Treasury’s Lego independence Buzzfeed list slammed

THE UK Treasury have been accused of patronising Scottish voters by using Lego models to illustrate how Scots could spend a supposed £1400 windfall from remaining in the UK.

The article drew derision from voters and politicians. Screengrab: Buzzfeed

Figures published by the Treasury last week claimed that every person in Scotland would be £1400 better off after voting ‘No’ in the independence referendum on 18 September, compared to leaving the union. In an article published on social news website Buzzfeed entitled ‘12 things that £1400 UK Dividend could buy’, the Treasury used Lego figures to suggest how Scots could use their supposed cash boost.

Scots are advised that the extra £1400 could, amongst other things, enable them to “watch Aberdeen play all season with two mates- with a few pies and Bovrils thrown in for good measure” or “share a meal of fish and chips with your family every day for around 10 weeks, with a couple of portions of mushy peas thrown in”.

SNP Treasury Spokesperson Stewart Hosie condemned the article, which was widely shared online after being reposted on the UK Government website, as ‘nonsense’ and stated that the Treasury’s original figure of the money Scotland would supposedly save in the event of a ‘No’ vote had been ‘roundly discredited’.

The Dundee East MP said: “This is the kind of patronising attitude to Scotland we have come to expect from the Tory Treasury- presumably the establishment elite think we spend all our time eating fish and chips

and pies. The Treasury figures have been roundly discredited, so this is just adding insult to injury.”

The article was published to Buzzfeed’s ‘Community’ section, where articles are not vetted or edited by Buzzfeed staff before publication. The viral news website itself published an article on the Treasury list, entitled “The UK Government Has Done A List On Scottish Independence And It’s Awful”.