When Judy Murray vented her frustration that her Bank of Scotland tenner had been rejected as payment in a cafe in London this week, thousands of Scots responded in sympathy.
When you go to pay £9 for 2 donuts (yes, really) in London and your £10 Bank of Scotland note is refused because “we only take British ones”. 🤔🤣 pic.twitter.com/SCCzIfolDn
— judy murray (@JudyMurray) April 8, 2019
Murray, the mother of the tennis star Andy, was told that her Scottish £10 note was not acceptable because “we only take British ones”. Now, in a stroke of legislative synchronicity, a Scottish MP has lodged a bill in the House of Commons calling for banknotes from Scotland to be accepted throughout the UK.
“Every Scot who travels south has a story about their money being turned down or looked at sceptically,” said the Scottish Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Alistair Carmichael, who hopes to encourage businesses across the UK to recognise and accept Scottish banknotes with his legal tender (Scottish banknotes) bill.
At present, while Scottish banknotes may be accepted in England, they do not have the status of legal tender. Indeed, no banknotes are classed as legal tender in Scotland, where only coins are counted as such. The technical term refers to repayment of debts and has little relevance to everyday transactions. But while Scottish notes are legal currency across the UK, there is nothing to force any business to accept notes of any type.
“There is no reason to make a distinction between Scottish and other banknotes as acceptable payment. It’s beyond time we give legal force to the well-known phrase ‘that’s legal tender, pal’,” said Carmichael. “I hope that this bill will encourage businesses across the UK to recognise and accept Scottish currency.”
A similar bill was put forward by the current Scotland secretary, David Mundell, when he was an opposition MP in 2009 but it did not progress to become law.
