Nicola Sturgeon’s “crazy” hopes for the Scottish economy in the wake of independence from the UK would be a “disaster” and Scotland would “take decades” to recover, it has been warned. Senior SNP MPs have used Liz Truss Chancellor’s recent mini-budget as a reason to push for Scottish independence, arguing it proves why Scotland would be better alone.
But John Ferry, contributing editor for the think tank These Islands and a former financial journalist, said if “Trussonomics is stupid, then Sturgeonomics is crazy”.
It comes after Kwasi Kwarteng released his mini-budget on Friday, which has unleashed a wave of criticism.
Ian Blackford posted on Twitter: “All of the economic arguments of the better together campaign in 2014 for Scotland staying in the UK have been dismantled and now blown apart by this Government.
“Brexit has been a disaster now they have destroyed any financial credibility they had. #YouYesYet.”
But Mr Ferry said Mr Blackford and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s economic plans for Scotland in 2014 was “misguided” and would have been a “disaster” if they had their way.
He pointed to their plans for a new state with no currency of its own, no central bank able to control Scotland-specific interest rates or engage in quantitative easing.
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“If Trussonomics is stupid, then Sturgeonomics is crazy.”
Prime Minister Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng are under pressure to recall the House of Commons in an attempt to calm markets following the chaos unleashed by the Chancellor’s mini-budget.
The Bank of England was forced to take emergency action, buying up long-term Government bonds because of a “material risk to UK financial stability”, while the International Monetary Fund urged the Chancellor to change course.
“The consequences would have to be played out in full. Economic recovery would be measured in years, maybe even decades.
“Recent days have provided an abject lesson in how markets react to a government that plays fast and loose with fiscal credibility.
“Nicola Sturgeon and her party might see it as another opportunity to make the case for independence, but in reality it is another reminder of how dangerous her blind faith in separation is.”
