Mr Etheridge, however, rebuked her efforts and said the Scottish people had their say in the 2014 independence referendum.
Advertisement
Firstly, and most immediately, Nicola Sturgeon is seeking to some extent to pre-empt the publication on Wednesday of Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures. In turn, that would reduce tax income by as much as 3.7 billion pounds a year.
He added: “The real uncertainty for Scotland’s economy is being caused by Nicola Sturgeon’s talk of a second independence referendum”.
“That is the point that I am making”.
It estimated that by 2030 the cost to Scotland’s economy of leaving the Brussels bloc will range from £1.7 billion to £11.2 billion a year.
“Whatever the final form of Brexit, whatever “Brexit means Brexit” turns out to actually mean in practice, the old argument that the United Kingdom somehow delivers financial security for Scotland no longer holds water”.
“The only way to protect Scotland’s economy — and the clear benefits which come from being part of the world’s biggest single market — is to work to ensure we protect our relationship with the EU”, Sturgeon said in a statement on the Scottish government’s website.
Hammering home her desire to make sure Scotland maintains its links with the European Union, she continued: “The only way to protect Scotland’s economy – and the clear benefits which come from being part of the world’s biggest single market – is to work to ensure we protect our relationship with the EU”.
“I have already had useful talks with the new Prime Minister, the European Union institutions and individual member states in order to pursue that objective, and these are discussions which will continue in the weeks and months ahead”.
The First Minister will appoint a new minister to lead the Scottish Government in talks with the UK Government over the terms of Brexit.
It found EEA membership was likely to have the smallest impact on the economy and public finances, while WTO trading rules would likely have the largest impact.
Ms Davidson accused the Scottish Government of preparing another “constitutional war with Westminster” to deflect from the “underlying fragility” of Scotland’s economy.
Ms Davidson pointed to “worrying signals on the state of the Scottish economy” with no growth in the first quarter of 2016.
“She’s got no chance of really pushing the agenda, it won’t be accepted”, he said. After the popular vote, the Scottish government has been looking for ways to secure the nation’s place in the European Union. “To put this into context, it is equivalent to a reduction in the Scottish Government budget of between 6% and 13%”, the report said.
“If the intention was to obtain a large number, then the analysis will no doubt hit the mark”, he said.
Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale said: “Serious questions need to be asked why this analysis was not produced well in advance of polling day”.
Advertisement
The Government analysis paper suggests that by 2030, Scottish GDP is projected to be between £1.7bn and £11.2bn per year lower than it would have been if Brexit did not occur.
