Scottish independence could make people £10,000 better off, Swinney says

Scottish households would be more than £10,000 better off per year if the country was independent, a Government paper has suggested.

The First Minister published a new paper on independence on Wednesday as well as a technical paper, which he said looked at the “macroeconomic framework of an independent Scotland”.

The “Fresh Start with Independence” document claimed that off the back of an assessment from the Resolution Foundation, UK households would see an £8,300 per year boost if the average income and inequality was the same as other countries of a similar size.

If the same analysis was applied to an independent Scotland, the paper argued, Scottish households would be £10,200 better off.

But the paper adds: “That does not mean Scottish households would instantly be more than £10,000 richer each year if Scotland was a nation state, or even that we would be as successful just by being independent.

“Instead it shows how much better those comparable nation states do than the UK, and what we might be able to do if we were able to make our own choices about the shape and direction of our economy.

“The prize of independence, the Scottish Government believes, is not matching the performance of these independent countries straight away, but the opportunity to start catching up.”

Scottish Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra MSP accused Swinney of making “baseless claims” which are “entirely detached from reality”.

“The Scottish Government’s own GERS statistics demonstrate that Scotland would lose £14 billion on day one of independence,” Marra said.

“Frankly, these tired claims are an embarrassment which leave the SNP Government’s credibility in tatters.”

Marra said the SNP should focus on “the very real issues” facing Scotland, such as housing, health, and education, which he said have been “neglected” by SNP ministers.

Independence ‘urgent and essential’ as Farage drives UK to the right

The First Minister said Scotland becoming independent is “urgent and essential” as a result of the “rightward shift” in the UK.

“Given the direction Westminster is intent on taking Scotland day by day, the need for people in Scotland to consider an alternative future is becoming more and more pressing,” he said.

“Indeed, I believe it is urgent and essential.

“The prospect of Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister is a very real one, but even if Farage does not make it to Number 10, he is driving the agenda at Westminster ever more to the right.

“I believe, with all my head and all my heart, that cannot be the best future for Scotland.”

The First Minister listed Brexit, rising energy bills, UK migration policies, and stagnating living standards in both the UK and Scotland as “obvious factors” that have changed since Scotland last considered the question of independence in 2014.

He insisted that the current UK economic model “is not working for Scotland”.

The new paper states that energy bills would begin to fall, and Scotland could rejoin the EU, regaining the right to live, work, study, and travel across the region.

Swinney also promised that independence would boost the Scottish NHS and wider health and social care.

The Scottish Conservatives called the SNP’s paper a “fantasy” and said the First Minister was “out of touch”.

“The public expect the First Minister to focus on fixing the mess the SNP have created, but, as always, he’s distracted from the day job by his life’s obsession,” the party’s deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said.

“Our message is simple: move on John.

“Independence would make Scotland poorer and everyone would suffer the consequences of the SNP’s economic sabotage.”