Budget (Scotland) (No 2) Bill: Stage 1

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 2 February 2023.

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Photo of Elizabeth Smith Elizabeth Smith Conservative

I say to the cabinet secretary that other countries that have not been through Brexit are not having quite the same problems. I come back to the point again—[

Interruption

.]

Mr Swinney is going on about growth; I am just coming to that point, because it is most important. I agree on some of the aspects that he has talked about, but I will focus on the growth point, which is extremely important.

Mr Swinney always likes to blame Westminster for the ills in the Scottish economy but, as I said in my response to the budget statement on 15 December, I think that that is disingenuous. The structural weaknesses—this is where the growth point is important—in the Scottish economy are not related to Westminster but to the choices that have been made right here in Scotland during all the time that the Scottish National Party has been in power.

To blame Westminster is also disingenuous because Mr Swinney has had more money from the UK Government than he has been prepared to admit.