I AM heartily fed up with the ill-informed yet furious debate over GERS, a set of figures that are based on nothing more than estimates.

According to political economist Professor Richard Murphy, 25 of the 26 income figures used in GERS are estimates extrapolated from data for the UK as a whole and some consumer surveys – it’s hardly solid and credible economic data.

But while these figures don’t accurately represent Scotland’s expenditure or revenues as they stand at the moment, much more importantly they definitely can’t be used to determine what Scotland’s economy would look like if it were to be an independent country.

The fact is that Scotland’s economy remains strong, despite the downturn in the oil and gas sector over the last two years.

READ MORE: Michael Fry: GERS statistics show Scotland is moving in the right direction, and that is key

We have a falling notional deficit and the biggest growth in onshore revenues on record. Growth was more than three times that of the rest of the UK in the last quarter, and recent figures show that employment is at a record high.

Lately, GERS has become just another stick used to batter the independence movement.

Our fiscal position has improved in spite of Westminster’s mismanagement of our oil and gas sector – a situation entirely out of our control – but that won’t be sufficient for the Unionist detractors, who couldn’t find it in themselves to praise Scotland if their lives depended on it.