Crisis, what crisis? Beset by domestic problems of their own making, the SNP government at Holyrood now has to face a difficult international climate too, amid rising tensions abroad and economic troubles around the globe. So, what better time for the country’s embattled First Minister to duck questions on ferries and sleaze by jetting off to Washington to rub shoulders with some of America’s more pliable politicians.
Unfortunately it seems that a change of scenery still hasn’t cured Nicola Sturgeon’s habit of tampering with the truth. Delivering a grandly-titled speech on ‘Scotland’s place in the world’, the Glasgow MSP told the Brookings Institute that ‘renewable energy currently accounts for almost 100 per cent of Scotland’s gross electricity consumption – which is around a third of our overall energy demand.’
A great claim – but is it backed up by the evidence? When the Scottish Government was asked to show its working in a Freedom of Information request, it included a crucial caveat that ‘in 2020, renewable electricity generated in Scotland was equivalent to 95.9
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate, free for a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.
UNLOCK ACCESS Try a month freeAlready a subscriber? Log in