Alex Salmond's tax and spend figures for an independent Scotland simply do not add up, writes Ed Jacobs.
Putting aside the bluster and bellicose rhetoric that is likely to be at the heart of Alex Slamond’s speech to the SNP faithful at their annual conference tomorrow, if he is to have any chance of realising his dream of an independent nation he will need to make a persuasive case the Scottish people would be economically better off by leaving the UK.
In opening the party’s conference in Perth yesterday, the SNP leader sought to continue with the argument Scotland is a net contributor to the UK as a sign an independent Scotland would indeed be somehow richer.
He declared:
“At the last count, Scotland received 9.6% of the UK’s taxation, and received 9.3% of the UK’s spending. That gap is £2.7bn, or to put it another way £1,000 for every family in Scotland.
“That’s £1,000 that we could spend on vital services. That £1,000 that means we could borrow less, we could save for the future, or we could defend the vital services which are part of the social fabric of Scotland.”
Looking deeper at the figures, however, reveals that whilst as a percentage, Salmond’s case might be true, when looking at actual amounts spent, Scotland ends up being a net beneficiary from its membership of the union.
On revenue received from Scotland, the Scottish government’s official expenditure and revenue statistics, known as GERS, for 2010-11 (published in March this year), puts the total figure at £53.1 billion – which equates to 9.6% of the total UK tax take.
The GERS report explained:
“In 2010-11, total Scottish non-North Sea public sector revenue was estimated at £45.2 billion, (8.3 per cent of total UK non-North Sea revenue). Including a per capita share of North Sea revenue, total Scottish public sector revenue was estimated at £45.9 billion (8.3 per cent of UK total public sector revenue).
“When an illustrative geographical share of North Sea revenue is included, total Scottish public sector revenue was estimated at £53.1 billion (9.6 per cent of UK total public sector revenue).”
On spending, however, whilst the figures do indeed show Scotland received 9.3% of all UK-wide public spending, this amounts to £63.8 billion.
As the GERS report notes:
“In 2010-11, total public sector expenditure for the benefit of Scotland by the UK government, Scottish government and all other tiers of the public sector, plus a per capita share of debt interest payments, was £63.8 billion. This is equivalent to 9.3 per cent of total UK public sector expenditure.”
By being part of the UK therefore, Scotland receives £10.7 billion more than it pays in.
Meanwhile, as Salmond also insisted yesterday that the party is the closest it has ever been to achieving its dream of independence, new polling by IPSOS Mori for the Times does not bear this out.
With the polling period for the regular Scottish Public Opinion Monitor having finished on Monday, the very day Alex Salmond put his name on the document that established the framework for a referendum, IPSOS Mori’s figures show:
• Of those who indicated that they are certain to vote in the 2014 referendum, 30% agreed that Scotland should be an independent country, down 5 points since June and 9 points down since January. Support for the Union meanwhile has increased, as 58% of Scots said they would vote ‘No’ in the referendum, an increase of 3 points since June and eight points since January. Twelve per cent of respondents said they were undecided, up 2 points since June;
• Asked about voting intentions for the Scottish Parliament, Labour has managed to reduce the gap with the SNP to 5 points. The SNP are on 40% among those certain to vote, down 5 points since June, and Labour on 35%, an increase of 3 points over the same period. This represents a ten-point swing in favour of Labour since IPSOS Mori’s poll in December 2011. The Conservatives are on 13%, up 1 point from June, with the Liberal Democrats on 8%, up 2 points since June;
• Alex Salmond continues to be the most popular leader in Scotland as half of respondents said they are satisfied with his performance. However, his net satisfaction rating has fallen from +35% in December 2011 to +10% in this poll;
• Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont’s recent speech on universal benefits has done little to boost her standing among Scottish voters. Just 35% are satisfied with her performance as leader while 30% are dissatisfied. This represents a net satisfaction rating of +5%, which has fallen by 4 points since June. Of particular concern will be the fact a third of Scots felt unable to rate her performance, the same as IPSOS’s poll in June;
• Interestingly, since IPSOS’s June poll, the only leader to have seen their net satisfaction ratings increase in Scotland is David Cameron – he is up 11 points.
Outlining the scale of the challenge the nationalists now face, Christopher McLean, senior research executive with Ipsos MORI Scotland, explained:
“Now that the process for the referendum has been agreed and the real debate can begin, this poll highlights the considerable challenges facing the ‘Yes’ campaign. At the turn of the year, support for independence was increasing and touching 40%. That momentum appears to have been lost and the level of support for independence has returned to its historical average.
“On the other hand, although the ‘Better Together’ campaign has a healthy lead, the poll shows that they cannot afford to be complacent, particularly given that more than one in ten Scots remain undecided.”
16 Responses to “Another Salmond fail: The SNP’s tax and spend figures don’t add up”
Garve Scott-Lodge
This isn’t complicated, so please try to keep up.
You say that “By being part of the UK therefore, Scotland receives £10.7 billion more than it pays in.”
That is correct. Where does this £10.7 billion come from? It is borrowed by the UK govt.
The UK as a whole raised £553bn in income, but spent £686bn in expenditure. The UK as a whole was therefore £133bn in deficit. That is, 19% of the UK’s expenditure was borrowed.
Scotland raised £53bn in income, but spent £64bn in expenditure. Scotland was therefore £11bn in deficit. That is, 17% of Scotland’s expenditure was borrowed.
Both the UK as a whole, and Scotland are spending more than we’re bringing in, but Scotland’s economy is LESS in deficit than the UK’s.
The only way in which the ‘extra £10.7bn’ is a benefit of the union to Scotland, is if you assume that we don’t have to pay it back. Sadly, whether as part of the UK, or as an independent country, we will have to pay back our share of the debt.
Therefore the figures you quote are an argument FOR independence, not against.
John Ruddy
The only way they are an argument for independence is if you assume we are going to spend £10billion less in an independent Scotland. So what are you going to cut?
Garve Scott-Lodge
Nonsense. As part of the UK, we borrow money, and we pay it back. Scotland pays back it’s share of borrowings. As an independent country we’d borrow money, and we’d pay it back – that’s what most countries do.
We are already paying our share of the UK’s overall debt. After independence we’d take that share with it and continue to service it, just as rUK would service its share.
John Ruddy
So what are you going to cut to spend £10bn less?
Newsbot9
Yes, so you’re arguing that you’re talking on a larger debt repayment, AND you’d have to cut spending.