncomfortable as this may be for some, the truth is that an independent Scotland can only benefit from both a Labour party true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humza-yousaf/as-uncomfortable-as-this-may-be-for-some-the-truth-is-that-an/) [Humza Yousaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humza-yousaf/) > [It is not whether an independent Scotland could go it alone and develop its own defence forces - of course it could - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hammond/it-is-not-whether-an-independent-scotland-could-go-it-alone-and/) [Philip Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hammond/) > [The truth is that the Scottish Labour party within an independent Scotland will be allowed to flourish; no longer constrained by having to walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humza-yousaf/the-truth-is-that-the-scottish-labour-party-within-an-independent/) [Humza Yousaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humza-yousaf/) ## More by Johann Lamont > [There is a danger of Scottish politics being between two sets of dinosaurs... the Nationalists who can't accept they were rejected by the people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/there-is-a-danger-of-scottish-politics-being-between-two-sets-of/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I'm pretty proud of having completed a marathon myself, so I can only imagine the pride that real athletes feel when they are picked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-m-pretty-proud-of-having-completed-a-marathon-myself-so-i-can-only/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I spent ridiculous amounts of time as an activist and volunteer and was a teacher for 20 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-spent-ridiculous-amounts-of-time-as-an-activist-and-volunteer-and/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I remember going to see Billy Graham in a cinema in Glasgow, and he was down in London. I used to go and hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-remember-going-to-see-billy-graham-in-a-cinema-in-glasgow-and-he/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [Fair tax does not mean we don't want to encourage wealth creation. Wealth creation is how we raise the money to pay for world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/fair-tax-does-not-mean-we-don-t-want-to-encourage-wealth-creation/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [The test is can you do something, rather than have a theoretical argument - can you make a difference?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/the-test-is-can-you-do-something-rather-than-have-a-theoretical/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [If you don't accept there is a problem, then it is hard to debate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/if-you-don-t-accept-there-is-a-problem-then-it-is-hard-to-debate/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [The Scottish Labour Party, while I have breath in my body, will listen to the views of trade unionists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/the-scottish-labour-party-while-i-have-breath-in-my-body-will-listen/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I'd always step up to the mark to serve the people of the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-d-always-step-up-to-the-mark-to-serve-the-people-of-the-country/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [Scotland is my country, the nation that shaped me, that taught me my values. A nation whose achievements inspired and inspire me, a community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/scotland-is-my-country-the-nation-that-shaped-me-that-taught-me-my/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I guess it feels to me that the political argument that has been lost in my lifetime is taxation. How do you engage in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-guess-it-feels-to-me-that-the-political-argument-that-has-been-lost/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [We must listen and learn, show humility and seek again to talk for and to people's ambitions and concerns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/we-must-listen-and-learn-show-humility-and-seek-again-to-talk-for-and/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I will not promise what I cannot deliver. And I will never hide the cost of what I propose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-will-not-promise-what-i-cannot-deliver-and-i-will-never-hide-the/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [If I have learned one thing in life, it is never to take any man's own estimate of himself. He could very well be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/if-i-have-learned-one-thing-in-life-it-is-never-to-take-any-man-s-own/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I've taught fifth-year Christmas leavers last thing on a Friday afternoon. Basically, if you can face that you can face anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-ve-taught-fifth-year-christmas-leavers-last-thing-on-a-friday/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) [Explore all 68 Johann Lamont quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) ## More Assets and liabilities quotes > [To make our state operate more like a business, we must get a handle on all of our assets and liabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-justice/to-make-our-state-operate-more-like-a-business-we-must-get-a-handle/) [Jim Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-justice/) > [Most people... find a disorientating mismatch between the long-term nature of their liabilities and the increasingly short-term nature of their assets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/most-people-find-a-disorientating-mismatch-between-the-long-term/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [Golf is the only-est sport. You're completely alone with every conceivable opportunity to defeat yourself. Golf brings out your assets and liabilities as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hale-irwin/golf-is-the-only-est-sport-you-re-completely-alone-with-every/) [Hale Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hale-irwin/) > [No one would look just at a firm's revenues to assess how well it was doing. Far more relevant is the balance sheet, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/no-one-would-look-just-at-a-firm-s-revenues-to-assess-how-well-it-was/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [It would be a very odd chancellor of any UK government that insisted on a course of action that cost their own businesses hundreds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/it-would-be-a-very-odd-chancellor-of-any-uk-government-that-insisted/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [OWE, v. To have (and to hold) a debt. The word formerly signified not indebtedness, but possession; it meant "own," and in the minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/owe-v-to-have-and-to-hold-a-debt-the-word-formerly-signified-not/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Value investors will not invest in businesses that they cannot readily understand or ones they find excessively risky. Hence few value investors will own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investors-will-not-invest-in-businesses-that-they-cannot/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [That's been lost. It's a huge problem. What you have is you have the major institutions of the world all wanting to deleverage. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/that-s-been-lost-it-s-a-huge-problem-what-you-have-is-you-have-the/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) [Browse all 9 Assets and liabilities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assets-and-liabilities-11727/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The idea that an independent Scotland - having separated assets and liabilities from the rest of the U.K. - would expect the rest of the U.K. to be a lender of last resort, and of course be kind to them, doesn't make any sense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Johann Lamont" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-having-separated-assets-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assets and liabilities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-having-separated-assets-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/johann-lamont-9992_assets-and-liabiliti_the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-ha_2594297.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/johann-lamont-9992_assets-and-liabiliti_the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-ha_2594297.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/johann-lamont-9992_assets-and-liabiliti_the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-ha_2594297.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The idea that an independent Scotland - having separated assets and liabilities from the rest of the U.K…” — Johann Lamont", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Johann Lamont", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The idea that an independent Scotland...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-having-separated-assets-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/the-idea-that-an-independent-scotland-having-separated-assets-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```