Swinney calls on chancellor to scrap fiscal rules amid Trump tariffs

First Minister John Swinney has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to remove the “self-imposed economic straitjacket” of the government’s fiscal rules.

Swinney, who vowed to make Scotland “as resilient as we can possibly be” said the UK Government had to adapt to changing global circumstances following the introduction of tariffs by US President Donald Trump.

Last week Trump suspended the introduction of tariffs by 90 days amid a sell-off of US treasury bonds which underscored a growing sense of uncertainty about the direction of the world’s largest economy. However, tariffs remain on Chinese imports.

Swinney, who has called a press office at Bute House this morning, said the “world is changing around us”.

He said: “I know that this is a time of great uncertainty for people, that many families and businesses are worried about what global events will mean for their finances.  That is why I want us to be united and creative in our response, to ensure that we are as resilient as we can possibly be.

“My view is that UK response should include removing the self-imposed economic straitjacket of the Chancellor’s fiscal rules and reversing the job – and growth – destroying increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions. The world is changing around us and quite simply, the UK government needs to change too.”

Under Reeves’ fiscal rules, the budget must be on course to be balanced or in surplus by 2029/30; national debt must fall as a share of the overall economy; and welfare spending remain capped.

Swinney called for closer alignment with the European Union and repeated his party’s call for the oil refinery at Grangemouth to be nationalised following the decision to take British Steel into public hands.

He said: “If British Steel is to be nationalised to protect it, then so too should Grangemouth.

“If a supercomputer is to be built in the London-Oxford-Cambridge triangle, then the cancelled supercomputer for Edinburgh should be restored.

“If carbon capture and storage is to proceed on Tyneside and Merseyside, it should be given an immediate green light for the north-east of Scotland too.

“This is what it means to get serious about Scotland’s economic future. Given the scale of the threat, anything less is not good enough.”

Scottish Labour finance spokesperson Michael Marra said: “For years fiscal incompetence has been SNP practice and now it appears to be official policy.

“An end to any kind of fiscal rule promises economic chaos and vast interest rate rises hitting growth and hammering mortgage rates.

“Liz Truss showed us that working people pay the price when governments gamble with our economy, but the SNP wants to do the same again. The SNP simply cannot be trusted with your money.”