Scotland’s GDP shrinks twice as fast as UK as a whole

Responding to new statistics showing that Scotland’s GDP fell by 0.6% between October and December 2023, shrinking twice as fast as the fall recorded for the UK as a whole, Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP said:

“The SNP are a grim lesson in economic chaos. They have failed to spark growth, failed to drive innovation and now they have the gall to push through a budget that punishes businesses and families for those serial failures.

“Their incompetence has resulted in less money for overwhelmed public services, driving up NHS backlogs, increasing the numbers at risk of homelessness and preventing our young people from getting the education they need to succeed.

“Scotland needs a liberal vision for its economy, one which can deliver highly skilled, high wage jobs and end more than a decade of depressed economic performance.”