New Scottish Government figures, published today, confirm that had Scotland voted to leave the UK, we would be facing a spending deficit of £13.3bn or 8% of GDP in the first year of independence.
Described as “the authoritative publication on Scotland’s public finances” by the SNP, the Scottish Government’s expenditure and revenue statistics confirm that last year the fiscal deficit of Scotland was 8% of GDP. This is more than three times higher than the UK’s deficit of 2.4% of GDP.
The SNP have been attempting to discredit these official statistics ahead of their release because they are so damaging to the economic case for separation.
Now, local Scottish Conservative politicians have demanded SNP politicians are for once straight with Borderers and say where they would find this extra £13.3bn. Had Scotland voted to leave the UK, we would have had to impose huge spending cuts (equivalent to the entire health and sport budget), raise taxes, borrow at unprecedented rates or a bit of all three.
The figures also starkly show the extra spending on public services in Scotland, raising the question are the SNP delivering value for money? Total expenditure for the benefit of Scotland by the Scottish Government, UK Government, and all other parts of the public sector was £71.2 billion. This is £1,437 per person greater than the UK average.
Rachael Hamilton MSP said: “The SNP have been desperately trying to discredit their own statistics recently, but it’s time they were straight with the people of Scotland. The Borders had the most to lose from separation from the UK, which is why voters so overwhelmingly rejected the SNP’s demands for a second independence referendum in June.
“We now know that, had Scotland voted to leave the UK, in the first year we would be facing a spending deficit which is equivalent to our entire health and sport budget.”
“These figures also show in Scotland, we spend £1,400 per person more to deliver public services. With our schools falling behind the rest of the UK, our hospitals struggling and our police service running on a shoe-string budget many Borderers will be asking themselves if the SNP are delivering true value for money.”
John Lamont MP said: “These figures tell us something the SNP have tried to hide for years, the true cost of separation.
“Luckily, because we are part of the United Kingdom, pooling and sharing resources, Scotland is protected from massive cuts in public spending. We contribute 8% of UK tax, but spend 9.2% of UK spending.
“The SNP want to drag us out of the UK at any cost. That is why the time has come for the nationalists to be straight with Borderers. How would you fill this huge hole in public spending? Would it be with spending cuts, tax rises, more borrowing or a combination of all three?