Extraordinary
The claim by Humza Yousaf that Scotland has “extraordinary resources” such as higher education and renewable energy does not stand up to economic analysis. The December budget has cut the cash to tertiary education for the second time, resulting in only just over 50 per cent of students attending Scottish universities being home based compared with 74per cent south of the Border.
The doubling of the strike price for off-shore wind energy is a result of the massive hike in renewable project costs. That indicates the Green Revolution debt set out by the Climate Emergency Review Group now comes at a cost of £300 billion to the consumer, while increasing generation capacity from 15GW to 85GW results in a £270 billion bill for increased wind capacity and an additional £330 billion for the proposed hydrogen-fuelled back-up system required to keep the lights on when the unreliable, inefficient wind technology fails to keep the lights on in Scotland.
What the Finance Secretary needs to do is spell out how an economy, faced with the decade of austerity detailed in the SNP Growth Report, can repay a £1 trillion debt facing foreign companies building the additional 70GW of generation plant when the maximum 2045 demand will only be 20GW (as outlined in the SNP Energy Plan),
Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway
That’s magic
News just in: an eminent think-tank has determined that farmed unicorns thrive only in small, independent nations with populations close to 5 million.
Hailing the groundbreaking research, Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf linked it to his own scientifically calculated £10,200 per household “independence bonus”. Speaking at Glasgow University, Mr Yousaf pointed out that £10,200 extra for each family in an independent Scotland would be precisely the sum required to fund enough unicorn milk for a year’s consumption for everyone. “Amazing! It’s as close to the dictionary definition of ‘serendipity’ as you can get,” he announced to the world’s press, adding: “There is no way Rishi Sunak can deny us another referendum now.”
In a related development, Finance Secretary Shona Robison hinted that Scotland would be investing heavily in unicorn futures to secure a firm financial footing for the fledgling independent nation. She also fired a warning shot aimed squarely at the corridors of Westminster: “Just like the wind and North Sea oil, following independence the unicorns will belong to Scotland. Hands off them, Mr Hunt.”
Paul Marsden, Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway
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