Zero for Scots in PM’s con of a deal
PM’s £5bn new deal branded a con with no new money & nothing in it for Scotland
BORIS Johnson’s economic relaunch from the coronavirus lockdown amounts to a big fat zero for Scotland.
The Prime Minister had compared himself to the former US President Franklin D Roosevelt before his much trailed “new deal” speech.
But the £5billion of reshuffled funding was less than half of one per cent of GDP, a hundred times less than the 30s US scheme that met the challenge of the 1929 Wall Street crash.
Johnson’s plans focus on England have been branded a “raw deal” for the country.
Labour MP Ian Murray, Shadow Scottish Secretary, said: “This is a raw deal for Scotland and for every community across the entire UK.
“We are facing the gravest economic crisis in a generation and this recovery plan falls far short of what is needed to face the challenge ahead.
“We need a laser-like focus to prevent further job losses from the Tory Government and we need the SNP Government to stop playing constitutional games and focus entirely on Scotland’s economic recovery.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was “underwhelmed” and made a withering comparison to the scheme that tackled the Great Depression.
She said: “The new deal under FDR was worth, I think, around 40 per cent of US GDP at the time.
“What Germany has announced right now in terms of its stimulus is worth four per cent of German GDP.
“What the Prime Minister announced this morning, and it is not even new money, would be less than half a percent of UK GDP.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer was equally dismissive.
He said: “The Prime Minister promised a new deal but there’s not much that’s new and it’s not much of a deal.
“We’re facing an enormous economic crisis, the biggest we’ve seen in a generation, and the recovery needs to match that. What’s been announced amounts to less than £100 per person. But it’s the re-announcement of many manifesto pledges and commitments.”
Johnson’s spending claims in his “build, build, build” speech delivered in Dudley were mostly limited to England.
But he highlighted the role of the UK Government in keeping more than 800,000 Scottish jobs and freelance businesses on furlough since lockdown.
Johnson said: “I think the Union has more than shown its worth.” All eyes now turn to Chancellor Rishi Sunak who will set out a plan next week to support the economy through the first phase of the recovery.
Demands from the Scottish Government for extra borrowing powers are unlikely to be met.
But the Treasury has signalled flexibility that would allow Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes to move money from the underspent capital budget for building and infrastructure into day-to-day spending to aid recovery.