Mather mocked over 'arc' claim

ENTERPRISE Minister Jim Mather was derided by his political opponents yesterday for sticking by the SNP's controversial claims that Scotland should follow the so-called "arc of prosperity" of Iceland, Ireland and Norway.

Mr Mather posted a blog on the Scottish Government website 14 months ago – before the economic crisis – praising the three countries to Scotland's west, north and east. Scotland needed to "catch up and converge with the arc of prosperity that surrounds our country" he said.

When Mr Mather's office was contacted by The Scotsman yesterday, officials stuck to the same view, despite the fact that Iceland is in the grip of an economic disaster and Ireland's economy is suffering from a deep recession.

Instead, a spokesman for Mr Mather stressed that the blog had been written in December 2007 and that Norway was expecting growth of 1.3 per cent this year. He added: "

And while Ireland is certainly in recession, it is far wealthier per head than the UK, and likely will emerge from the recession more prosperous than the UK."

Jeremy Purvis, for the Liberal Democrats, said: "It beggars belief that the SNP is still clinging to the arc of prosperity argument for independence. Does the SNP really want us to copy Iceland, where the financial sector has collapsed and the government has resigned?"

And Derek Brownlee, for the Tories, added: "Britain won't be part of any arc of prosperity as long as Gordon Brown is in Number 10."