HAPPY GERS Day. Every year you can guarantee it brings along some nonsense from the Unionist parties.
Today even Ruth Davidson avoided the subject during FMQs – but Richard Leonard couldn’t help himself.
The First Minister delivered a humiliating slap down of the Scottish Labour leader after he first used his time in the Chamber to bizarrely demand the Scottish Government call for an extension to the furlough scheme.
Nicola Sturgeon was visibly stunned as Leonard urged ministers to call for the extension – something she and her party have been pushing for months now.
“Again, I don’t know where Richard Leonard has been for the last few weeks. I’ve been asking the UK Government to continue the furlough job retention scheme almost every day for weeks. So I’m glad that Richard Leonard has now decided to back that call.
“In addition to that, the Scottish Government has also set out plans for a youth jobs guarantee scheme, and we’ll set out more detail of that in the coming days and weeks.
“But I have to say, Richard Leonard is capable of still surprising in this Chamber, because I didn’t think it would be him today that stood up to extoll the virtues of Scotland being governed by a Conservative, Westminster government. I thought that might come from the other side of the Chamber.
“You know, the thing is, the furlough scheme is funded by the UK Government borrowing money. And the reason that they borrow that money and do it for us is because we don’t have the powers here to do it ourselves. And what I would say to Richard Leonard is this.
“Just use your imagination. And imagine Scotland was independent right now. He wouldn’t have to be asking me to plead with a UK Government to borrow more money to extend the job retention scheme. We could do it ourselves here in Scotland. Like other independent countries the world over.
“And you know, it’s probably that conclusion that has led to the situation we have right now where almost a half of Richard Leonard’s remaining supporters, a dwindling band of people I grant you, but almost a half of them now support Scotland becoming an independent country.”
READ MORE: GERS: New figures underline the case for independence, Kate Forbes says
Leonard then decided to respond to the First Minister’s fiery response by citing GERS figures and criticising Scotland’s deficit. He then told her to extend the ban on evictions during the Covid-19 crisis, again something she has already agreed to do.
This was another bad move – as Sturgeon used the opportunity deliver another scathing critique of Leonard.
“We’ve already, I think I did it last week or it might have been the week before, but I’ve already stood here and said we will extend the protection against evictions in the original coronavirus legislation for an additional six months,” she told him.
“So again, Richard Leonard really needs to keep up with announcements as they are made by this government. I’m afraid I don’t have the luxury of going at his pace on these things, we have to power ahead and get these things completed.”
The First Minister also hit back at Leonard’s citing of GERS figures as a reason to disagree with independence.
She said the Scottish Parliament will use the full extent of its powers in responding to the challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis – but pointed out if Scotland had the powers other independent nations do, we wouldn’t be in the position of facing an end to the furlough scheme or a threatening No-Deal Brexit at the end of December.
“Can I say to Richard Leonard, really, aping the Tories on using GERS which is a reflection of Scotland’s fiscal position within the United Kingdom, not a reflection of how Scotland would fare as an independent country.
"But talking about deficits at a time when the UK deficit is projected next year to be almost £400 billion and at a time when the UK debt has just topped £2 trillion – it’s not the strongest territory for the Tories to be on, but it seems like politically suicidal territory for Labour to be on.”
Ouch.
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