The SNP have been caught with their trousers down, so to speak, on more than one occasion, I quote: "Nicola Sturgeon’s party was accused of selling ‘snake oil’, lying to voters in the run-up to the Scottish referendum, inflating figures of North Sea oil revenues by up to £30billion to create a new economic case for separation."
Their case was that the country did not depend on oil revenue, that was just a BONUS, the reality was the figures were false and the price of oil fell. According to the Scottish National Party forecast, in 2016/2017 the oil revenues would have been up to £10.7bn - but OBR (Office Budget Responsibility an independent organisation) figures show they amounted to £100m. And in 2017/2018 the forecasts of £11.8bn amounted in reality to only £1.1bn.
In the run-up to the referendum, Scotland had a significant annual deficit, which has since grown to £15bn - higher than Greece’s. If the vote had gone for independence the Scottish people would have suffered austerity on a mega scale. So, why would a Spanish prime minister wish this on a nation?
The second point is that Gibraltar was ceded to the British crown under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, some 315 years ago. Now, there is a lot of water that has passed under the bridge since then but this topic is still a hot potato; this agreement brought peace during the 1800s to Europe.
So, if Pedro Sanchez wishes to look that far back and make an issue of a Treaty agreed by all and now make it a modern-day issue, then surely Catalonia have an issue for independence. The Treaty of Utrecht led to the withdrawal of the English armies, the fall of Barcelona and the Nueva Planta decrees which centralised the Spanish central government.
If he now considers that, despite that Treaty, Gibraltar should come under Spanish rule, then perhaps the British should get behind Catalonia and back their cause for independence. After all, without that Treaty Spain would not be what it is today. Scotland had a vote on independence, Mr Sanchez, and you have gone out of the way to cite them. Surely then you must offer Catalonia the same rights, or is it as the old proverb goes "Do as I say, Not as I do".
B. Rowe
