Economy of Scotland - Relationship With The UK

Relationship With The UK

In the run up to the proposed referendum on Scottish independence opinions on the likely state of a post-UK Scottish economy are varied. Some commentators believe that a current account surplus would accrue to Scotland (including oil and gas revenues), others that if Scotland were an independent state it would run a deficit of around 5% annually at the current rate of government spending. For example, it has been questioned whether Scotland could retain the UK's coveted triple A rating in bond markets. In response, a spokesman for finance secretary John Swinney referred to “the UK’s deteriorating growth outlook" and noted that Scotland was the only area of the UK outside London to record output growth between 2007 and 2010 and that "among the 12 nations and regions of the UK, Scotland is the third most prosperous in terms of output per head – behind only London and the South East of England.”