TORIES ALLY WITH LABOUR TO SAVAGELY CUT SCOTTISH SPENDING

GOLDIE RENEGES ON PROMISE TO LIMIT CUTS IN SCOTLAND

"WHERE WILL TORY-LABOUR ALLIANCE MAKE THEIR CUTS?"

The Tories in Scotland have reneged on a promise to limit Scottish spending cuts to £28 million and are now backing Labour's plans for £500 million says SNP MSP Joe FitzPatrick – a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee.

Yesterday Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie demanded that £500 million of cuts be identified in Scottish public spending - a figure supported by the Labour party.

This is in direct contradiction to their statement in January when they said that their plans had been drawn up in such a way that Scotland would only have to find £28 million of cuts because they would not affect health and education spending south of the border. (The Scottish budget is determined by spending in departments south of the border under the Barnett Formula.

Commenting Mr FitzPatrick said:

"Annabel Goldie's confirmation yesterday that she now wants to support Labour's plans for £500 million in spending cuts only confirms our previous concerns that the Tories would renege on their promise to limit cuts to £28 million.

"With Annabel Goldie now confirming she is supporting Labour's cuts she now has to follow her own advice and come clean. She has to explain why she has reneged on that promise not to cut spending by £500 million?

"And she and her Labour allies must also say where they will make their planned cuts. That the Tories plan £500 million cuts means that both they and Labour will cut spending to frontline services in health and education in Scotland.

"However they have not identified one area to cut despite calling for details from others. In fact both have been calling for more spending over this very weekend!

"If both were truly standing up for Scotland's public services they would be opposing these cuts like the SNP.

"They would both be agreeing with the SNP that the best way to save the tax payers cash is to dump the multi-billion Trident nuclear missile programme and the last vestiges of ID card, instead of cutting jobs and services.

“And with the latest GERS analysis showing Scotland in budget surplus – with a surplus of some £2.3 billion in the past three years - it beggars belief that two parties in the Scottish Parliament would be following their London bosses' cuts agenda.

"Rather than pay the price for the UK's mismanagement of our economy, the Westminster cuts make it absolutely clear why Scotland needs to gain responsibility for all of own tax and spending with independence.”

GERS SURPLUS SHOWS INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND WOULD PROSPER

£2.3 BILLION BUDGET BONUS FOR SCOTLAND

SCOTLAND’S RESOURCES PROPPING UP GORDON BROWN’S OVERDRAFT

SNP MP and Treasury Spokesman Stewart Hosie has welcomed the publication of Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland 2007/08 which in highlighting Scotland’s £2.3 billion three year surplus confirms Scotland’s ability to prosper as an independent country and adds to the
case for full fiscal autonomy.

The three year surplus, in contrast to UK Government deficit over the same period puts pay to the claims of the Calman Commission on fiscal autonomy and to the Scotland Office’s contrived efforts to fiddle the figures.

Commenting on the publication of Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland report 2007-08 which confirms Scotland’s economic potential Treasury Spokesman Stewart Hosie MP said;

“With this three year surplus of £2.3 billion even GERS is showing Scotland would be in a far healthier financial position than the UK as a whole.

“It is clear that the flow of resources is from Scotland to the rest of the UK, not the other way round and with oil revenues projected to reach £13 billion in 2008/09 Labour’s ridiculous attempts to talk down Scotland’s economy and fiddle the figures have been exposed.

“Even before this recession Scotland’s revenues have been propping up Gordon Brown’s overdraft instead of being invested in our economic future.

“In fact these latest figures are only the most recent to show Scotland in a consistently stronger financial position than the UK as a whole with far more sustainable revenue and expenditure.

“The SNP have long known that Scotland could flourish as an independent country, now GERS shows that Scotland would be a prosperous nation with a budget surplus.

“Today’s GERS figures, added to those of the last two years finally put to rest the daft arguments spouted by the London based parties for years. The naysayers and doom-mongers of Scotland’s economic future will need to rethink their position.”

“With Independence and full fiscal autonomy Scotland will be well placed to thrive, as we invest our resources in Scotland’s future.”