Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Sturgeon told to dump indyref2 demand as Scotland sits on brink of recession

Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon

Scotland is on the verge of recession after the economy shrank at the end of last year, official figures show.

Output north of the border fell by 0.2% in the final quarter of 2016, while the UK economy as a whole grew by 0.7%.

If the economy continues to contract in the first three months of this year Scotland will officially be in recession.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said the figures, which were published on Wednesday, reflect the “economic reality of the Brexit vote” last summer.

UK minister Lord Dunlop said the Scottish Government’s agitation for independence is hampering growth.

The data reveals the Scottish economy did not grow at all throughout 2016, compared with 1.8% growth across the UK.

Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservative MSP, blamed Nicola Sturgeon’s “mismanagement”.

“She has made Scotland the highest-taxed part of the UK and created more instability and uncertainty with her threat of a second referendum,” he said.

Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, singled out the Scottish Government as she urged them to change tack on imposing a greater tax burden for some businesses and higher-rate taxpayers than their English counterparts face.

“It is time for the Scottish Government to abandon this high tax agenda before it is too late as these policies risk driving investment out of Scotland.”

Prof Graeme Roy, from the Fraser of Allander Institute, said the figures are “deeply disappointing”.

He said the oil and gas downturn explains the slump in part, but also pointed to “substantial declines” in construction and manufacturing.

“With any Brexit uncertainty affecting the UK as well, it’s hard to argue that Scotland’s relatively weaker performance can be explained by the outcome of the EU referendum,” he added.

Lord Dunlop, the Conservative minister, said the UK Government is “working hard to release our potential through the industrial strategy, city region deals and a £1.2 billion funding boost for the Scottish budget”.

He called on the SNP administration to use its “unprecedented powers to make Scotland more competitive and return its economy to growth”.

Mr Mackay said: “Scotland’s economy faces continued headwinds, such as the slowdown in the oil and gas sector and weak global demand.

“Despite these challenges, the foundations of our economy are strong with growth in 2016, unemployment falling and early signs that the situation is improving for North Sea operators.”