And of course, it will give the devolved administration some extra cash to spend on bottle recycling, or rent controls, or gender transition clinics, or whatever madcap, virtue-signalling scheme happens to catch its fancy that week. It hasn’t had much luck with imposing extra taxes so far, so perhaps it can just borrow the money instead.
Here’s the problem, however. If Yousaf thinks that the bond markets will be in any rush to lend him a few extra hundred million every year, he is surely making a big mistake. There are so many reasons why Scotland is a poor investment, it is hard for even its most diligent critics to keep track of them all.
Its budget deficit hit a peak of almost 23pc during the pandemic, and it is still running at 9pc of GDP – double the level of Italy. Its economy is contracting, with a 0.3pc fall in GDP in the second quarter of this year, compared to modest growth for the UK as a whole.
It has declared war on the North Sea oil and gas industry, even though it is the most secure part of the country’s tax base, and potentially a huge money spinner for the government. It has raised taxes significantly above those in England, threatening a brain drain as well Edinburgh’s crucial role as a financial centre.
Its record on major public projects is one of waste and inefficiency: the cost of new ferries for the islands, to take just one example, is so far over budget it makes HS2 look well-run by comparison.
And of course, its former leader Nicola Sturgeon was arrested over missing party funds. Add it all up, and it hardly looks like a reliable home for your cash. When you could be lending money to the governments of, say, Switzerland or Germany, it is very hard to see why you would want to offer it to Humza instead.
Scottish independence is about to be dealt a fatal blow
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And of course, it will give the devolved administration some extra cash to spend on bottle recycling, or rent controls, or gender transition clinics, or whatever madcap, virtue-signalling scheme happens to catch its fancy that week. It hasn’t had much luck with imposing extra taxes so far, so perhaps it can just borrow the money instead.
Here’s the problem, however. If Yousaf thinks that the bond markets will be in any rush to lend him a few extra hundred million every year, he is surely making a big mistake. There are so many reasons why Scotland is a poor investment, it is hard for even its most diligent critics to keep track of them all.
Its budget deficit hit a peak of almost 23pc during the pandemic, and it is still running at 9pc of GDP – double the level of Italy. Its economy is contracting, with a 0.3pc fall in GDP in the second quarter of this year, compared to modest growth for the UK as a whole.
It has declared war on the North Sea oil and gas industry, even though it is the most secure part of the country’s tax base, and potentially a huge money spinner for the government. It has raised taxes significantly above those in England, threatening a brain drain as well Edinburgh’s crucial role as a financial centre.
Its record on major public projects is one of waste and inefficiency: the cost of new ferries for the islands, to take just one example, is so far over budget it makes HS2 look well-run by comparison.
And of course, its former leader Nicola Sturgeon was arrested over missing party funds. Add it all up, and it hardly looks like a reliable home for your cash. When you could be lending money to the governments of, say, Switzerland or Germany, it is very hard to see why you would want to offer it to Humza instead.
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