{"id":26994,"date":"2023-12-18T16:19:22","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T16:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belalcazar.org\/?p=26994"},"modified":"2023-12-18T16:19:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T16:19:22","slug":"scotland-8-5billion-worse-off-than-rest-of-uk-thanks-to-snp-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belalcazar.org\/politics\/scotland-8-5billion-worse-off-than-rest-of-uk-thanks-to-snp-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland \u00a38.5billion worse off than rest of UK thanks to SNP – study"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Scotland would be \u00a38.5billion better off if it had grown at the same rate as the rest of the UK over the course of the last decade, a new study has claimed.<\/p>\n

And the Scottish government, now led by First Minister Humza Yousaf, has been accused of being \u201cbereft of ambition\u201d, with Scots \u201cpaying the price\u201d for the SNP\u2019s failure.<\/p>\n

The report, published by Scottish Labour, is based on an analysis of ONS regional GDP figures covering the period from 2012 to 2021.<\/p>\n

It also suggests Scotland\u2019s economy lags behind the growth in other regions of the UK.<\/p>\n

If the growth in Scotland\u2019s economy had kept pace with North West England, it would be a whopping \u00a311.5 billion bigger, if it had replicated the growth in Wales it would be \u00a39.6 billion larger and if it had kept up with the West Midlands it would larger by \u00a39.1 billion.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> EU dumps more than 200 million Covid vaccines – costing taxpayers \u00a33.4billion<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As such, Scotland\u2019s GDP would be \u00a3834 more per head in Scotland if it had replicated the overall UK growth, \u00a31,567 more if it had kept up with the North West of England and \u00a32,376 if it had followed Wales.<\/p>\n

The analysis was released the day before the Scottish Government is due to publish its Budget for 2024\/25, with a report published by the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) warning it was facing a funding black hole of around \u00a31.5 billion.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the research, Scottish Labour Finance spokesman Michael Marra said: \u201cThe SNP\u2019s low growth economy has robbed billions of pounds from Scotland\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile regions like the North West have thrived with the devolved mayors in Manchester and Liverpool, Scotland\u2019s potential has been held back by an SNP government bereft of ideas or ambition.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThis growth gap has hammered public finances, and now the SNP is gearing up to slash frontline services and hike taxes once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cScots are sick of paying the price of SNP failure \u2013 we need a government focused on growing our economy, creating quality jobs, and protecting public services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tory leader Douglas Ross was similarly scathing, saying: \u201cEconomic growth has been anaemic in SNP Scotland compared to the rest of the UK \u2013 and it\u2019s costing the country dear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referring to the deputy First Minister, also Cabinet Secretary for Finance, he continued: \u201cDespite Shona Robison\u2019s desperate attempts to blame the UK Government for the enormous black hole in the SNP Government\u2019s finances, everyone knows where the blame lies.<\/p>\n