The froth surrounding a certain publication tended to submerge two matters of substance which emerged last week – the GERS figures that tell us each year how much the Scottish deficit is and also the National Records of Scotland update on population statistics.

Both are of significantly more importance, looking forward, than the self-publicity that eclipsed them. And, to an extent which is insufficiently recognised, they are closely connected. Scotland’s capacity to address its demographic challenges are inextricably linked to how much we are prepared to spend on them.

The GERS figures, which are published by the Scottish Government, were pretty dire. They measure the amount of public money spent in Scotland against the taxation that is raised here. The difference, this year, is £26.2 billion which is a remarkable 11.7 per cent of GDP.

As part of the exercise, the GERS deficit is rapidly translated, without the help of AI, into the per capita variation between public expenditure in Scotland and England, which now runs at £2669, up by £358 in a year. That number is, understandably, trumpeted by those who favour the constitutional status quo. If there was ever another referendum, it would frighten all but the most dedicated horses.

Read More:

It is a pity however that the GERS figures have been reduced to political cudgels without greater understanding of what they represent. First, it needs to be understood that, within a United Kingdom, it makes perfectly good sense that Scotland enjoys these advantages, which were........

© Herald Scotland