1/ With the SNP party conference just around the corner, let’s revisit one of the high profile announcements made at last year’s get together: the plan to issue Scottish Government bonds.

Humza Yousaf called it “our most ambitious proposal yet”. The reception was rapturous. 2/ The conference announcement was swiftly followed by an official Scottish Government release, confirming that the First Minister had commissioned due diligence assessments.

Source:
gov.scot/news/governmen…

1/ At FMQs today, @_KateForbes suggested that a @SPICe_Research blog effectively debunked @KieranPAndrews’s recent story on Scot Gov having underspent EU funds by £450m.

Kate Forbes is being disingenuous, and is not fairly representing the SPICe research.🧵 2/ The SPICe research says that €157.6m of EU funding was relinquished by Scot Gov, due to “expenditure targets not being met”.

1/ @DaveDooganSNP did not only peddle myths about whisky taxes at the Scotonomics Festival of Economics yesterday.

Here is part one of an extraordinarily ignorant analysis of GERS, including his bonkers theory about car number plates. 2/ In part two, he attempts to mislead the audience into believing that Scotland does not get its fair share of defence spending…

1/ @HumzaYousaf recently wrote to @LiamKerrMSP about a correction he’d made to the Official Report, after falsely claiming that Scotland has the majority of the UK’s renewables capacity.

Here is what he said at FMQs on 22nd June 2023. 2/ The letter states: “I had intended to say ‘per capita’…”

But an FOI response reveals his staff spent weeks scrabbling around for a way to avoid having to make an honest correction.

1/ Remarkable FOI response published today by Scot Gov, detailing internal discussions on how to come up with a replacement for the discredited 25% offshore wind stat.

The most extraordinary revelation is the admission that talk of a 40 GW offshore wind pipeline is pure fantasy. 2/ Scot Gov is completely addicted to exaggerated and misleading stats.

Privately, Scot Gov acknowledges that it will be “very challenging to consent” offshore wind developments “at a scale considerably below 40 GW”.

Scot Gov has replaced a bogus stat with a fantasy stat.

1/ Disgraceful behaviour from @AngusRobertson in the Scottish Parliament today, as he repeatedly refuses to answer an urgent question from @LiamKerrMSP on why he continued to push the bogus offshore wind stat *after* officials advised him to stop using it. 2/ @colinsmythmsp asks why @AngusRobertson ignored advice from his own officials and pushed the bogus stat to a French Gov minister, and whether he will be referring himself to be investigated for a breach of the Ministerial Code. Robertson again refuses to answer the question.

1/ Scot Gov redacted Michael Matheson’s name from an FOI response proving he was at the centre of discussions on the questionable status of the 25% figure, weeks before Scot Gov claims ministers first became aware of the issue.

Redacted:                         Unredacted: 2/ There is no possible justification for redacting the name of a cabinet minister in this way.

The redaction was uncovered by pushing back with a follow up FOI.

This is clear evidence of an attempt to cover up the truth of when cabinet ministers knew the 25% figure was bogus.

1/ The UK Statistics Authority and the Office for Statistics Regulation have both now said Scot Gov’s 25% stat on Scotland’s share of Europe’s offshore wind potential was *never* accurate.

https://twitter.com/statsregulation/status/1601144843798859776

2/ But Scot Gov still refuses to take full responsibility for this. In a series of written parliamentary questions and answers between @LiamKerrMSP and @MathesonMichael, the Scot Gov minister persists with the pretence that the figure is merely “dated”:

1/🚨Nicola Sturgeon today misled the Scottish Parliament🚨

Sturgeon quoted two Lib Dem ministers in 2010-15 UK Gov.

She said both had “used exactly the same figure” [referring to debunked 25% stat for Scotland’s share of Europe’s offshore wind potential]
2/ The first quote was from Michael Moore, Secretary of State for Scotland, who did use the 25% stat in August 2013.

But he was relying on Scot Gov data (the figure was originally published by Scot Gov in 2010).

1/ @MathesonMichael cited the Climate Change Committee at Holyrood on 7th June 2022, to support his assertion that Scotland was outperforming the rest of the UK on emissions. That committee has now definitively rebutted the Matheson line. He should correct the Official Report. 2/ Some people did point this out at the time…

https://twitter.com/staylorish/status/1534176260267581441

1/ What kind of an MP is @StephenFlynnSNP?

We know that he can deliver fake statistics with aplomb. But what about the serious, detailed work of parliamentary democracy?

TL;DR: FOI responses reveal that Flynn is a bluster specialist, but too lazy for real work… 2/ As the SNP’s Westminster spokesperson for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Flynn has often blustered about electricity transmission charging.

Earlier this year I put in an FOI request to Ofgem, asking for correspondence with Flynn…

1/ A banner day for fans of SNP currency policies in the House of Commons yesterday. Several new positions were announced, one old one resurrected, and many rubbished by their own side. An inauspicious start for @Ianblackford_MP, whose opening gambit was met with laughter. 2/ Moments later @Ianblackford_MP resurrected the famous 6 tests of the Sustainable Growth Commission. The recent economic prospectus dropped the 6 tests in favour of “3 broad requirements” and “3 criteria”, subtly different to the old 6 tests. But now the 6 tests are back.

1/ Remarkable FOI response here. Scot Gov admits it cannot justify a statement made by Sturgeon at FMQs recently, because the statement wasn’t true. Sturgeon has quietly corrected the Official Report… 2/… but the correction is a bait and switch. Her original statement gave the impression that Scotland’s electricity consumption is entirely renewable.

But the correction sneaks in a critical word - *equivalent* - which completely changes the meaning of what was said.

1/ This sentence caught my eye in @timesscotland this morning. SNP policy in this area has, until now, been set by @AndrewWilson and his Growth Commission report. thetimes.co.uk/article/john-s… 2/ Wilson has always insisted that Scotland *could* join the EU whilst using sterling. A preposterous position, but his position nonetheless. @afneil eviscerated him on this point in December 2020.

1/ Bombshell FOI reveals Mark Blyth - high profile economic adviser to Scottish Government - came out for independence without having done any work.

Blyth subsequently admits that he’s 🚨 “struggling to find the positive case that I hoped for” 🚨 gov.scot/publications/f… 2/ Blyth later joins Kate Forbes’ Advisory Council tasked with producing the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, but is exasperated when they keep arranging meetings at 4am his time (Blyth lives in the US).

1/ Sturgeon’s tweet below got plenty of attention, but it’s tendentious stuff. Her own government’s regulator - the Water Industry Commission for Scotland - recently explained the history of investment at Scottish Water.

https://twitter.com/nicolasturgeon/status/1557386611079479296

2/ Prior to 2002, the Scottish water industry had significantly under-invested compared to the companies in England and Wales, where investment had ramped up following privatisation in 1989. Scotland had a lot of catching up to do. Source: wics.scot/system/files/p…

1/ A remarkable torrent of lies from @LesleyRiddoch on @bbcdebatenight this week. 2/ Scots are not paying the highest standing charges in Britain. The highest standing charges are in the South West of England. ofgem.gov.uk/publications/d…

1/ Yesterday’s release of the 2020 greenhouse gas emissions figures for Scotland was an interesting window into SNP comms. 2/ As previously noted in this thread, per-capita emissions are substantially higher in Scotland than in the UK as a whole. A fact which was conveniently dropped from the statistical release.

https://twitter.com/staylorish/status/1534131873919688704

1/ The casual reader of this tweet would naturally assume “outperforming the UK” means that per-capita greenhouse gas emissions are lower in Scotland than for the UK as a whole.

https://twitter.com/MathesonMichael/status/1534106437378514944

2/ This is not the case, and when the equivalent data was published last year, the per-capita emissions by UK nation were included.

Notice that Scotland’s per-capita emissions in 2019 were substantially higher than for the UK as a whole. gov.scot/publications/s…

1/ Offshore wind is a big opportunity for Scotland. But has the SNP been honest about the size of that opportunity?

When the outcome of the ScotWind leasing round was announced in January, two numbers were given particular prominence. 2/ Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, Michael Matheson, cited combined generating capacity of 25GW, and at least £1 billion per GW of supply chain commitments.

At Holyrood, he touted potentially £25 - £35 billion of investments in the Scottish supply chain.

1/ Very significant story from @conor_matchett, which reveals the Scottish Government was advised that the £586m Lochaber guarantee was likely in breach of EU state aid rules.

https://twitter.com/thescotsman/status/1519567285849047041

2/ This is exactly the point I made in this thread, when the story first broke last year:

https://twitter.com/staylorish/status/1369400868211195909