Brexit will be bad for the economy, warned Scotland’s pro-independence First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
“Brexit is a real and present danger to the Scottish and UK economy,” Sturgeon told a news conference to present figures on Scotland’s budget deficit, which is much larger than that for the United Kingdom as a whole.
As reported by the Reuters news agency, Sturgeon is backing another referendum on Brexit, which was opposed by most voters in Scotland. However, British Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out a second vote on EU membership.
“The debate for Scotland over the period ahead is how do we best equip ourselves to support the best possible economic performance,” Sturgeon said.
According to Scottish government data released on August 22, Scotland’s large budget deficit shrank in the last financial year to its lowest since 2012 but remained far larger in percentage terms than that of the United Kingdom as a whole.
Data shows that Scotland’s net fiscal deficit shrank to 13.4bn pounds in the 2017/18 tax year from 14.5bn pounds the year before, helped by stronger North Sea oil and gas revenues, reported Reuters.
As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the deficit fell to 7.9% from 8.9%. This is the lowest since 2011/12 but far higher than in the United Kingdom as a whole, where public sector net borrowing was 1.9% of GDP in 2017/18.
Sturgeon described Brexit on August 22 as a “real and present danger” for Scotland and Britain’s economy.
