Fact check: the Tories’ £820 million whopper

To paraphrase the former Tory leader William Hague, it’s a bit like stealing someone’s car and coming back the next day with the hubcaps.

The £820 million announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond is capital spending (in plain English that’s money that can be spent on things like big infrastructure projects like hospitals, schools and new roads) and is spread over the next five years.

While welcome, here’s the bit Chancellor left out: this new funding pales in comparison to the whopping cuts already being made by the Tories to Scotland’s budget.

The reality is that in the ten year period to 2019-20 the UK government – both the Tory-led coalition and the current Tory government – will have cut Scotland’s budget by a huge £2.9 billion in real terms. That’s after the ‘extra’ £820 million is added.

Here’s what’s happened to Scotland’s budget under the Tories.