PRE-BUDGET REPORT HIDES SCOTLAND’S ECONOMIC STRENGTH

PRE-BUDGET REPORT HIDES SCOTLAND’S ECONOMIC STRENGTH

SCOTTISH WEALTH PER HEAD FAR EXCEEDS UK AVERAGE

HIGHEST GROWTH IN FIRST FULL YEAR OF SNP GOVERNMENT SHOWS YOU CAN'T TRUST A WORD LABOUR SAYS

Previewing a debate on the Pre-Budget Report in the Commons tomorrow (Thursday) the SNP has highlighted an analysis of the latest official statistics, which shows that Scotland has a greater wealth per head than the UK average and that the highest growth anywhere in the United Kingdom was in Scotland in 2008 – the first full year of the SNP Government and also the year the credit crunch hit.

According to the Office of National Statistics’ 2009 of Gross Value Added (GVA) – the UK’s preferred method of measuring wealth instead of GDP – the highest growth was in Scotland at 4.7% for 2008 compared to UK GVA growth of 3.5%.

And when the GVA per head is calculated to include Scotland’s share of the ‘Extra-Regio’ – overwhelmingly off-shore oil and gas – the wealth per head in Scotland is £26,794 compared to £21,147.00 for the UK; and the gap between Scotland and the UK took a dramatic change in 2008.

Speaking in advance of a debate on the Pre-Budget Report in the Commons tomorrow (Thursday) SNP Treasury Spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP, said:

“This strong showing for Scotland is testament to the economic policies of the SNP Government. It not only destroys the arguments Labour made before the 2007 election about an SNP Government but it shatters their current scaremongering about Scotland’s present economic potential and ability to weather the storm of recession.

“It shows people cannot trust a word Labour says on Scotland’s economy and our neighbours’ economies.

“Far from the hysterical outpourings from Labour in 2007 we actually see that in the first full year of an SNP Government the Scottish economy grew the fastest of any part of the UK that was measured.

“And this is even before the wealth from the oddly named ‘Extra-Regio’ – or mainly the North Sea as everyone else knows it – is added to Scotland’s wealth figures and shows that wealth per head far exceeds that of the UK and that the gap increased at a faster rate under an SNP Government.

“Not only that but we are talking about the year when there was substantial global turmoil. So much for the Uriah Heap tales of woe from those in the London parties who seek to undermine Scottish self-confidence.

“Put alongside the latest IMF projections showing that neighbouring countries are not only still wealthier than the UK but will become even more wealthier, these latest stats beg questions of the scaremongering deployed by the London parties.

“These figures also pour yet more water on the increasingly daft arguments that Scotland is dependent on London government. Scotland is doing well and has seen a current budget surplus for three years running of 2.3 billion pounds, compared to a UK deficit of 24 billion pounds over the same period.

“With unemployment in Scotland lower than it is in rest of the UK it also looks like Scotland’s oil and gas is keeping the UK economy afloat with £50 billion flowing from the North Sea and straight into a black hole in the Treasury’s coffers.

“But the UK Labour Government is threatening to drag Scotland down with a savage £800m cut to the Scottish budget and their irresponsible refusal to advance capital spend – both decisions which endanger Scotland’s economic strength and recovery from recession.”