Sturgeon says Brexit will hit Scots economy
THE argument that the UK offers a safe harbour for Scotland’s economy is bust after the Brexit vote and another independence referendum remains highly likely, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Scotland’s First Minister outlined projections that Brexit will cost the Scottish economy up to £11.2billion each year.
Leaving the European Union will also hit tax revenues by up to £3.7bn annually, according to Scottish Government analysis.
Ms Sturgeon said: “The old argument that the UK somehow offers financial security for Scotland no longer holds water.
“Brexit will be deeply damaging to Scotland’s economy and to our finances.”
She added: “I said the morning after the referendum that we would pursue all options, including the option of independence to achieve this, and that remains the case.
“If it turns out simply not to be possible to protect Scotland’s interest through the UK, it must be open to the Scottish people to consider afresh, and in this very different context, the question of independence.
“However, I am very clear that we will enter these UK discussions in good faith.”
She confirmed another independence referendum remains “highly likely”.
She said: “I’m not going to set a timeframe right now when the timeframe for the work around Article 50 at the UK end is so uncertain. I think it would be a foolish thing for me to do that.”
Unionists and opposition politicians have accused the Scottish Government of grandstanding over Brexit to deflect attention from revenue figures due out today.
Ms Sturgeon confirmed she expects the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) publication to show a deficit as the economy struggles with low oil prices.
She said: “What has changed from the last GERS publication is the context, the fact that we now face the prospect of being taken out of the EU.
“What the publication today shows very clearly is that if we are removed from the EU, that challenge gets harder and the sit- uation gets worse. So Scotland faces a choice, do we allow that situation to become harder by being taken out of the EU, or do we seek ways of protecting our EU membership so that we can continue in that context to face up to that challenge?
“What I think the Brexit vote absolutely means is that the argument that some have used in the past when GERS has been published – that the UK is somehow a safe harbour for Scotland – is no longer true.”