Rachel Reeves' growth plans - no mention of Scotland?

[NotTheFreudYoureLookingFor]

Is anyone else surprised that Rachel Reeves' plans for growth have minimal relevance to Scotland? I'm not sure what to make of it! The plans seem totally England-centric (and mostly SE England, at that!).

Not remotely surprised tbh

I thought the same, very SE England centric.. think she said something about working with the devolved parliaments which was obviously her caveat 🙄

Isn’t this on the Scottish government though? Looking at big infrastructure developments, the Scottish government receive the Barnett consequentials for the likes of HS2 and it seems to disappear down the back of the sofa (along with the consequentials for the English rates reduction on hospitality, the cladding money, the covid recovery cash).

Not entirely. Much as I am loathe to give ScotGov a pass, attracting inward investment and funding national infrastructure is a Westminster issue. They are also restricted by UKGov in how much they can borrow so making change isn't always straightforward.

However, you are absolutely right that the issue the SNP have are where they are prioritising spend. In my opinion they tend to go for populist giveaways instead of making the hard decisions which could safeguard our economy for the future.

It just seems a bit lacking in political savviness. I've voted for both SNP and Labour over the years, and have flipflopped over independence, so I don't really have an axe to grind in terms of my criticism for either party.

I guess my point is more about the "appearances" of it all. I thought her announcement was meant to be a sort of UK-wide morale booster for individuals and businesses, more than the actual particular plans, and I can't say that there's anything for me individually or Scottish businesses generally to get excited about.

uk labour are leaving Scottish labour in the mud in their policies in general.

I'm not a fan of the snp and clearly it's tricky with growth and other issues that have devolved and non devolved aspects (the snp will also claim all of the credit for any improvement in growth here of course) but surely Scottish labour MPs should have made coordinated and relevant Scottish announcements affecting Scotland?

I'm beginning to see the downsides of govt from Westminster - when you look at VAT, employer NI, and growth and investment none of it looks good or considered for here to me.

And sadly, Scot lab will likely take the walloping next year for it.

So @NotTheFreudYoureLookingFor I agree with you, so far voting labour up here as resulted in uk labour doing a tonne of reserved things with v poor explanation of 'benefits' here.

Maybe she forgot about Scotland (and Wales and NI)

Haven't you heard of devolution?

Ever thus.

We need independence - or more devolution like ability to borrow.

PS 2024(?) Scotland sent around 88Bn to Westminster. Got 44Bn back.

SNP well in the lead poll wise.

Looks like Westminster Labour have damaged Sarwar

https://www.gov.scot/publications/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-gers-2023-24/

You are misinformed. According to figures voluntarily published by ScotGov, as part of UK Scotland has £111bn of public spending and raises £88bn in taxes.