The Tory made crisis resulting from their mini budget explodes the myth that they are safe custodians of the economy. More importantly, it explodes the myth that Scotland is best to remain tied to a failing UK state.


Although most discussion has been about the U-turn on the 45p rate for those on incomes above (and often well above) £150,000 per year, we need to consider other issues that are even more damaging for the average citizen. There is not a single person in Scotland who will not feel the impact of the Tory mismanagement of the economy.


Consider this; to pay for interventions to “cap” the cost of energy for households and at the same time cut a variety of taxes the UK government are choosing to go down the route of massive borrowing. They seem to think borrowing is a good thing for the UK, except of course in Scotland where the Scottish Government is denied proper borrowing powers and must operate with a fixed budget.


The financial markets have been understandably unimpressed. It has led to a rise in the interest rate the UK must pay for money it borrows. We have seen volatility in the value of the pound and the prospect of more. This fuels inflation which affects everyone.


What is their reasoning for doing all this? Well, they claim it is in part to address what is known as the supply side of the economy. In Scotland, we know all about this. Take for example the supply of labour. Because of the Tory Brexit we have a severe shortage of people who in the past would have been able to come here to work in our NHS, as engineers in our factories, as seasonal farm workers and so on. So what did the Tories do? They removed the cap on bankers’ bonuses because, according to the Chancellor they needed to attract more highly paid bankers to the City of London. But they have done nothing to attract the workers we need for the real economy.


This one example explodes another myth repeated by Liz Truss in her speech to the Tory conference. This is the myth that the Tories are pro-growth. If they wanted to grow the economy they would be welcoming people to come and work here, not raising Brexit-barriers.


Furthermore, if they really wanted to grow the economy they would be encouraging much more investment in business. But their policies are going to lead, I predict, to further and higher interest rate rises from the Bank of England. This will make it more expensive for businesses to borrow money to invest in new technologies and other forms of investment that would help improve productivity and aid growth. So, rather than aid growth, it will put barriers in the way.


And of course, rising interest rates are already leading to rising mortgage costs. Even worse, in the aftermath of the mini budget, mortgage offerings were being removed, preventing countless number of young couples from getting on the housing ladder.


Perhaps of greatest concern, and particularly for those dependent upon support from the likes of Universal Credit, is the desire of the Tory government, if they can get away with it, to cut benefits and other forms of public expenditures. Put simply to balance the books when you are reducing taxes and borrowing more the Tory solution has always been to massively cut public expenditure.


In every direction, the mini budget is going to restrict growth, and make life more expensive for everyone. For some, it will be catastrophic.


The economic case for Independence has never been stronger.

 

 

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