Scotland would be forced to join the Euro — but it doesn’t come close to the criteria to join the EU.
My third report on the SNP
Hamza Yousaf’s visit to his luxurious Brussels HQ is not going to change EU reality
I now present the cold, hard, economic facts of life for the SNP and their devout followers.
There is no question about this. All applicant countries must adopt the Euro as their currency and Scotland would be no exception.
To do so the SNP Scottish government would have to stop spending like there’s no tomorrow. Scotland’s deficit is far higher than the rest of the UK’s and they would be forced by the EU to reduce it dramatically before joining could be remotely possible. This would involve sweeping cuts to Scotland’s public services over several years.
This is what would an independent Scotland wanting to join the EU would have to do. At the moment the Scottish people get all this
- Free tuition
- Free prescriptions
- Free bus travel for under-22s
- Free personal care to all who need it
- Expanded free early learning and childcare to 1,140 hours
- Free sanitary products
- Expanded free school meals
- The Baby Box
Before the EU would allow Scotland to join all the above would have to be phased out to be fiscally prudent.
The Scots only get all that anyway because the Barnet formula pays for it so if they ever left the payment from the rest of us would stop anyway, so the Scottish Government to keep all that would have to either put up taxes quite heavily or borrow the money.
The Scottish economy
Scotland’s GDP represents approximately one-twelfth of the UK’s total. Despite this, the SNP is running a massive operation in Brussels, wholly separate from that of the UK — and acting against the national interests.
Scotland contributes only 7.7% of the GDP of the whole United Kingdom, according to the Scottish Government’s latest “Expenditure & Revenue Scotland (GERS) 2021–22”.
The Hard EU Realities for Scotland
Excluding North Sea revenue, revenue per person in Scotland is lower than the UK average by £805 in 2021–22. Even including North Sea oil, it is still £221 lower per person than the UK average.
Next, I look at government spending per person.
Scotland spends an average of £17,793 per inhabitant. In the rest of the UK, it is £15,830. This means that the SNP government is spending almost £2,000 more per inhabitant than the rest of the UK. This figure would be even greater if looking at the comparison between Scotland and England on its own.
Scotland’s exports to the EU represent only 19% of the total
According to the latest figures from HMRC, exports from the UK excluding Scotland were 11.5 times higher than from Scotland itself. More importantly, the EU27 countries are small markets for Scottish exports. Even if considered as a ‘bloc’, only 19% of Scotland’s exports go to the EU. By far the most important market for Scotland is England.
Exports from each of the four nations of the United Kingdom
In £’s billions
- England: £539.2
- Wales: £23.8
- NI: £13.2
- TOTAL: £576.2
- Scotland: £50.1
[Source: Latest HMRC official data for 2021.]
Fisheries — an important Scottish industry would be put in peril once again
If Scotland were to rejoin the EU it would once again be subject to the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, which has decimated Scotland’s fishing industry over many years.
The House of Commons Library reports that just under 70% of economic output from the UK’s fishing and aquaculture industry is generated in Scotland. This includes fishing (inshore and offshore), aquaculture (fish farming) and fish processing (preparing fish for food consumption).
Because of the freedoms of Brexit, the Scottish fisheries industry is expected to grow significantly over the next 10 years but all of this would stop if Scotland were able to join the EU and the progress would then be unravelled.
Finally, exactly how does the SNP propose to manage the border?
If Scotland were to become independent and then join the EU, it is absolutely certain that the EU would insist on a hard border between Scotland and England. Would the Scots Guard, man ever border crossing? Would English people have to show a passport?
How many Scots would come south in order to buy the cheaper produce in England, once they saw the differential between EU prices with EU import tariffs imposed and the cheaper alternatives in Brexit Britain?
In this series of three reports, I have shown how the SNP government in Scotland is profligate in its spending of taxpayers’ money. I have further shown how this is subsidised by the English taxpayer.
Today I have demonstrated that this largesse with other people’s money is political because only 19% of Scottish exports go to the EU. Scotland’s biggest market by far is the rest of the UK.
Finally, it must be asked why there is a grand ‘Scotland House in Brussels, when there is no ‘England House’, a ‘Wales House’, or a ‘Northern Ireland House’. The three other nations of the United Kingdom are content to have their interests represented by the British Embassy in Brussels. Why not Scotland?
The SNP finds itself currently embroiled in controversy, with its former leader Nicola Sturgeon and former Chairman (Sturgeon’s husband) having been arrested by the police (released without charge but investigations ongoing).
Seemingly the new leader, Hamza Yousaf, is happy to continue burning taxpayers’ money, by holding court in Scotland House this week. If he were serious about showing that the SNP has changed, he would close down this whole expensive operation. Instead, they are recruiting five more people.
What did Yousaf do while in Belgium at his nice plush Scotland House?
Well he did this
Humza Yousaf has been mocked after declaring that Scotland is a “European Nation” as he attempts to woo Belgian politicians on his first trip abroad as First Minister. And he also signed a new deal with a fellow separatist who previously courted controversy by attending a celebration of Belgians who fought with the Nazis during World War II.
The SNP leader has escaped to Brussels following his poorly received keynote speech at his party’s independence convention where he announced that he would want to break up the UK despite not having the support of the majority of Scots. He also claimed he would create an EU envoy role to promote independence across Europe.
But his proposals were met with scepticism from inside the nationalist camp, and an EU source slapped down his envoy claims by saying they only speak with “the official governments of third countries” i.e Westminster. Mr Yousaf is still trying to position Scotland as independent of the UK.
He used a speech in Brussels to tell political and business people that “Scotland views itself very much as a European nation”. Speaking at the European Policy Centre he highlighted the country’s important role in areas like renewable energy, the wellbeing economy and science and innovation.
But this was mocked on social media by people who pointed out that he was just pointing out something obvious as Scotland is located in Europe. One person wrote: “Obviously, lol. We’re part of Europe” to which someone responded, “Humza Yousaf winning the ‘stating the bleeding obvious award for 2023’.”
Another Twitter user added: “It’s quite amazing that merely stating the obvious fact that Scotland is in Europe is apparently considered an impressive political statement in some circles.”
Here is Chief SNP Clown Humza Yousaf with the Minister-President of Flanders Jan Jambon who is a fellow separatist known for having right-wing views. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding on trade, research, culture and the environment.
Key Yousaf ally Neil Gray
has previously met with the same controversial politician on one of his jaunts to Brussels. It was previously revealed that Mr Jambon had attended a meeting in 2001 of Belgians who had fought for Nazi Germany. I find the whole thing thoroughly distasteful.
Sources: Office for National Statistics | HMRC | Scottish government | House of Commons Library | EU Commission
