SNP won’t be trusted to balance the books, says Ross
NICOLA Sturgeon’s reputation has been left in tatters by the financial chaos that has ‘blown a huge hole in the SNP’s economic case for independence’, Douglas Ross has said.
The Scottish Tory leader yesterday proclaimed that Scots will never ‘believe a Nationalist on currency, pensions and balancing the books ever again’ because of the turmoil.
But he warned his party not to become complacent because the SNP will ‘never give up’ on trying to break up the United Kingdom.
Police are investigating the party’s finances following complaints that money donated to fight another independence referendum is allegedly missing from the SNP’s accounts.
A total of £666,953 was raised through an appeal to supporters, with the claim that the cash would be used specifically for a referendum battle.
The Police Scotland probe dramatically escalated last month when Ms Sturgeon’s husband, the former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, was arrested at their home.
This was followed 13 days later by the arrest of Colin Beattie, who was party treasurer at the time.
Both men were taken into custody, questioned and released ‘pending further investigation’.
On the same day as Mr Murrell’s arrest, a £110,000 motorhome was seized from the driveway of his 92-year-old mother’s home.
Speaking at the Scottish Conservative conference, Mr Ross said the saga had fatally undermined Ms Sturgeon’s separation cause.
He added: ‘We knew that her government and her party, shrouded in secrecy, was not as squeaky clean as they liked to portray. And we were criticised again and again for going against the Holyrood consensus who heaped praise her.
‘But no one is saying we are wrong now. Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy lies in tatters. Her political career ended in failure.’ Mr Ross said: ‘The SNP’s financial troubles have blown a huge hole in their economic case for independence.
‘The SNP cannot even manage their own accounts, how could they be trusted with the finances of an independent Scotland?
‘Nobody will ever believe a Nationalist on currency, pensions or balancing the books ever again.
‘We’ve always known that our arguments on trade, currency and jobs were stronger, and the 2014 referendum proved that. But now the SNP lack any credibility.
‘Through their own blunders, the Nationalists have crashed the case for independence.’
Urging Tory members to seize the opportunity rather than ‘revelling’ in the SNP’s misery, Mr Ross said: ‘We can’t afford to be complacent. The SNP are down, yes, but they are not out.’
He added: ‘This SNP Government is too distracted by their internal scandals and their obsession with independence to focus on the big challenges Scotland faces today.’
Responding to the speech, an SNP spokesman said: ‘This is nothing more than a desperate diversion from Douglas Ross to distract from his disastrous Tory party conference where he has just been humiliated by his own leader.’
‘Crashed case for independence’