The SNP have been accused of “spinning utter fantasy to the Scottish people” in the wake of new figures showing the government is almost £15billion in the red.
Opposition politicians attacked the Nationalist administration, following the release of the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland figures, which painted a grim picture of Scotland’s public finances.
According to the GERS, Scotland’s deficit increased from £14.3 billion in 2014/15 to more than £14.8 billion last year, or 9.5% of GDP.
Over the same period, the UK’s equivalent figures dropped from almost £91.7 billion to £75.3 billion, leaving its fiscal black hole at 4%.
Finance Secretary, Derek Mackay, went on the offensive yesterday in a bid to convince voters the deficit would not stop Scotland joining the EU, despite the continental bloc urging member states to keep budget deficits below 3% of GDP.
But opposition politicians suggested the SNP were trying to “shut their eyes as tight as possible in the hope everyone else does too”.
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said: “The last thing the EU would want is to take on the risk of another bail out.
“So Nicola Sturgeon needs to be straight with people – if she wants to make the case for independence within the EU, what would the price of that be in higher taxes and reduced spending?”
His comments after Mr Mackay confirmed “independence is one of the options that we are considering to secure Scotland’s place” in the EU.
Scotland and the UK are assessing the situation following the Brexit vote, so it remains unclear whether Scotland would be allowed to continue as a member state or leave alongside the rest of the UK and be forced to reapply for membership.
Mr Mackay added: “The UK is a member state. It was above that level of deficit in 2009/10 and no-one asked the UK to leave.”
He also claimed that the Scottish Government’s £100million economic stimulus in the wake of the Brexit vote was “new investment” – a claim which has been ridiculed by Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie.
She said: “Derek Mackay needs to get his story straight, and fast.
“The £100 million Nicola Sturgeon announced was from a previous SNP Government underspend, so it’s not new money – someone should have told the Finance Secretary.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that the promises the SNP made in 2014 were completely misleading, but rather than admit it, SNP ministers continue to spin utter fantasy to the Scottish people.”