Silence on growth

SNP spin doctors managed fairly effectively to airbrush out any significant focus on the Growth Commission report at the SNP conference. Quite some achievement given they have been preparing us for its appearance for a couple of years.

Yet given the First Minister’s subsequent ‘forgetfulness’ when it came to remembering the set-up costs quoted in it for a new separated Scotland, this was perhaps no real surprise.

The overall report has received some plaudits for a more honest approach to the challenges of independence than the SNP have been prepared to reveal before. But we have some way to go yet before the SNP prospectus aligns with the real world.

Back in 2014, the White Paper insisted £200 million would be sufficient to set up all the plethora of requirements for a separate state.

The SNP know full well the true figure is definitely over £1 billion and could ultimately prove to be closer to the UK government estimate at the time of over twice that figure. So the £450m quoted in the Growth Commission report is nothing more than a staging post on the way to reality. Much like the rest of the report then.

KEITH HOWELL West Linton, Peeblesshire