FURY OVER SNP’S £15BN HYPOCRISY

Sturgeon slated for saying Tory/DUP deal short-changes Scotland

NICOLA Sturgeon was accused of ‘incredible’ hypocrisy yesterday after attacking the Prime Minister over her £1billion deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.

Northern Ireland was granted the extra funding in return for the DUP’s backing on Westminster votes that Theresa May’s minority Conservative Government may have otherwise lost.

It had been thought Scotland would also benefit from any cash deal through the Barnett formula – but Downing Street said no additional money would be handed to Holyrood.

Miss Sturgeon claimed Scotland should have received nearly £3billion and said Mrs May was ‘sacrificing the very basic principles of devolution’.

But Ruth Davidson accused the First Minister of being ‘incredibly hypocritical’ and said the SNP leader’s ‘reckless plans for independence’ would end the UK’s funding deal and leave Scotland with a £15billion black hole.

The Scottish Conservative leader said it was ‘absurd’ of Miss Sturgeon

to criticise the additional spending for Northern Ireland as Scotland also receives extra money outside of Barnett consequentials.

The formula is used to determine annual changes in the block grant to each UK nation, and with every change in funding for devolved issues in England, such as health, Scotland receives extra money.

Miss Sturgeon said: ‘In concluding this grubby, shameless deal, the Tories have shown that they will stop at nothing to hold on to power – even sacrificing the very basic principles of devolution.

‘By ignoring the Barnett formula, Scotland will be missing out on an estimated £2.9billion in funding for public services – that is the price to Scottish taxpayers for the Tories to stay in power.’

But she was rebuffed by Miss Davidson, who said: ‘It is absurd for the SNP to criticise UK Government spending on top of Barnett in Northern Ireland, when the same thing happens in Scotland.

‘And it is incredibly hypocritical for the SNP to complain, when under their reckless plans for independence, they would end the UK’s funding deal immediately, leaving Scotland with a £15billion black hole in our public finances.’

Last week, Scottish Secretary David Mundell claimed he would block ‘back door funding’ for Northern Ireland if it meant other nations missing out. He said: ‘If the funding falls within Barnett consequentials, it should come to Scotland.’

However, Downing Street said that the money is being provided in addition to Northern Ireland’s block grant in a similar way cash was provided for city deals in Scotland and Wales. The deals have seen £500million spent in Glasgow, £125million in Aberdeen and £53million in Inverness.

But Miss Sturgeon added: ‘At the weekend, David Mundell was indicating that he would not allow a situation where Northern Ireland received extra funding while Scotland did not. But instead of fighting Scotland’s corner, David Mundell appears to have just surrendered.’

The DUP deal follows the election result which saw Mrs May lose her Commons majority. She must now rely on support from DUP MPs to win key votes.

The deal will see £1.5billion – £1billion of new money and £500million of previously announced funds – handed over.

The deal will also see the Conservatives scrap key manifesto pledges such as changes to the pensions triple lock and winter fuel payments.

The SNP’s new Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: ‘For years the Tories have been cutting budgets and services, but suddenly they have found a magic money tree to help them stay in power.’

Scottish Tory finance spokesman Murdo Fraser pointed out that the SNP also form a minority government in Holyrood – and rely on support of the Greens.

He said: ‘The SNP has a cheek to talk about anyone being propped up. It had to rely on a handful of Greens to get its budget through and has been dependent on them for other matters too.

‘As usual, the Nationalists have issued a grievance-inspired response without thinking of their own record.’ But Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale also argued Scotland should get more cash as a result of the DUP deal.

She said: ‘If the price of propping up this miserable Tory government is hundreds of millions of pounds for Northern Ireland, it is vital all nations and regions of the UK also get extra funding to end austerity.’

‘A £15bn black hole in our public finances’

IN an ideal world, taxpayers would have been spared the horse-trading that has ended with the Democratic Unionist Party accepting £1billion extra for Northern Ireland in return for propping up the Government in important votes.

But after dire warnings from the Left that the DUP would make outrageous demands, this is a remarkably reasonable deal offering stability as we press ahead with Brexit.

Indeed, given the incalculable economic cost of a government led by the economically illiterate Marxist Jeremy Corbyn, isn’t £1billion over two years a bargain price for keeping Labour out?

However, the deal has prompted the usual grievance politics from Nicola Sturgeon, who has said the arrangement has shortchanged Scotland. Doesn’t she ever tire of having to deliver an endless stream of confected outrage? Doesn’t she ever feel like having a day when she didn’t have to take furious offence at something?

According to the First Minister, this was a ‘grubby and shameless’ deal that sacrificed ‘the basic principles of devolution’.

Miss Sturgeon uses the word ‘shameless’ in relation to opponents so often that it has lost all power. And behind its use yesterday was an uncomfortable truth: here it is the First Minister who is without shame.

Miss Sturgeon attacked the deal because it won’t trigger extra spending in Scotland through the Barnett Formula, the mechanism which ensures a fair spread of Government investment across the UK.

This is because the extra money will go to Ulster as part of the block grant to be divided up by the devolved Government.

Investment under identical terms has come to Scotland in the past and the First Minister didn’t see a problem. Her hypocrisy is breathtaking.

Miss Sturgeon may complain that the Barnett Formula will not be triggered by this investment in Northern Ireland but, if she had her way, Scotland would receive no investment from Westminster.

In Nicola Sturgeon’s independent Scotland, the reassuring safety net of Barnett would be nothing but a memory.