THE war of words between the SNP and pro-independence think tank, the Common Weal, over proposals in Andrew Wilson’s Growth Commission, has intensified.
Earlier this week the Common Weal urged delegates at next month’s SNP conference to reject proposals for a “solidarity payment” after independence.
The payment, which would go towards previous UK debt and shared commitments such as international aid, was one of the more controversial measures in Wilson’s blueprint when it was published last year.
In a video, Common Weal claimed Wilson’s recommendation would mean Scotland would be forced to accept the total debt the UK wanted it to take without negotiation and that the new state would pay a total of £5.3 billion a year “forever”.
Publicising the video on Twitter, the Common Weal said the solidarity payment was “a humiliating proposal” that would mean “handing over power, decision making, & billions of £ to the UK.”
Writing on behalf of the SNP, in today’s National, the MSP Tom Arthur accuses the Common Weal of misinterpreting the report in an attempt to “influence the conference debate”.
He says this is “not what the Commission says and it’s not what is being proposed to conference.”
“The Growth Commission report is clear – it says that “we would expect the true value of assets and liabilities to be examined and debated with greater rigour in advance of agreement being reached”.
“In other words, we will negotiate, and negotiate hard from the start but by entering that process in good faith, we can expect a better outcome.”
Also in today’s National, Craig Dalzell from the think tank says it is clear the Growth Commission “do not see this as a short term plan.”
He said Common Weal wanted a “future neutral approach” where Scotland is allowed the “maximum space to develop the policies and relationships that it wants.”
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