AN independent Scotland would immediately be plunged into austerity as a result of being deprived of revenue from the rest of the UK to pay for public services, with the problems posed by Brexit paling by comparison, an economist has warned First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
However, John McLaren, a professor at the Business School at the University of Glasgow, warned it would be far from plain sailing for Scotland if it ever voted to leave the UK in a future independence referendum.
Speaking to German-based financial news website Cash, Prof McClaren said: “The difficulties of Brexit are nothing compared to the problems that Scotland’s exit from the kingdom would entail.
“Scotland would have to do without a lot of money - unlike the UK, which will save money as a net contributor if it leaves the EU.
“Scotland has been a net beneficiary since North Sea oil revenues have dried up. Independence would therefore lead to austerity.
Kenny MacAskill with SNP MSP Joanna Cherry (Image: GETTY)
“The Scottish government would have to plug the hole in the budget that would be caused by the exit.”
Prof McClaren added: “Proponents can always claim that the economy would benefit from independence.
“Scotland’s problem would be tax revenue. Scotland would lose £10 billion in Britain’s annual transfer payments.
“This corresponds to ten percent of the Scottish budget. How can the Scottish government rebalance the budget?
“There are a number of difficult questions that the SNP has not yet answered.”
Prof McClaren also suggested despite their apparent enthusiasm, Mrs Sturgeon did not want a second referendum any more than Mr Johnson does, in the short term at least.
He explained: “Boris Johnson does not want to allow this. And although the SNP says it wants a referendum, that’s not true. The time for it hasn’t come yet.
“According to polls, the electorate is divided, the ratio between opponents and supporters of independence is 50:50.
DON'T MISS:
A graph tweeted by Kevin Hague last month (Image: Kevin Hague)
"Neither London nor the SNP currently want a referendum. It will likely take a few more years before there will be a referendum.”
Speaking last month, Scottish business Kevin Hague, pro-Union think tank These Islands, disputed Mr Blackford’s claim that Scotland was a net contributor to the UK economy, tweeting figures he said backed up his analysis.
He posted: “As worded that @iblackfordSNP (i’m blocked) claim is complete nonsense - the clearest analysis comes from *Scottish Government* figures used for graph here: when this graph is red, scotland is a net beneficiary of fiscal sharing, when black it ‘subsidises’ UK.”
The graph in question suggests Scotland has been a net beneficiary in every year since 1990/91, except for 2008/2009.
Scotland was a net contributor for the ten-year period from 1981, a fact Mr Hague attributed to “the oil boom”.
Speaking in Parliament on Friday, Mr Blackford himself accused Mr Johnson of “blindly hurtling towards the cliff-edge” with his “deeply damaging” Brexit plans, arguing it will leave people poorer.
He added: “We reject this toxic Brexit legislation and make the case clear that this UK Government cannot drag Scotland out of the European Union before gaining the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament.”
Mr MacAskill told BBC Radio Scotland: “I think by the time we get to next year the people of Scotland are going to realise the direction of travel that Boris Johnson is taking Britain on, I believe that more and more people in Scotland will say that that is not the society they seek.
Michael Gove has said the SNP should concentrate on issues which really matter (Image: GETTY)
“The only way to avoid being taken into becoming the 51st state, a country where the social services, the welfare state is being dismantled before our very eyes, is to vote for independence and to become an independent nation in the European Union.”
Fellow Scot Michael Gove, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the Scottish Government should be focused on the “issues that really matter to people - improving the NHS, fighting crime and helping to improve education”.
He said: “The Scottish Government have a lot on their plate. My friends and family in Scotland want them to concentrate on improving the NHS, making sure Scottish schools are better.
“I want to work with the Scottish Government to make sure that Scottish people’s lives are better.”
(Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1220469/nicola-sturgeon-snp-scotland-independence-referendum-brexit-news-boris-johnson?
