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Blair McDougall

5 Feb, 6 tweets, 2 min read

https://twitter.com/GeorgeKerevan/status/1357452000519213058

When you notice something big a few minutes after you press send on your newsletter...The SNP are now going after the individual LSE academic's reputations. So a quick thread with a hell of a twist. 1/

https://twitter.com/GeorgeKerevan/status/1357452000519213058

One of them is Thomas Sampson. As well as the research on the impact of a Scotland-rUK border, earlier in the research series he also co-wrote this paper on the impact of Brexit. eprints.lse.ac.uk/66144/1/__lse.… 2/

This matters because on the 23rd August 2016 Nicola Sturgeon called a special press conference on brexit where she launched this document. parliament.scot/General%20Docu… 3/

https://twitter.com/blairmcdougall/status/1356943925592940546?s=20

She confidently projected the cost of leaving the EU based on "Projections by a number of external organisations." Note she says the cost of leaving the EU could be £11.2bn. That number is important... 4/

https://twitter.com/blairmcdougall/status/1356943925592940546?s=20

That number in her analysis, which has been used over and over again by the SNP in the 4 years since, is taken from...(drumroll) The Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE. And the author of that analysis? It's Thomas Sampson in the report mentioned in tweet 2 above. /5

So, the SNP are so afraid of the findings of the LSE's report that they have spent two days attacking the reputation of the academic WHO WROTE THE SNP GOVERNMENT'S ANALYSIS. Lots of people should apologise him and the FM should be asked about this. /6

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https://twitter.com/zsstevens/status/1318634705919594498

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https://twitter.com/zsstevens/status/1318634705919594498

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https://twitter.com/jamesmatthewsky/status/1262456176802922498

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