New GERS data fundamentally makes the case for Scottish Independence

Vicky Fairley — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 14:10:42 +0000

Primary Author or Creator

MacIntyre-Kemp, Gordon

Vicky Fairley Thu, 09/02/2021 - 15:10

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Business for Scotland

Alternative Published Date

August 2021

Category

Economy

Type of Resource

business network website article

Fast Facts

Latest GERS (UK Government's Expenditure and Revenue Report for Scotland) figures have been released. The author sets out what the figures represent and how they can be misleading in terms of Scotland's capabilities as an independent nation.

More details

GERS paints a picture of Scotland’s economy as a result of that economy largely being controlled by Westminster. It does not tell us how an independent Scotland would perform, as in that case, the Scottish Government would have the power to make very different fiscal and monetary choices.

Scotland’s overall budget is set by Westminster. 70% of its revenues are controlled by Westminster and 40% of its spending. Scotland possesses natural wealth unequalled by any other small northern European country. The article compares GDP figures from GERS and benchmarks those against independent Northern European nations closest in size to Scotland and demonstrates how Scotland is constrained by Westminster's mismanagement of the economy.

It highlights Norway's $1trillion sovereign oil fund while a far larger UK is £2 trillion in debt and how Ireland's economic growth has significantly outperformed the UK's by almost 4 times since the 2008 financial crash.

Without Scotland’s advantages, those nations’ economies outperform Scotland overall and also the UK on a per head basis. It is clear that Scotland being an economic region of the UK is what is holding Scotland back from reaching that economic potential.

It concludes that GERS provides indisputable proof that Scotland could be significantly wealthier if it were an independent nation.

Resource Address (URL)

https://www.businessforscotland.com/new-gers-data-fundamentally-makes-the-case-…

Keywords

Language English