THE publication of the latest Government Expenditure and Revenue for Scotland (GERS) figures has triggered a now traditional feeding frenzy. A black hole in Scotland’s finances is heralded by Unionist politicians as validating the continuation of their beloved Union.

The killer phrase for me from the GERS report is: “The report is designed to allow users to understand and analyse Scotland’s fiscal position under different scenarios within the current constitutional framework.”

GERS is therefore a measure of the public finances under the current Union, hardly the greatest endorsement for how the economy has been managed on the UK’s watch. Major economic levers required to stimulate economic growth are still currently reserved to Westminster.

READ MORE: The REAL Scottish Politics: GERS is nothing but a Unionist tool

It is indeed a bizarre scenario when politicians from Unionist parties, who should be ashamed at the situation, actively gloat and support a Union that has mismanaged the economy so appallingly.

GERS is a set of figures based on a measure of guesswork that indicate very little, except highlighting the negatives of the Union. It has little bearing on the finances of an independent Scotland.

The point of independence is not to do everything in the same way as it has been done within the current constitutional framework, but to move away from this one-size-fits-all fiscal straitjacket to a tailored approach that prioritises stimulating economic growth.

Alex Orr
Edinburgh

REGARDING the latest GERS publication: a reminder that no devolved Scottish Government has ever “overspent” on devolved responsibilities. And that 37% of spending and 74% of revenue in the GERS figures are reserved by the UK Government. The Scottish Government has no control over that.

As a result: Scotland – as part of the UK – is (apparently) performing much worse than other western European countries of similar size but with fewer natural resources. That aside: last week’s GERS figures showed that Westminster is fully reliant on Scotland’s natural resources to keep it afloat, rather than the other way around.

READ MORE: Douglas Ross's claims GERS shows 'record Union dividend' branded 'fiction'

Independence supporters love the fact that GERS repeatedly prove that the “union” with Westminster isn’t working for Scotland – and we thank the annual reports that remind us that this is the case. And, of course, this gives our future, independent, Scottish government – whoever we choose to elect – a pretty low base to be measured against and, unless they were daft enough to continue to run Scotland’s economy as poorly as it’s run by Westminster, they can only do better.

Ian Waugh
Dumfries & Galloway Indy Hub

CAN I just add my endorsement of Richard Muphy’s plea to the SNP Scottish government that they, with application, focus on developing a better assessment of Scotland’s economic performance than their current GERS figures?

To say the SNP government annually shoot themselves in the foot with GERS is an understatement!

Like Richard, I do wonder why they willingly perpetuate this annual act of self-immobilisation.

As a retired banker – yes, I know, not popular these days, but stick with me – I am still in contact not only with some number of former fellow senior bankers but also successful business owners, and the “GERS deficit” is the single most regularly discussed topic as to why Scotland could not be a successful independent nation, certainly as far as this audience is concerned.

READ MORE: Richard Murphy: The 2022 GERS report will be nonsense, and it should be the last ever published

The key point being that many people are influenced in their decision on independence by the GERS figures. Strategically, for the SNP and the independence movement, producing them in this format is a massive own goal.

It really is not good enough. Richard asks that the SNP government produce, in anticipation of the referendum to come, a new estimate which is of the income we could expect were we in control of our own tax borders. I would add let’s go for a complete assessment of both income and expenditure which excludes the heavy loading of UK-shared costs. An income and expenditure assessment and balance sheet for the independent nation that we hope to be.

What are the SNP government scared of? It’s not as if the UK is performing well, with its indebtedness of £2.4 trillion, a balance of trade deficit which is eye-watering and a collapse in the value of Sterling. Scotland, independent, could hardly fail to outperform the UK.

READ MORE: Yes must show Scots we 'can't afford' to stay in UK to win indyref2, campaigners say

You doubt it? The last time I looked, the Irish Republic’s GDP is more than three times that of the UK and its economy is booming.

Come on, SNP leadership, you need to get off the fence and start acting as if you believe in Scotland, not produce this self-defeating drivel.

I would also add that with only 14 months to go until the planned referendum date, we need these “revised” figures out there now.

Of course, they too will be estimates, but let’s at least produce a fair estimate which supports our objective not this CRAP (Completely Rubbish Approximation of the Truth).

Ian Stewart
Uig, Isle of Skye

IF I read another “cross-party support” comment like Joanna Cherry’s (Aug 23), I’ll throw up. Week in, week out, the same old “let’s get together on a united front to gain independence.” Well, get your arses into gear, stop writing about it and act, bring these groups you all speak so robustly about together and show not just the Yessers but the switherers as well that we have the collective support needed to win the next “whatever” “whenever” election or vote.

So please someone, anyone, take the bull by the horns and get “cross-party support” done.

Ken McCartney
Hawick