Scotland in deficit
The Telegraph reports:
Scotland last year ran up a £15 billion deficit that was proportionately twice the size of the UK’s, according to “devastating” official figures that prompted a sustained attack on Nicola Sturgeon’s honesty about independence.
David Cameron said the figures demonstrated that Scots would have faced tax increases on whisky, petrol, income and homes if they had voted to leave the UK. Alex Salmond’s preferred ‘independence day’ was March 24 this year.
Holyrood’s opposition parties said the Scottish Government statistics demonstrated the scale of the “con” Ms Sturgeon tried to sell Scottish voters during the referendum by vastly inflating the future value of oil.
They went on the attack after the First Minister published Government ExpeScotlnditure and Revenue Scotland (Gers) figures for 2014/15, which showed Scotland was in the red to the tune of 9.7 per cent of its GDP compared to 4.9 per cent for the UK as a whole.
This was the second highest figure on record after 2009/10, during the depths of the recession and the banking crisis. In contrast, the rest of the UK’s finances have improved every year since the end of the downturn.
Scotland is on a spending spree Greek style.