Independence 'would be worth £4,100 extra for every Scot', says SNP-backed study
2 min read
Leaving the United Kingdom would deliver an economic boost worth an extra £4,100 for everyone in Scotland, a SNP-backed study into independence has concluded.
However, the report by the Sustainable Growth Commission says those benefits may not be felt for a generation.
Former SNP MSP Andrew Wilson has led the 18-month study, and will publish its 354-page report on Friday.
It will say that becoming independent would allow Scotland to perform like the world's 12 most successful 'small advanced economies' - including Austria, Belgium, Denmark and New Zealand.
The report will say that if it managed to match the median GDP per head of those nations, it would be worth additional economic output in Scotland equivalent to an extra £4,100 per person.
Mr Wilson said: "As a first step there must be an acceptance that small nations can be successful and that Scotland can be one of those countries. Our work shows that small countries can be amongst the most economically successful countries in the world, with higher standards of living and lower levels of inequality than many larger economies.
"There is nothing intrinsic in any of the best performing economies that Scotland does not have. To secure an improvement in our performance will take purposeful strategic effort for over a generation. We require world class policy, world class institutions and cross partisan effort if we are to achieve our ambition to create a much more successful economy and cohesive and fair society."
But Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: "The economic transformation Scotland needs and wants will not be delivered by Scotland leaving the UK. No amount of promises made by SNP advisers and politicians will change that.
"The people of Scotland will rightly be wary of fantasy numbers plucked from thin air by the SNP and promised to every man,woman and child in the country in the event of Scotland leaving the UK.
"Only Labour is proposing to change our economy and make it work for everyone,by making the richest and big corporations pay their fair share,and an industrial strategy with the state playing a more active role in economic growth.
"It is becoming clearer and clearer that only Labour offers the radical but credible vision of an anti-austerity Scotland that people want."
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