THE Scottish Greens have highlighted the economic rift in the Yes movement ahead of tomorrow’s fifth anniversary of the independence referendum.
Signalling their desire to help write the prospectus for Indyref2, the Greens said the SNP must not be as “conservative” as it was five years ago or “repeat the mistake” of backing a failed economic model.
Demanding the vote be held “on a more radical prospectus”, MSP Patrick Harvie said: “In 2014 the SNP got caught in the trap laid by Better Together which saw them make a continuity case for independence. It became about retaining the monarchy, membership of NATO, the pound and various other trappings of the UK’s discredited system. This meant things like currency became a major factor in the result.
READ MORE: How the papers reacted to Boris Johnson's humiliating press conference
“Unfortunately, the SNP’s response to that has to become even more conservative.
“Its Growth Commission suggests tight spending controls, extended use of the UK’s currency and continued austerity. It would create a little Britain, not a new Scotland.”
SNP depute leader Keith Brown said independence would let Scotland set economic policy in its own interests “instead of being tied to an increasingly arrogant and dangerous Tory government”.
He added: “The Tory austerity model has failed Scotland. Our economic plan, as set out by the Sustainable Growth Commission, shows how an independent Scotland could use the powers of independence to grow our economy and invest in our public services.
READ MORE: Greens attack ‘conservative’ SNP on Indyref anniversary
“Indeed, the latest GERS figures show that Scotland’s public finances are already stronger than the Growth Commission’s assumptions.
“The opportunities of independence stand in stark contrast to the economic damage posed by Brexit - replacing uncertainty and fear with optimism and hope about Scotland’s future.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel