Derek Mackay: Since the second quarter of 2007, Scotland’s GDP has grown by a total of 10.3 per cent, while GDP for the United Kingdom as a whole has increased by 15.2 per cent. However, the majority of that divergence can be explained by the fact that Scotland’s population has grown more slowly than the UK’s since 2007: Scotland’s population has grown by 5 per cent and the UK’s has grown by 8...
Derek Mackay: When it comes to listening to the business community, the Tories have absolutely ignored it in relation to Brexit, which is about to destroy the economic credentials of the Tories, if they had any to start with. As far as the past 13 years are concerned, I made the point that the divergence in GDP is largely down to population. Who controls population? Who controls migration? As with other...
Derek Mackay: I am sure that this answer will tone things down, Presiding Officer. The GERS publication explicitly states that it shows Scotland’s position within the UK and not as an independent nation. As the United Kingdom Government increasingly disregards the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland, it is more important than ever that we complete the necessary steps to hold a referendum on...
Derek Mackay: I will always expect the civil service to act in the professional and impartial fashion in which it acts. I dare say that our work will be of much greater value than the UK Government spending £5 million on propaganda telling us how great the union is at this point in time, which we have heard the speculation about. That is very interesting, coming from the Conservatives in Westminster. [...
Derek Mackay: I simply make the point that we want to have an informed debate on the future of our country. I have never challenged the impartiality of our statisticians. What I have found frustrating is the misrepresentation of the figures as they relate to Scotland that occurs when people misrepresent the GERS figures by trying to suggest that they reflect the potential of an independent Scotland when...
Derek Mackay: I agree that the spending of £5 million in that way would indeed be a waste of taxpayers’ money. We have been working on a fully informed, rational debate about the future of our nation, which should be based on facts. That debate will be much better than the likes of the leave campaign that we saw in relation to Brexit. In Scotland, we should have a mature, responsible and decent debate...
Derek Mackay: That is not true.
Derek Mackay: Does Murdo Fraser not understand—or, indeed, know—that the tax forecasts are made by the Scottish Fiscal Commission and not by the Scottish Government?
Derek Mackay: For the purposes of rule 9.11 of the standing orders, I advise the Parliament that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill, has consented to place her prerogative and interests, in so far as they are affected by the bill, at the disposal of the Parliament for the purposes of the bill.
Derek Mackay: Nominal gross domestic product is an estimate of the total cash value of all goods and services that are produced in the economy. The downward revision to the total for Scotland relates primarily to changes in the estimates of the economic contribution of North Sea oil. That reflects revisions by the Office for National Statistics that were published in December 2019, and which the Scottish...
Derek Mackay: I see that Murdo Fraser has changed the subject from the GDP revisions coming out and his ludicrous positioning over the past couple of days. He accused me of hiding the statistics. Let us stick to transparency for a moment. Mr Fraser should not take my word for it: the Fraser of Allander institute said on 3 February 2020 that “Suggesting that the statistics have been buried to hide...
Derek Mackay: My forecasts are so good that I knew that Murdo Fraser would go with his question. That is exactly why I put out the information that I put out—which was, incidentally, in response to the question that was in the Business Bulletin. It was entirely appropriate that I responded to that. All that I can say in response to Murdo Fraser is that I quoted the Fraser of Allander institute earlier,...
Derek Mackay: I am just embarrassed by Willie Rennie, who clearly has not read the documents and does not understand the position that has been set out. There was some press coverage about the figures not being sent out in a transparent fashion. That came from people who say that Scotland is too poor and too wee to be independent—the kind of things that the Liberals are now saying, along with the Tories....
Derek Mackay: Richard Lyle is correct to showcase that economic indicator, which shows how Scotland is out-performing the rest of the UK in exports. Any form of Brexit will make it harder for Scotland to export, because it involves not just loss of access to the single market, but loss of access to the raft of preferential trade agreements that the EU has concluded with third countries, and from which our...
Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has said that we are updating the case for independence, but Dean Lockhart—like all the other Conservatives and most other unionists—has not even read the Sustainable Growth Commission’s report, which covered that position. The commission’s forecasts do not include North Sea oil revenue, which could, of course, be invested in the Scottish economy to support...
Derek Mackay: We are using our devolved economic powers to the full in order to stimulate the economy, support our public sector and deliver a fair and progressive tax system. The Sustainable Growth Commission looked at evidence from countries that are outperforming Scotland—the only thing that they have that we have not is independence. That is the big tool that would allow a change in our fiscal...
Derek Mackay: Only when Graham Simpson speaks.
Derek Mackay: In considering catastrophic effects on the business community, I am very curious to know at what point Murdo Fraser and the Tories decided to abandon poor Andy Wightman.
Derek Mackay: Why did that principle of localism never come into effect when the Liberals were in office in the Scottish Executive? Why does it not apply to the workplace parking levy, which the Liberals oppose?
Derek Mackay: Do the Conservatives really expect us to believe that it is the best use of parliamentary time to support an amendment that was drafted in error and which has been superseded by another amendment that was drafted with other errors, with the result that they have destroyed their business credentials in one day?