A few not-very-good men
We’ve had some fun with the appointment of John McTernan as Scottish Labour’s new chief of staff this week. But he’s far from the only talent in branch manager Jim Murphy’s backroom team. Particularly alert readers may recall an obscure figure from the independence campaign by the name of Blair McDougall, who was little-seen in the last year of the debate but we think was the director of “Better Together”.
It seems his modus operandi hasn’t changed much since the referendum.
Above is Blair still loyally rubbishing the idea of an oil fund, as Labour have done for decades. And it looks like a zinger of a point he’s made, apparently having caught the Scottish Government (or as he puts it, “your own SNP government”) openly admitting that Scotland couldn’t have afforded such a fund.
Assuming it WAS the Scottish Government that said that, of course.
We set off to search for the quoted text, and the top Google result was actually a UK government briefing paper, not a Scottish Government one at all.
That obviously smelled terribly fishy, but we checked some of the other search results and found that the phrasing came from what “Better Together” called “a supressed [sic] SNP Government analysis”. Curiously they chose not to link to it, but eventually Mr McDougall did last night, citing a document on the Scottish Government website which he claimed to have been “written by them” (and demanding apologies).
The untitled document in fact appears to be a collection of four separate reports, and it’s not at all clear who wrote it. The only person or body named is Simon Fuller, who works at the Office of the Chief Economic Advisor (OCEA) in St Andrew’s House, and who is credited as author of the first of the four reports, dated March 2012.
(It does indeed include the passage quoted in McDougall’s initial tweet, though the UK government report quoting the same “20 of the past 21 years” line was published in March 2014, fully two years later, but oddly didn’t say “22 of the past 23”.)
The OCEA is part of the machinery of government, but it’s staffed by civil servants, not politicians. Its function is to provide “analytical support” and statistics, not to formulate policy or make decisions.
It’s part of the UK-wide Government Economic Service, and its website (found on the gov.uk domain) makes plain the requirements for anyone who wants to join the government’s council of economic advisers:
Plainly, then, to claim any views expressed by the OCEA as being those of “your own SNP Government” is a complete perversion of the truth. The OCEA/GES do not speak for the Scottish Government, they speak to it, with analysis and figures which the government then considers alongside other advice. Simon Fuller’s views are NOT those of the SNP, and for Blair McDougall to pretend that they are is a bare-faced falsehood. He’s going to fit right in on Team Murphy.
We advise anyone reading anything coming out of the Scottish Labour press office in the next few months to check the small print very closely.
The National may not be terribly exciting but if it doesn’t lie to us its worth 50p for some of the truth. Why pay £145.50 to be lied to?
Is he squeezing one off?
Wondered what Simon had been up to since the Spice Girls split.
They’llbe weaving many a tangled web, between now and the GE. Business as usual really.
What does he mandan ‘your own SNP Govt’. I mandan this guy is a real mandan type…
Britain’s Got Nae Talent.
Well spotted Stu, there was some confusion on twitter about this so it’s good to be able to provide evidence.
Murphy’s Mob really is full of charlatans, pathological liars, and bullies. Just by including the likes of James Murphy, Blair McDougall, John McTernan, Jackie Baillie, the malignant character of it shines through. The only real remaining question has to be, surely they can find a place for Brian Wilson! 😀
Hmmm-seems that they will stop at nothing to misrepresent the Scottish Govt & SNP. Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing? Enables us to throw their lies back at them.
But then I should know seeing as they’ve lied to the English about Scots for at least the last 40 yrs to my knowledge. I’m English & they are still lying to us about Scotland, in fact it’s got worse since indyref.
Well here’s one ex-Labour voter who won’t be back-ever 😉 Vote SNP GE2015
McDougall…
Worldwiki definition: Professional liar with ill-fitting clown shoes.
I have a credit card bill does that mean I can’t have a savings account. Oh no what am I to do take out a loan to pray my credit card then pay of my loan then open a savings account. Or is the real world he is speaking of
It’s even more cynical of McDougall since we know that the UK govt used and abused every arm of the civil service against Scottish independence.
We need to get ALL of the figures collated. This type of misleading information will only get worse as the election approaches. Agree the the National needs to investigate the facts and explain them clearly and that another Wee Blue Book is needed.
Well spotted again Rev.
Does the public spending referred to here include our share of UK infrastructure, such as HS2, London Olympics, etc?
Stu – in the run-up to the election, how would you feel about funding some billboards or bus ads or something just saying very explicitly “Labour is lying. See Wings for details.”
The stooshie it would cause would surely force some of these issues to be addressed.
John King,
I thought he was doing the burping the ABC thing. 😉
This harks back to an earlier article of yours, Rev, to which I am sure you can direct us.
In this you pointed out that it is possible, nay commonplace, to have a mortgage as well as an ISA (or some other form of investment) running concurrently. Indeed, if you can get a better rate of return on your investment than the interest rate which you pay on your mortgage it is logical, or at least productive, to do so.
Blair’s message is of course even more insidious than the suggestion that Scotland couldn’t run an Oil Fund. His message is that an iScotland wouldn’t be viable at all, because it wouldn’t be able to pay its way and is in fact currently subsidised by the UK.
I think the Rev, and I’m sure Business for Scotland have pointed out on several occasions that it is normal for a country to run a deficit. In fact I recall that the only developed nation which doesn’t run a deficit is…Norway.
In fact, an iScotland would have a lower deficit as a % of GDP than the UK has, so his argument does not stand up. (This is the politest way of putting it I could think of)
Jonh King…… you bastard, I just shot vodka martini out of my nose, it’s not very pleasant
From the picture Stu used he looks like he is in pirate training class, HaHarrr!
All of these Financial predictions are always based on Scotland’s Financial profile from within the UK structure. They never seem to restructure the figures to include revenue from Scottish food and drink production, VAT, commercial enterprise headquartered only in London, restructured Tax regime, investment in infrastructure, etc.
It is always as it has always been, the only way to do it, their way. To maintain the debt payments that Scotland is given without all the income.
SLab want to prove we are poor, need to keep that pretence in place so that we cling to the regime that imposes it so they get their cut!
Change is coming!
@John King, eeewwww! Just don’t!
You don’t need to have a surplus to pay into an oil fund anyway. That would be like saying if you have a mortgage you can’t pay money into a pension.
You deserve better, Stu.
Someday they’ll put you on a horse at Bannockburn alongside Robert.
Wellll, maybe not. Well done anyway, quite brilliant.
All UK provided figures about supposed Scottish finances are based on a a number of fallacies
1) We’d run (mismanage?) our economy the same way as they do. I wonder why we’d want to be independent in that case
and
2) We’d still chip in for “national” (UK) expenditure – Trident, London Underground stations, High speed rail links from London to Leeds, illegal invasions, new nuclear power stations in Devon etc., etc.,
After thon indyref misinformation/misdirection/obfuscation festival from the Unionist side,I trust nothing they put out now. Working with Tories has conseqences,nobody will listen anymore.
Steve Bowers
“John King…… you bastard, I just shot vodka martini out of my nose, it’s not very pleasant”
shaken or stirred?
Steve Bowers
“John King…… you bastard, I just shot vodka martini out of my nose, it’s not very pleasant”
shaken or stirred? 🙂
“Well here’s one ex-Labour voter who won’t be back-ever 😉 Vote SNP GE2015”
We love you Lollysmum! 🙂
Fascinating spot. Sometimes its hard to work out whether dudes like Bliar MacFatboy are either pathological liars or just more overconfident berks. MacTernan certainly is. And then you rewind to CallKaye and her “Gordon Brown didn’t say anything like Devo-Max” stuff last week.
I see oor very own Rev is getting a big shout out on Newsnet’s G.A.Ponsonby’s latest article.:
“Viewpoint:Alternative Media should be more ‘joined up'”
Worth a read and overdue praise for the boss.
Calling all patriots whatever that means.
https://archive.today/umj3R
O/T Kev McKenna has an article in the Observer about how to get Lab man back for lab.
https://archive.today/gq7mr
Despite the fact that Murphy is not a socialist by any standards, the article is quite good as it points out and gives references into the disaster that was the BT campaign.
With almost exclusive access to the MSM, it doesn’t matter what nonsense they say or how Stu disproves it – the gullible elderly target group get their message through the BBC/STV & the DR.
Job done – no worries for McDougall or McTernan.
Rev, your are on top form at the moment. Is it because:
a) Aberdeen FC are doing well?
b) You are rested after the festive break?
c) The MSM and Unionist parties are hopeless and feckless truth aliens?
Another question:
Murphy, McDougall and McTernan, are they
a) A firm of dodgy solicitors?
or
b) The three unwise monkeys based on Scottish Labour’s new constitution and mantra of Speak no truth, hear no truth and see no truth?
@CynicalHighlander – HMFB (Help Ma Fuckin Boab) where do you start with that it is unbelievable. They must live in a parallel reality where there is indeed a Scottish labour party as there sure as shite isn’t one in this reality just ask JoLa
The Rev is on top form cos we’re still all around – love is in the air, love is all around – wild thing!
The fact that Murphy, McTernan, McDougall & Co have to lie, distort and obfuscate so much shows the weakness of their case and how feart they are of Murphy losing his place at the trough.
john king
either that or he’s calling his parrot.
What I could never understand about the way the independence argument raged was the focus on how, if Scotland were independent right now we would fare. For Yes to win it was simple – convince everyone we would be fine/better off. For no to win BT had to convince us it would be a disaster. But surely a successful union would have left us well able to detach and an unsuccessful union would have left us in dire straights unable to go it alone.
I don’t believe Blair’s dodgy manufactured figures, or indeed a word the guy says but I always felt the ‘economic disaster’ argument was intrinsically weak in that a Scotland as economically weak as Blair pretends is a judgement only on Scotland within the union and not on the prospects for and Independent Scotland.
How can the two be compared when they would manifestly be completely different, and the mission is surely to have a government in full control of all the economic, political, social and cultural levers with Scotland as the number one priority.
Blair’s assessment of Scotland’s economy is simply an argument for independence.
O/T Kev McKenna has an article in the Observer about how to get Lab man back for lab.
and its pretty lousy, C-. So same ridiculous red Tory boy that went around Scotland on irn bru crates screaming at us that we’re too poor, small and stupid to run our own Scotland, now wants to run Scotland himself. Its just as well he has likes of the BBC covering his horrifying CV otherwise…
Anyway I have never met any Scot that even wants Milliband’s mansion tax in London spent in Scotland, Slab nutters like Murphy and MacTenbellies might have realised by now.
@fredblogger –
john king
either that or he’s calling his parrot
I often blame the dug for calling her parrot.. 😀
OT – Pipe band championships on Alba just now..brilliant 🙂
Someone asked, (and they have complied) Google to remove all references to past troubles invited upon himself by George Osborne’s brother. I extracted information from a number of sources so that it would be possible to retain a record. This is the rich boy gone wrong, (for a time) and in view of the hardship forced upon the UK by George it is opportune to see that even when unemployed the brother can still afford to pay 3 very large mortgages without apparent difficulty. No food banks for him. He seems to have turned his life around meantime so I wish him good fortune in the future.
The doctor brother of Shadow Chancellor George Osborne was suspended for six months yesterday for ‘ dishonest and misleading’ behavior in prescribing drugs to a cocaine-addicted prostitute. Adam Osborne, 33, was told he had damaged public confidence in the medical profession and could have put the health of the woman – who he was in a relationship with – at risk. He had admitted prescribing powerful anti-psychotic drugs to the woman known only as ‘Miss B’ to help her get over cocaine withdrawal symptoms known to addicts as ‘cocaine bugs’, and had done this on previous occasions. She had asked him for the drugs as she had been hallucinating for several hours that the walls were crawling with spiders, and insects were scurrying on her skin.
http://caltonjock.com/2015/01/10/the-sins-of-osbornes-brother-googles-right-to-be-forgotten-ruling-buries-the-information/
@Tam Jardine I think it’s good you made that point; it responds to a number of Britnat (or Unionist if you prefer) arguments that I’ve heard e.g. Scots are able to work in London/the best Scots have already left Scotland; Scotland is subsidised by the rest of the UK, Scotland is over dependent on the public sector; Scotland is dependent on trade with the rest of the UK, lots of businesses are based in England, not Scotland, etc etc.
So yeah, the response is: if we’ve done so well out of being in the Union, why are we in such a dependent position? Why are we so poor and miserable? To which, the only possible response from their side would need to be, cos that’s in our nature, along with being ‘presbyterian and racist’ and ‘not genetically programmed to make political decisions’ i.e. we’re in a shit state of affairs but it’d be worse if you were left to your own devices. Wow, I really look forward to bringing my boy up here in Scotland.
First comment and still pretty new to this, so my apologies if I’m being a bit naive/downright daft…BUT
The thing that jumps out at me with these ‘facts/figures’ is not just that our expenditure most certainly includes our share of monies spent on behalf of all Britain (defence, interest payments on debt, as well as projects like HS2 etc), but also that a phrase like ‘oil revenues would have been required to cover public spending’ is a bit of a fudge- does it mean every single penny? Or some of it? Would there perhaps have been a little something left over to start and build an oil fund? Particularly taken in conjunction with the money we’d save by not propping up wastemonster…
John Murphy*, the new leader of all things Scottish and Labour, has the opportunity to stand up for Scotland and remind David Cameron that it is the Scottish NHS which has the best A&E figures for 4 hour waiting times, not England.
“The first week of the New Year saw the numbers being seen in four hours drop to 86.7% – a new record low for a single week. It means the last four weeks have been the four worst on record.”
This week’s figures for England:
86.7% patients seen.
Rest of UK: Four-hour performance in all A&Es
80.5% Northern Ireland
93.5% SCOTLAND
83.8% Wales
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25055444
*It was London Labour MP Diane Abbot who named the new Scottish Labour leader as “John Murphy”, that’s good enough for me.
*It was London Labour MP Diane Abbot who named the new Scottish Labour leader as “John Murphy”, that’s good enough for me.
Soon to be known as good old Jock Murphy the patriot.
I note looking through the comments that there is an missing of an essential that may be an implicit awareness of a deeper point.
All these jokers; Murphy, mcternan, McDougall are Better Together reconstituted.
These parasitic troughers are the narrow pool of talent that a miniscule party in Scotland has.
We know them, we know that targeted fear on a narrow segment of voters; the 190,000 voters, is their logistical goal to turn a labour slump into a backstop.
They employed that numbers game during the referendum and cackled loudly that they achieved the aim of project fear.
They, and their back office staff should be studied and outed at every opportunity.
They are a small cliche, figures cowling together behind a large sheet.
With their obnoxious and sociopathological traits they will proclaim their own weaknesses and inadequacies.
Sun Tzu states that patience will enable your enemies to make their own mistakes.
Let’s put this lot under a microscope, there is so few of them, and record and point out every deceit, lie and falsehood.
WBB 2.
Croompenstein
aharrr jim lad.
pieces of 8.
🙂
@SusieMc
If you can spare an half hour or so a good place to start might be with this Ivan McKee video on youtube:
“Economic Case for an Ind. Scot. 2/4 – Economic Facts”
It is an education and easy enough to follow. Welcome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W8cKHcZn60
Fat boy , he speaks with fork tounge. Is that Jackie Baillie ?
Lets continue with exposing their lies.
handclapping,
“The National may not be terribly exciting but if it doesn’t lie to us its worth 50p for some of the truth. Why pay £145.50 to be lied to?”
Why not pay 50p per day to W O S instead?
It IS exciting and it publishes ALL of the truth.
Or for 50p you could make 5 prints of this article and hand them out to the public or to No voters you might know.
We cannot afford an oil fund.
That is why we must set up a ‘resilience fund’.
They think we are completely stupid.
Well they are at least 25% right – at least 25% of us are indeed completely stupid and will vote Labour in May.
@caz-m – I wonder how our old pal Bradford will spin this she will probably say that it’s bad how the Scottish have missed their targets while neglecting to say that the only labour run health service in Wales is performing worse… I wait with baited breath..
Mr Campbell, you are awesome. I am constantly amazed at your depth of journalistic and investigative talent. Thank heaven you are on the side of an independent Scotland. I admire your work immensely.
@Manandboy,
For heaven’s sake can you not get over this blame the elderly hike?. It’s beginning to piss me right off. I’m, 73, my wife is 73, our friends are similar ages. We ALL VOTED YES. So give it a rest for fuck sake before you put any other potential 73s off voting Yes. Give the agest thin a break? Have a nice day.
Is this it then? everyday from now to the election is our John gonnae be cummin up wi a’ the things he is gonnae dae fur guid auld Scotia. What a load of absolute bollocks. Am sick tae the back teeth o’ it a’.
The only person John is interested in is John. Isn’t it wonderful to watch all of these wastemonsters troughers and wide boys pleading for us to go back and keep them in a job. I’ve only one answer to the GTF and the sooner the better.
I’m away to have a g & t, I’ll be a bloody jakey by the time this bliddy election gets bye. I hope the enjoy what’s coming there way.
Stick with me on this disjointed ramble..
See the revelations, logical method, asking the right questions with regards to the established Unionist BBC agenda that you discredit on a daily basis Stu.. You know all the crap that We’re Better Together, ATOS do a great job, Immigration is Bad, Forces Of Darkness are coming.. etc..etc
See if this was all info that could be used to discredit stuff the authorities wanted to discredit they’d be over you like a rash..
But since the stuff you print on here WRECKS pretty much everything they come out with, none of it ever sees the light of day.. It serves them better if it never sees the ink of a Newspaper page, or the delights of HD News.
It’s like if you discovered Tupperware is made using ground up toe nail clippings.. There will be a band of people who believe you, and will follow you. But those in power will never want this to get out to the wider public.
Anyway. I’m all for crowdfunding some ad space as has been mentioned ove the last few days on here. Needs to happen I think. The papers that sell the most will never reveal the things we all read on here.
So lets take it to them (I’m sure my idea of using a rope to tie McTinyTears to the back of the bus with the ad on it isn’t entirely legal)
Roughage.
He needs more roughage…
Constipation can be painful y’know.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/investigations/pms-office-breaches-foi-rules-for-spin-doctor-john-mcternan/story-fn6tcxar-1226667858681?nk=72ea829aa258e66815d5ffc51de8a66d
Just the tip of the iceberg from australia…
They clearly state that Scotland has run a deficit. Probably true that Scotland has, what they do not report is the UK running a larger one per capita and dumping, sorry sharing its cost with us. Without the cost of UK borrowing and WMDs there would be no deficit. Nor do I know of one country that removes a major asset from its balance sheet. I am sure Barbados would run a huge deficit without rum, we conversely do not and yet it is a burden even at $50 a barrel. A balance sheet with assets removed is simply a lie.
For those on the beginners course we will be looking at the function of the Labour party.
There modus operandi is to Lie, Lie about Lying, Lie about who Lied, Lie about when they Lied, Lie about where they Lied.
Now for your examination:
When Labour say that they now put Scotland First, Can you describe in 5 letters what they are doing?
In the advanced course, we will be looking at Dud Smurphy, alternatively known as Lying Bastard.
Unequivocally!
My specific area of education is not economics as i have explained before but i know a little something about Scottish Patriotic finances inasmuch as “I don’t give a flying f..k if you told me i’d be worse off with Independence i’d still want it” So the baddies can get over it, I can’t be bought, sold, conned or cajoled i would just like to have my own country back.
Fight that argument Ya Red, Blue, and Yellow Torie B……s
I did try to be succinct there, hope it was ok….
Kenny says
“Stu – in the run-up to the election, how would you feel about funding some billboards or bus ads or something just saying very explicitly “Labour is lying. See Wings for details.”
Kenny I, sounds ok but won’t work. You have to play them at their own game, and it is about psychology. Ok you say things like, ‘ the truth can be a lie, who do you believe?’
Or, ‘what was that you promised last election? It’s been 5 years, value for money? I don’t think so!’
that sort of thing, ads, somehow to make folks question the crap they are told to believe.
I am rubbish at this, but maybe some of the clever people on this site could come up with some fab ads,
He looks like Popeye ….does that make Jim, Olive Oil?
Alex Clark,
Good link to Ivan McKee talk on the economy. First time I have actually seen it. What I think it missed out was the burden the uk financial services (or debt) industry places on the tax payer in our role as guarantor (and there is still no regulation of the banks today). On top of that, by speculating house prices up the way and making its population spend more on servicing personal debt, it means each of us has less disposable income to stimulate the local economy.
Alex Clark,
Thank you for the welcome and for the link- an excellent introduction to the economic side of the argument.
If only there was some way we could make it compulsory viewing…
Blair doesn’t even recognise his own lies.
Without Westminster mismanagement, illegal wars, tax evasion and Banking fraud, Scotland would have had a £220Billion Oil Fund. Why did Thatcher write, ‘this must be kept secret’ on documentsc related to the Scottish budget. Thatcher illegally took all the Oil revenues, the equivalent of £Billions and cut every manufacturing facility in Scotland. Thatcher cancelled a pipeline wasting the equivalent of £Billions of Gas. Thatcher Minister’s resigned because of her actions. The Oil & Gas industry was completely mismanaged by Westminster, including lack of Health and Safety rules. No Inquiry and a cover up.
Labour/Unionists kept the McCrone Report secret for 30 years and spent the Oil revenues on illegals wars, tax evasion and banking fraud. Westminster are a bunch of criminals,
child molesters, murderers, fraudsters and liars who cover their crimes by the Official Secrets Act. Where is the Chilcott verdict?
Yes Scotland could have had an Oil Fund and could still manage it’s budget better than Westminster, with full fiscal autonomy/Independence.
Scotland raises £53Billion in tax revenues. More than enough for all it’s needs, not spending the Westminster way. A tax on ‘loss leading’ alcohol. Could save £1Billion. An increase in Oil revenues by cutting the 9% increase imposed by Westminster in 2011 – £4Billion, cut in Trident/illegal wars £1.5Billion (with the military based in Scotland). That’s £6.5Billion. Scotland would be in surplus, Without Wedtminster’s interference.
The rest of the UK raises £437Billion in taxes and borrows and spends £100Billion more.
Scotland which should be wealthier is made poorer by Westminster policies. Westminster squanders the UK revenues, on illegal wars, tax evasion and banking fraud.
Dr Jim , couldn’t have put it better myself!
Maybe JFK put it more politely ,
“Ask not what your country can do for you , ask what you can do for your country ” – make it independent and answerable to the people , though it seems the USA hasn’t succeeded in that department either.
What a strange position these unionists adopt. As part of the UK/British Empire, Scottish people were great inventors/administrators/soldiers etc.
However if we gained independence, we would be totally incapable of running anything. How odd it must be to denigrate the place of your birth and your fellow citizens constantly.
Even stranger that so far the majority of Scottish people wholeheartedly agree with them.
For an idea of why the economic policies of Thatcher (since continued by successive governments) have not served the needs of the majority of UK citizens, the BBC2 documentary “the super rich and us” is a smashing wee programme. I heartily recommend it – it’s on the no-TV-licence-required Iplayer.
Hang on, we need to challenge Mr Fuller’s statement of a constant deficit and establish the basis for that decision. If Scotland really was running such a deficit then where was McDougall when McConnell was handing back “surplus” to London?
A liar lying about another liar’s lie is a better rebuttal.
@De Valera
Agree. The Unionist myth through the ages. Beyond the shores of Scotchland, we’re geniuses. Domestically, we’re numpties.
As some posts have already stated-“thank goodness for the internet”.There is going to be an all sided attack on internet freedom very soon from Downing street, and we must be ready to defend our biggest and best weapon in this fight for our very existence.
Maxi kerr
Yes everybody take heed, we must be ready for the bastards. They will get even more desperate as time passes.
McDougall and Truth are strangers to each other.
Rev Campbell – yest another fine piece of investigative journalism. You really could make the difference next time.
It would be good to see a weekly summary of your findings/conclusions in The National.
‘pieces of hate!’,’pieces of hate!’…..Labour’s very own lying parrot.
Its high time that all politicians and reporters were subject to criminal prosecution for lying – a bit like if you commit perjury in court you are in serious trouble, only then can we hope to have a reasoned and factual debate.
@Croompenstein says: 10 January, 2015 at 5:38 pm:
“What does he mandan ‘your own SNP Govt’. I mandan this guy is a real mandan type…
Ahem! Methinks the good numptie speaks with forked tongue in North American Sioux Nations Language : –
Mandan – (noun) –
1. a member of an American Indian people formerly living on the upper Missouri River in North Dakota.
2. the Siouan language of the Mandan, related to Winnebago.
adjective: Mandan – relating to the Mandan or their language.
Even if a Scottish government report had stated that the Scottish budget had been in deficit for the last 2 decades, it is already clear that much of that deficit is due to the UK’s borrowing on Scotland’s behalf that it allocates the interest payment to but does not fully spend on Scotland – i.e. more has been borrowed for Scotland, than Scotland has needed, year on year during that time.
Remove that undue increase in interest payments and the Scottish budget would not have been in deficit for most of that time.
But even if Scotland had truly been in deficit during that time (like the UK as a whole) an Oil fund would still have worked as it is not true that you need to be in surplus for a fund to work. Your gained interest simply needs to be higher than the interest of what you have borrowed. Which is probably what labour have come to realise now that they’re suggesting we actually set up an Oil fund.
The level of duplicity coming out of Labour right now is shocking – I almost get the feeling they WANT to lose…