SNP deputy leader Stewart Hosie has criticised a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies into the SNP’s plans for full fiscal autonomy as “absolutely irrelevant”.
The report by the independent think-tank said that full fiscal autonomy would leave a £7.6 billion black hole in Scotland’s economy.
Speaking on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show, Hosie echoed arguments made by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that the report was a snapshot.
He claimed this “big scary number” ignored the £15bn of Scottish growth predicted to 2020, the extra growth the SNP says it can generate with more powers, and the UK’s comparable £75bn deficit.
He said: “The IFS figure is for this year, that is what they say. We are not going to have full fiscal autonomy this year, we haven’t even had the election.
“We would have to have the Queen’s Speech and then legislation through both Houses of Parliament. It’s absolutely irrelevant because it is a figure for this year.”
He added: “£7.6bn – it’s a big, scary number and it’s the one that our opponents have alighted upon this week, (but) the UK has a deficit of £75bn and a debt of £1.5 trillion.
“It’s rather patronising for our opponents to suggest that Scotland couldn’t manage a deficit down from £7.6bn into the future, but the UK, which has performed very badly, can somehow suggest that they can get their deficit down.”
After the leaders' debate in Aberdeen, where Sturgeon said she would like full fiscal autonomy as soon as it could be arranged in Westminster, the IFS report dominated the election campaign at the end of last week with Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats all using it to damn the SNP’s economic credibility.
Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy claimed that the policy would lead to “full fiscal austerity”.
Over the weekend, the SNP began to make the economic case for full fiscal autonomy, with the First Minister writing in the Sunday Herald that it was a “grown-up, responsible financial arrangement”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here