STUC blasted both sides of the independence referendum campaign yesterday, accusing them of messing up their economic figures and ignoring economic inequality.
“Despite inequality of income and wealth becoming a major theme of the referendum campaign, no detailed remedies are proposed by the Scottish or UK governments,” STUC economist Stephen Boyd wrote in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper.
The STUC attack follows a row between Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander and Scottish Finance minister John Swinney over the costs and benefits of independence and the union.
Mr Alexander said the SNP’s proposed £1,000 “independence bonus” for every Scot was “wishful thinking,” before suggesting a “union dividend” of £1,400 per head.
Mr Swinney responded that coalition cuts to the Barnett formula would cost Scotland £4 billion.
But Mr Boyd said recent “extensive papers” from the Scottish and UK governments justifying and promoting their “independence bonus” or “union dividend” had failed to identify who would benefit from either.
He asked: “Will the dividend/bonus be evenly spread across the income distribution? Or will those at the top benefit disproportionately?”
Mr Boyd called for honesty on the level of taxation needed to address inequality.
“Few if any in the Yes campaign can summon the intellectual honesty to acknowledge that the Nordic society they desire and promote so relentlessly simply cannot and will not be funded on current levels of taxation.
“Action on minimum and living wages is a welcome but insufficient response.”
malcolmburns@peoples-press.com