Scottish freeports deal splits SNP and Greens
A deep split has emerged between the SNP and its coalition partners, the Scottish Greens, over Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to back the foundation of low-tax freeports in Scotland.
The Scottish government signed a £52m deal with the UK government to approve two low-regulation freeports in Scotland just as Boris Johnson arrived on Monday at Rosyth in Fife, an industrial site expected to bid to host one later this year.
Ross Greer, the Scottish Greens’ finance spokesperson, said his party would have nothing to do with the schemes, in the first major split with the SNP since they struck a cooperation deal last August.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Monday, Greer said claims from Scottish ministers that the two projects would prioritise green, low-carbon ambitions and promote the living wage were “greenwash”.
“There’s nothing genuinely green about them,” he said. “What freeports are are a really effective way to give tax relief and to throw public money at multinational companies who are already doing their best to avoid tax.
“The last time the UK had freeports, according to the UK government they only created a quarter of the jobs that were promised, and that was at huge public expense. Internationally, freeports are associated with crime, money laundering, smuggling, low wages.”
The Scottish government’s decision to support the freeports, despite the open hostility from one SNP minister, Ivan McKee, who originally denounced them as a “tarnished brand”, is regarded as a significant coup within the UK government.
Johnson visited Rosyth and Edinburgh on Monday morning before flying to north-west England as part of a tour to promote his widely criticised levelling-up investment agenda.
His visit was a rebuff to near universal demands
Read more on theguardian.com
