Jackie Baillie MSP The official website of Scottish Labour Deputy Leader, Jackie Baillie MSP.
The SNP’s plan to bin the Barnett formula would cost Scotland billions, ripping cash from Scottish public services and Scottish pensions.
This week Alex Salmond said he would campaign on a platform of full fiscal devolution, which would mean the end of the Barnett Formula.
With oil prices falling to around 50 dollars a barrel, ending Barnett would expose Scotland’s finances to billions of pounds worth of cuts to public services and a pensions black hole.
The figure could be up to as much as £4 billion -; according to the SNP themselves.
Scottish Labour will use the wealth of the UK to protect Scotland from the tax losses caused by low oil prices. This will protect public services and pensions, whilst delivering real change for Scotland, like 1000 additional nurses for our NHS.
Scottish Labour Finance Spokesperson Jackie Baillie MSP said:
“The oil crisis has made clear how important Barnett is to our public services, but Alex Salmond has signalled the SNP’s intention get rid of Barnett.
“Barnett means we can call on the pooled resources and revenues of the whole UK, whilst making the decisions we need to build a better nation, like 1000 additional nurses for our NHS, or setting up a resilience fund for times of crisis in Scotland’s crucial industries or to deal with the consequences of large scale redundancies on local economies.
“Scrapping Barnett would mean billions of pounds of cuts to our public services and our pensions. A vote for Scottish Labour will protect the Barnett formula. A vote for the SNP is a vote to scrap Barnett and expose ourselves to billions of pounds of cuts. They have said it themselves.”