Details have been released from a secret Scottish Government report which casts major doubts over how a separate Scotland would pay for state pensions and defence.
The document also admits that under independence, Scotland would have a larger fiscal deficit than the UK and our share of public sector debt would be £122billion.
It also concedes that oil revenues could drop by more than a quarter and admits that relying on the resource would create considerable uncertainty in projecting Scotland’s finances.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson MSP said: “The difference between what the SNP say in public and what they know in private is astonishing. It is yet another example of the SNP trying to con the people of Scotland by promising them the earth but knowing they do not have the money to deliver. This secret document shows that under separation, Alex Salmond is preparing to cut the state pension for old people and unemployment benefit for those out of work.
The reality is the SNP know oil revenue is falling and they will be unable to lavish cash on all the promises they have made and that an independent Scotland would start life saddled with debt.
Quite simply, this document blows apart the SNP’s case for separation.”
