SCOTTISH playparks could be plastered with Union flags in an attempt to quell support for independence.
British branding could also be placed on community centres in towns and villages under the UK Government’s plans to prevent a Yes vote.
Spearheaded by Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, the measures will see Holyrood bypassed as Westminster hands money directly to councils and other local bodies in Scotland. But the SNP have warned the promises will amount to real-terms cuts, not cash boosts.
The funding is expected to go towards community centres, local parks, shared spaces projects and other schemes "that make an obvious impact on regenerating a local community", the Telegraph has reported.
"We want people in Scotland to see where the butter comes from," one Cabinet minister told the paper.
READ MORE: Union flag should be stuck to all UK spending in Scotland, former Blair strategist tells BBC
As part of the plans, Union flag branding will be used in many of the projects which are funded by the UK Government.
In response to the proposals to help save the Union, Alison Thewliss told The National: “Westminster control means cuts to Scotland – not cash. The last time the Tories had control of local spending in Scotland, they diverted funds to their own seats in the south east. As recent events have shown us since Boris Johnson’s botched Brexit agreement, Tory promises mean nothing."
She added: “The Scottish Parliament were promised more powers, but they have no intention of doing so. Instead, they plan to do the opposite.
“May’s election offers Scotland two choices: more broken promises and austerity measures under Boris Johnson, or the right to decide if Scotland has a progressive future within the European Union as an independent country.”
The UK Government funding will be funnelled through the Community Renewal Fund, which is being replaced in 2022-23 by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The latter is designed to compensate for the loss of EU funding, but will not be allocated by the Scottish Government. Instead, Westminster will use the powers outlined in the UK Internal Market Act to allow it to bypass the devolved administrations.
Jack told the Telegraph: "Scotland has two governments, and it is absolutely right that the UK Government invests directly in Scotland.
"We will be working with local authorities, who know their communities well. People in Scotland can expect significant direct UK Government investment in their communities in the coming months and years.”
Funding for the British-branded projects will also come via the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, of which £800m is to be spent in Scotland, the Treasury announced last week.
READ MORE: SNP hit out at 'naked power grab' by Tories looking to spend in devolved areas
However, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has warned the fund leaves a £400 million hole in the Scottish Government’s coffers after the UK Government decided the fund should be administered across the entirety of the UK by Westminster in a similar way to the Shared Prosperity Fund, news Forbes said her officials learned about through a news release.
In a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak ahead of this week's Budget announcement, she wrote: "I have built my budget around reasonable expectations that UK Government expenditure in devolved areas in England would generate Barnett consequentials, and so I would be grateful for assurances that this £400 million gap in the Scottish budget will be filled.
“Scottish Government funding should not be cut to pay for UK Government policies that are designed to undermine the devolution settlement.”
Jack’s plan to prevent the break of the Union were revealed as Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross urged his bosses to call for a boycott of indyref2 were it not to be approved by Westminster. The SNP have said they will take their case to court if Westminster was to reject a Section 30 order request in the aftermath of a landslide SNP victory in May.
The Telegraph reported that demands to boycott a so-called "wildcat" referendum will be formally discussed by Jack, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
However, one Cabinet minister said: “If they [the SNP] held one of their own, we just would not engage. There is no way they would get to 50 per cent of the electorate.”
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