Spending Review a big boost for Scotland - Ian Murray

​Plans for the Exascale computer to be based at Edinburgh University were first announced in October 2023

It commits £750 million to a new supercomputer in Edinburgh, something the Conservatives announced time and again but fell short of actually putting the money up. While they only made empty gestures towards this groundbreaking asset, we have acted.

The new supercomputer will be the largest in the UK and will be the jewel in the crown of Scotland’s technology sector. The computational power it will have can be found in only a handful of other countries.

Moreover, the review strengthens Scotland’s leading role at the heart of UK defence, investing in munitions factories in Glasgow and shipbuilding on the Clyde and at Rosyth, supporting thousands of high-skilled jobs. It also includes a multi-decade, multi-billion-pound redevelopment of HM Naval Base Clyde, with an initial investment of £250m over the next three years.

Furthermore, it confirms billions of pounds for GB Energy – headquartered in Aberdeen – and new funding for the Acorn carbon capture and storage project, securing the next generation of jobs in the North Sea.

The SNP promised £80 million for the project in 2022, but that has never been paid out. Once again, it’s down to Labour to deliver.

It also means a big commitment to nuclear energy south of the border, with Sizewell C given the go-ahead and Rolls Royce winning a contract to build pioneering small modular reactors to power new data centres.

Contrast this with the SNP’s antiquated no-nuclear stance which stands in the way of cheap, reliable electricity and thousands of high-skilled jobs.

With total departmental budgets set to rise by 2.3 per cent each year, we can now say with all certainty that Labour has ended austerity, as we pledged to do. Promise made, promise kept.

In addition to investing directly in Scotland, the UK Government is also providing the Scottish Government with an extra £9.1 billion over the next three years, taking the yearly settlement to £50.9bn per year.

That’s a record real-terms funding settlement for the Scottish Government, the largest since devolution in 1998. It means more money than ever before for them to invest in public services like our NHS, police, housing and schools.

All of this comes alongside the trio of trade deals announced in the last month, which stand to be of enormous benefit to Scottish businesses. To maximise these benefits, we are continuing the Brand Scotland programme to promote inward investment and boost Scottish exports.

Overall, this is a Spending Review that delivers on our Plan for Change by investing in Scotland’s renewal, protecting living standards and putting more money in people’s pockets.

And in the same week that Labour is investing in the future and addressing the real problems people across Scotland are facing, the First Minister has yet again shown the SNP’s inward focus by carrying out a desperate reshuffle.

I will resist making any comments about deckchairs and the Titanic. Thankfully, next year Scots have the opportunity to turn a page and chart a new direction in Scotland with Anas Sarwar as First Minister.