Labour says SNP ‘dodging’ oil price question
First Minister accused of hiding behind purdah Tories launching English manifesto
THE SNP has been accused of attempting to keep the public in the dark over the impact a declining oil price would have on a fiscally independent Scotland’s finances, after it was confirmed that updated forecasts over North Sea tax revenues will not be published ahead of the General Election.
In the run up to the referendum, t he Sc ot ti s h Government published three oil and gas bulletins that predicted a strong future for the North Sea, backing up the case for independence. Two of the documents predicted prices of about $110 a barrel in the years to come and the latest stated that tax receipts could be as high as £39 billion over five years.
However, despite Nicola Sturgeon being under pressure since January to order the publication of an updated forecast in light of the oil price plummeting to about half the figure predicted and estimates over the tax-take from the North Sea industry dropping to just £600m a year in 2016-17, she will not do so before the election.
Her official spokesman confirmed yesterday that no updated figures will be forthcoming before May 7, despite the SNP’s position of pursuing devomax for Scotland, a system under which tax receipts from oil would be directed to Holyrood and become a vital funding source for public services. He said that rules, known as purdah, imposed on civil servants during election campaigns meant the Scottish Government could make no politically sensitive announcements over the next fortnight.
However, the guidelines did not stop the First Minister from announcing almost £1 million of additional funding for trade union members to access training courses this week, a move that could be seen as politically sensitive in light of the SNP’s battle win over left-wing voters.
Ms St u r ge on made t he announcement during a speech at Scottish Trades Union Congress, in which she highlighted SNP election pledges and attacked both Labour and the Tories.
A spokesman for Labour accused the Scottish Government of “completely outrageous” behaviour, and ministers of being “determined to deceive the people of Scotland”.
He added: “On the same day that independent, impartial experts at the IFS said that the SNP’s plans would extend auster- ity this is a disgraceful dodge to keep Scots in the dark before the general election.
“The reality is that full fiscal autonomy would blow a £7.6 billion hole in Scotland’s finances. Wriggling out of publishing a bulletin is an attempt to mislead Scotland about the impact of their headline general election policy.
“The Scottish government cannot pick and choose what announcements they make based on what will win the SNP votes. This is another concerning example of how the Scottish civil service is being shamefully politicised by the SNP.”
In January, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said the bulletins had been used to justify SNP claims that Scotland was heading for a “second oil boom” and asked whether a further update would be announced. The First Minister said a revised bulletin would be released “in due course” but that to make accurate predictions, it needed to know what tax rates would apply. An updated tax regime was subsequently announced by George Osborne in the budget in March.
Following the budget announcement, the First Minister told Labour deputy leader Kezia Dugdale that a revised forecast would be published “as soon as possible”. But the First Minister did not give the commitment and when challenged yesterday over whether election rules meant there would be no pre-election update, her spokesman replied: “I wouldn’t have imagined so, no. Purdah does apply.”
Scottish Conservative North East MSP Alex Johnstone said: “This sounds like a convenient excuse for the SNP. It hasn’t shied away f rom making other announcements in this period, and it’s clear Nicola Sturgeon simply can’t face up to the embarrassment that the party she leads got it so badly wrong on oil. It’s a disgraceful approach with no other motive than shielding the tr uth f rom the people of Scotland.”
A spokesman for SNP energy minister Fergus Ewing said “oil is not the basis of Scotland’s economy” but the data will be published in due course.
It’s clear she simply can’t face up to the embarrassment that the party she leads got it so badly wrong on oil