The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Sturgeon ‘losing the plot’ over Brexit costs claims
POLITICS: Scottish minister to be unveiled for talks
Nicola Sturgeon will unveil a Brexit minister within weeks as she claimed leaving the EU could cost Scotland £11 billion a year.
The First Minister said the country faced a “potentially huge cost” after the vote to break with Brussels, suggesting it was no longer the case that the UK provided a “safe harbour” for the Scottish economy.
She will create a new ministerial role to liaise with the UK Government ahead of negotiations to leave the continental bloc.
But the SNP leader – who has suggested she could call another independence referendum in a bid to keep Scotland in the EU – was accused of “losing the plot completely” over the claims Scotland could now be worse off in the UK than the EU.
Today’s Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) publication is expected to show a large deficit as the economy struggles with low oil prices.
The latest data for 2014-15 revealed a £15bn budget deficit in Scotland, which is double the UK level as a percentage of GDP.
But publishing the Scottish Government’s estimates of the cost of Brexit, largely based on previously published analysis by the UK Treasury, 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.”
Ms Sturgeon refused to be drawn on who she would appoint as a Brexit minister – but said the position would be confirmed once Holyrood returned from recess on September 5.
According to the Scottish Government paper, by 2030 Scottish GDP is projected to be between £1.7bn and £11.2bn per year lower than it would have been if Brexit does not occur. Tax revenue is projected to be between £1.7bn and £3.7bn lower.
But opposition politicians said losses from leaving the UK would far outweigh those from leaving the EU.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: “The First Minister is in danger of losing the plot completely. Her own government’s figures will show tomorrow that Scotland benefits from a multi-billion Union dividend.
“And yet, in order to revive her independence obsession, she is trying to pretend these facts don’t exist.”
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale queried why it had taken two months to produce an analysis of the economic impact of Brexit on Scotland.
She added: “The publication of GERS figures will make clear the benefit that Scotland gets from the pooling and sharing of resources across the UK. It is completely and utterly misleading to suggest otherwise.
“Two mandates have to be respected – people voted in overwhelming numbers to maintain our relationship with both the EU and the UK.
“Delivering an outcome that achieves that is vital.”
The GERS figures for 2015-16 will be published later today.