Did Humza Yousaf tell Douglas Ross 'a whopping economic lie'?
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First Minister Humza Yousaf has been accused of starting his time in office with “a whopping economic lie” over GDP in Scotland – claims denied by the SNP.
At First Minister's Questions the new SNP leader told Highland MSP and Conservative leader Douglas Ross that “under the SNP, under Nicola Sturgeon, under John Swinney, and I’m pleased to be building on this legacy, that Scottish GDP grew more than UK GDP.”
But those figures have been strongly disputed by the Scottish Conservatives who said they are “completely false.”
Comparing numbers from the Scottish GDP Quarterly National Accounts and the Office of National Statistics between 2014 and 2021 Scotland’s GDP grew by 12.72 per cent, while the UK’s grew by 21.87 per cent over the same period.
Demonstrably untrue
Shadow economy minister Douglas Lumsden says Humza Yousaf’s “cavalier attitude to the truth” on day one was a depressing portent that the trademark SNP spin and secrecy was here to stay.
But those claims were rubbished by a spokesman for the First Minister who made the point that going back to 2007 – when Ms Sturgeon and Mr Swinney entered government – they did show faster growth.
Mr Lumsden was having none of it, saying “It doesn’t bode well that Humza Yousaf has been caught out telling a whopping economic lie during his first outing at FMQs.
“It is demonstrably untrue that GDP grew more in Scotland than in the UK during Nicola Sturgeon’s time in office – so he must apologise for, and withdraw, his misleading claim.
“He’s either intent on following his predecessor’s liking for misleading stats – we all recall ministers’ repeated fib about Scotland’s wind power capability – or he and his government really are as economically illiterate as their internal SNP critics claim.
“This wasn’t the only example of Humza Yousaf’s cavalier attitude to the truth at FMQs. There was also his absurd attempt to blame the UK government for Scotland football matches not being shown live on free-to-air TV.
“If the new First Minister wants to overcome the perception that he’s just a poor imitation of Nicola Sturgeon, he needs to ditch the familiar SNP playbook of deceit and spin immediately.”
Desperate stuff from the Tories
But a spokesman for the First Minister countered, arguing that: “This is desperate stuff from the Tories.
"The First Minister was correct in what he said – under the SNP since 2007, when Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney entered government, GDP per person has grown by nine per cent in Scotland, compared to five per cent in the UK, and productivity in Scotland has grown at an average annual rate of 1 per cent per year, compared to the UK average of 0.5 per cent.
“Scotland continues to outperform the UK today. The latest data show Scotland’s economy is growing faster than the UK’s, and we have higher employment, lower unemployment, and lower inactivity than the UK.
“If the Tories really care about the economy they should be apologising for the immense harm they have caused with Brexit and austerity.”
