Freeports opposition from SNP 'narrow-minded' accuse Scottish Tories

The Scottish Conservatives have warned that the SNP is putting jobs at risk by opposing the controversial introduction of freeports in the United Kingdom.

Dundee and the Tayside area is a potential location of a freeport

Graham Simpson, the Scottish Conservative’s transport spokesman, said opposition from the SNP was solely due to “narrow-mindedness” and could stifle economic growth post-Covid and post-Brexit.

The UK Government officially opened its applications for prospective English freeports earlier in November, but the policy which would see tariff free imports of goods is viewed by opponents as a race to the bottom.

At the SNP conference, members are expected to pass a resolution which calls on the party to acknowledge that freeports "cannot and will not offset the damage caused by Brexit”.

The resolution also notes the party’s concerns that freeports could lead to “low cost, low wage, low value opporunties” and would be “entirely at odds with the SNP’s ambition for Scotland’s economy”.

The resolution is expected to pass at the final day of the SNP conference today and will follow a speech on post-Covid-19 recovery from finance secretary Kate Forbes.

Mr Simpson said: “Communities in the North East in particular have been desperate for the UK Government and the SNP Government to work together to deliver freeport status for them.

“Instead it seems the SNP are going to put their ideology ahead of stimulating the Scottish economy going forward.

“We’ve seen officials ordered not to engage in the Transport Connectivity Review and now we see the Finance Secretary confirm what had been feared on freeports. It’s time the SNP looked beyond their own political bubble and stopped being so counter-productive.

"The SNP are putting Scottish jobs at risk as a result."

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