BBC audience member lets it rip at Sturgeon for ‘hiding’ behind independence plan

Nicola Sturgeon is 'hiding' behind independence says guest

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BBC held a Debate Night ahead of the Scottish elections next week in which Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP hope to gain a “super-majority” for Scottish Independence. However, BBC audience made up of voters from the Greater Glasgow area did not give the SNP Finance Minister Kate Forbes an easy time during the heated discussions. With one audience member questioning why Nicola Sturgeon was “hiding” behind the promise of a second independence referendum rather than tackling core economic issues in Scotland.

The Glasgow voter blasted the SNP for not being upfront about the “economics of independence.”

“If the economics of independence were a positive thing then surely the SNP would be shouting it off the rooftops.

“But they don’t seem to be they seem to be hiding behind a new set of slogans of we’ll tell you when we have a referendum.

He also blamed the SNP for imposing spending cuts in Scotland.

Addressing the SNP’s Ms Forbes, the audience member said: “You have brought austerity to Scotland, your party are making massive cuts.”

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It came amid a fiery clash between Scottish Labour’s Sarah Boyack clashes with SNP’s Kate Forbes over funding cuts to social security in Scotland.

Ms Forbes blamed Conservative Chancellor Rishi Sunak for imposing spending cuts from Westminister, saying her party could not “unite with parties that want to inflict austerity on the people of Scotland.”

However, Ms Boyak fired back: “You are the ones who have inflicted austerity on our own councils.

“Local councils have been cash-strapped.”

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The funding row comes after a chief economist warned the SNP would not able to maintain’s Scotland currently a high budget deficit in the event the country went independent. 

Gemma Tetlow from the Institute for Government said: “An independent Scotland couldn’t sustain annual levels of borrowing, year after year, at 8.5 percent of GDP.

“Borrowing at that level would imply debt rising, relative to the size of the Scottish economy, inexorably. At some point, that becomes unsustainable.

“There are definitely difficult questions to be answered. Those questions have to be answered as part of the case for why leaving the union would be overall beneficial to the people of Scotland.

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She continued: “Any advocates for breaking away from the UK must address the reality of the nations’ current fiscal imbalances and the difficult policy choices these would necessitate after secession.”

Responding to the economic think tank’s report, the Scottish Conservative Maurice Golden described the findings as  “chilling.” 

The Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fair Work and Culture said: This respected independent think tank lays bare the chilling economic reality of ripping Scotland out of the UK.

“The nationalists are willing to inflict untold damage on families and business. The SNP would no longer be able to afford policies such as free prescriptions and free tuition as Scotland would face spending cuts and tax rises the likes of which we have never experienced.”

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