JOHN Swinney has pushed for the UK Government to publish detailed analysis on the cost of Brexit after it emerged nearly £24 billion has already been spent on withdrawing from the EU.
In response to a written question from SNP MP and international affairs spokesperson Stephen Gethins, Labour Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq admitted that the UK had spent an estimated £23.8 billion as part of the EU financial settlement by December 2023, with a further £6.4bn estimated left to be paid.
Siddiq further conceded that the UK Government has “no overall estimate of the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU on public finances”.
The figures have been highlighted by the SNP, who pointed to a study by the Centre for European Reform which in 2022 found that the UK Government’s annual tax revenues would be around £40bn higher without Brexit.
Following a speech on public investment at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, the First Minister said he would “welcome” detailed analysis on the cost of Brexit while stressing the need to improve trading relations with the EU and make changes to migration policy.
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Asked whether he would support analysis on the impact of Brexit on the UK, he told The National: “I would welcome that, I think it would inform the debate and it might also result in some more thoughtful consideration of what we do we need to do to take account of those decisions [on Brexit].
“Two of the things I would argue we have to do in relation to the aftermath of Brexit is that we have got to do something on migration. We must.
“We’ve also got to do something about improving access to markets and obviously I’ve been engaging with a lot of sectors around the country and it’s clear Brexit and trade rules are creating significant impediments to access to market.
“There has to be an improvement in the trading relations between the UK and the EU from what we have just now. Those are the key priorities we’re arguing with the UK Government.”
Earlier in the morning in a Q and A with academics and think tanks following his speech, Swinney responded to concerns about an ageing population in Scotland saying there needed to be a more “sympathetic” approach to migration from the UK Government to address the need to expand the size of the working-age population.
He spoke about the Fresh Talent Initiative launched in 2004 which encouraged graduates to settle in Scotland after leaving university to make an economic contribution. This was brought in to address similar challenges around the falling population facing Scotland at the time.
Swinney said he had been engaging with the UK Government on migration but has been “disappointed” to see some of his ideas dismissed, as he pressed the need for schemes to address the issue.
He said: “In our discussions with the UK Government, we are arguing for a sympathetic approach to migration because we need to expand the size of the working age population.
“If I go back 20 years, the then-Scottish Executive led by Jack McConnell brought forward a fresh talent initiative which was about enabling graduates to remain in Scotland for longer after they graduated so they could make an economic contribution.
“I thought it was a really welcome intervention.
“That scheme was not significantly called upon distinctively because of EU expansion. So free movement boosted our working age population, the Scottish population soared and for 20 years we’ve enjoyed the benefits of it.
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“We’re now beginning to feel we’re suffering the loss of that so our argument is there has to be a sympathetic approach to migration and we’re putting forward some ideas to recognise those realities.
“I was disappointed some of those ideas seemed to be dismissed last week in public discourse.”
In his speech on published investment, Swinney called for the UK Government to “invest to grow” and “reject austerity” when it announces its Budget next week.
He said the UK Government must change its fiscal rules to allow for more borrowing for investment in public infrastructure. The current rules place a cap on public sector borrowing of 3%.
Labour’s fiscal rules are “essentially the same” as the Tories’ and “pretty daft”, according to Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson.
Swinney argued the UK Government must “chart a new course” as he stressed it faces a “make or break moment” in the Budget.
He also argued for the UK Government to move to a model of three-year spending plans so the “devolved governments have clarity over their funding positions and can plan accordingly”.
“The first change in UK Government in nearly 15 years presents an opportunity to reimagine economic progress across all four nations,” he said.
“They need to turn their backs on austerity and secure our collective future through greater targeted public investment.
“It is time for the UK to take a new course.”
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