Keith Brown to promote new economic blueprint for an independent Scotland

Keith Brown will chair three National Assembly meetings to discuss the findings of the Growth Commission and why Scotland should be independent. The first takes place in Ayr today.

The 354-page Growth Commission report was published in May setting out a new economic blueprint for an independent Scotland and a strategy to boost living standards and prosperity to levels matching the world’s most successful small countries.

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Brown, who succeeded former MP Angus Robertson as depute SNP leader in June, said the focus of the discussions will be on the rationale for independence.

“The Sustainable Growth Commission is a substantial contribution to the debate on Scotland’s future. It’s sparked new conversations on the opportunities possible in an independent Scotland and has won new support,” said Brown last night.

“Scotland is a wealthy nation with huge resources, great strengths in innovation, world class universities, hi-tech sectors, huge energy potential as well as food, drink and tourism strengths.

“But despite those enormous strengths, similar sized nations have performed far better for decades – all of them independent and most of them with fewer resources than Scotland. We do not have to look far to see how small advanced economies have outperformed their larger economic counterparts, including the UK, over the past 25 years. We want Scotland to match those other nations, creating more jobs and raising living standards, providing a better future for everyone who lives here. This is only possible with independence.”

The Commission looked at the economies of 12 small independent states – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland – as part of its work.

The report insisted: “We can lift the growth performance of the country to take living standards to equal the best small countries in the world over a generation.”

It set out an approach of growing GDP in Scotland by focusing on the “the three ‘Ps’ of economic performance” – productivity, population and participation.

The Scotland: A New Case for Optimism report said: “Our central argument is that Scotland should be seeking to emulate the performance of the best small countries in the world, rather than sticking to its current position as the best of the rest of the UK regions and nations outside of the south east of England.”

But its recommendations the new state should use the pound for the first decade and should cut the deficit from an “anticipated starting point” of 5.9% at the time of independence to less than 3% prompted criticism among the left in the Yes movement. Andrew Wilson, chair of the Commission, said the blueprint strengthened the independence case, persuading a section of No voters to back Yes, as well receive the support of those who backed Yes. A second National Assembly will take place in Aviemore on September 2 and a third on September 9 in Edinburgh.