HIGH PRICE OF SNP BID TO SPLIT UK
Job fears as economy is hit by poll threat
NICOLA Sturgeon was yesterday accused of damaging Scotland’s economy by relentlessly pursuing her dream of breaking up Britain.
Shock official figures reveal that the UK’s economy has grown three times faster than Scotland’s over the past 12 months.
And critics say that continuing uncertainty about whether the First Minister will press ahead with a second independence referendum is responsible for the slower growth.
The figures indicate that, while jobs are being created and investments secured in the rest of the UK, Scots businesses are struggling to expand and investors are staying away.
The gloomy economic statistics were
published as the SNP gathers in Glasgow today for its annual conference, which is expected to be dominated by talk of Brexit and a second independence referendum.
Scottish Conservative economy spokesman Dean Lockhart said: ‘The Scottish economy continues to massively under-perform in relation to the rest of Britain’s and that is entirely on the SNP’s shoulders.
‘These figures were gathered prior to the EU referendum, so the Nationalists can’t even blame Brexit.
‘As experts have noted, public sector spending now depends heavily on the performance of Scotland’s economy, and if that continues to be worse than the UK’s, services will undoubtedly suffer.
‘Unfortunately, this is a Scottish Government not interested in the economy. Its one clear priority that transcends all others is separation at all and any cost, something the First Minister has herself admitted.
‘As the SNP prepares for its conference, instead of stoking uncertainty with more independence threats, it should be thinking about how to address its decade-long failure of Scotland’s economy.’
The figures, published by Scotland’s Chief Statistician, show that the Scottish economy grew by 0.4 per cent in the three months to the end of June, compared to growth of 0.7 per cent across the UK.
During the past year, the UK economy has grown by 2.2 per cent, three times faster than Scotland’s 0.7 per cent.
This indicates that less investment in growth-creating projects is taking place, ultimately threatening the ability of companies to create jobs.
Jackie Baillie, economy spokesman for Scottish Labour, said: ‘The Tories and the SNP need to recognise that constitutional posturing won’t stimulate the economy, create jobs or protect public services.
‘Scotland is now lagging behind the rest of the UK and there will be increasing uncertainty for our economy thanks to the Tories’ reckless Brexit gamble. Both the SNP and Tory governments need to take action now.’
The figures, which do not include North Sea oil and gas, show that output from the Scottish construction industry contracted by 1.9 per cent in the second quarter of this year, while services grew by 0.5 per cent.
The statistics follow figures published in August which showed that foreign investment slumped by 9.2 per cent in Scotland, compared to an increase of 6.8 per cent across the UK. Business leaders also warned that economic growth could now be even weaker in the period since the end of June and urged the Scottish Government to act to boost industry.
Hugh Aitken, director of CBI Scotland, said: ‘The figures show that growth in Scotland remains weaker than across the UK as a whole and we are likely to see a period of economic adjustment following the vote to leave the EU.
‘That’s why the CBI will continue to call on the Scottish Government to use the tools at its disposal, such as business rates reform, to propel investment and employment in Scotland enabling businesses to remain competitive.’
Colin Borland, head of external affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘Scotland needs to strive for growth levels at least as good as the UK average. We look forward to the SNP talking business when they meet in Glasgow this week.’
Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: ‘To put this in perspective, the Scottish economy has grown in a year at almost the same rate that the UK economy has grown in just three months.
‘Against this background, we would question Scottish Government policies such as the scaling down of business rates relief on empty properties, which is discouraging speculative development and reducing the opportunities available for construction businesses.’
Economy Secretary Keith Brown said: ‘These figures show that prior to the vote to leave the EU, Scotland’s economy was growing.’
‘Stoking uncertainty’