24 October 2008
By David Scott
Labour and the Scottish National Party this week put aside their party differences to unite to try to revive the Scottish economy and avoid a recession.
At a meeting in Edinburgh on October 21, First Minister Alex Salmond, leader of the SNP, and Labour's Jim Murphy, the Scottish secretary, agreed to work together to 'bring forward spending and other measures to stimulate economic activity'.
However, the newfound harmony was disrupted by a letter from the chief secretary to the Treasury, Yvette Cooper, rejecting Salmond's recent demand for an extra £1bn of funds from Whitehall. Cooper insisted that the SNP administration at Holyrood had distorted the position in its argument that Scotland was entitled to money held by the Treasury.
In her letter – issued on the same day at the Edinburgh 'summit' of politicians and business leaders – Cooper said of the demand for £1bn: 'It is not clear where this figure is derived from, but it appears to comprise six elements, all of which have been misrepresented.'
After the Edinburgh talks, which were also attended by trade union leaders, a joint statement said it was a 'very useful and constructive meeting that updated action being taken by both the UK and Scottish governments to address difficult economic times'.
An SNP spokesman said the letter from the Treasury minister had been overtaken by the meeting.
He added: 'The Treasury say “no” to everyone but we will continue to seek access to resources which could be available for productive investment in the Scottish economy.'
PFoct2008
