We need access to the single market
Last week Philip Hammond issued his first statement as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
There are some positive measures which are to be welcomed, but in truth the chancellor has been too slow out of the starting gate.
The economic volatility which followed the vote to leave the EU demanded an urgent reaction, and Mr Hammond’s bizarre ‘wait and see’ attitude has led to his new policies being too little, too late to mitigate the immediate economic impact of the referendum result.
Perhaps he should have been looking north for some inspiration, where the SNP Scottish Government acted quickly following the EU referendum to bring forward a substantial stimulus package to boost business confidence and keep our economy moving – including a £100million economic stimulus package and a £500m Business Growth Fund.
While the entire Tory government fumble with what Brexit means, the chancellor has failed to reassure businesses that our membership of the European single market will be protected.
This week, there was further embarrassment for the UK Government over their shambolic handling of Brexit, after a photographer snapped a senior Tory’s handwritten notes in Downing Street.
The notes seem to confirm that the Tories have all but given up on single market membership, yet strangely argue that their Brexit model is to “have your cake and eat it”.
So while the chancellor and his colleagues continue their calamitous efforts, it is crucial that Scotland’s interests are protected.
The European single market contributes £11.6 billion to the Scottish economy and is nine times bigger than the UK market.
It is an undeniable fact that the major threat to our economy remains a hard Tory Brexit and Scotland being dragged out of the single market.
The independent Fraser of Allander Institute has predicted that such a hard Brexit threatens to cost 80,000 Scottish jobs and cost Scotland’s economy by up to £11billion a year by 2030.
Figures from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research suggest that Scotland’s exports could be cut by more than £5bn if we fail to retain access to the single market.
And according to the UK Government’s own analysis leaving the single market could lower Scotland’s GDP by more than £10bn. That would be equivalent to up to £2,100 per person in Scotland.
Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, with South Lanarkshire and every single one of the 31 other local authority areas also voting to stay in.
That simply cannot be ignored by Downing Street.
It is time for the Tories to listen, not just to the SNP, but to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses, Confederation of British Industry, Institute of Directors, Scottish Financial Enterprise, Scottish Council for Development and Industry, and others, who are all calling for Scottish businesses to have continued access to the single market and free movement of labour.
If we are truly equal players in the UK, something we were constantly assured of during the independence referendum campaign, then Scottish interests should not be taking a backseat in the Brexit debate.
It is a fact that the major threat to our economy is a hard Brexit