In what critics have described as a “love bomb” to reduce support for Scottish independence, the United Kingdom Government has announced that 1,000 Westminster Public Service jobs are to be moved to Scotland.
As part of the move, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s base in East Kilbride is to be expanded by 500 staff.
Further plans are for the Cabinet Office headquarters to be relocated in Glasgow, bringing 500 new jobs to Scotland’s biggest city.
Minister for the Cabinet Office, Michael Gove (pictured) said the move would “co-locate the engine room of the UK Government in Scotland”.
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab said the relocated jobs would ensure the Public Service “represents all parts of the UK”.
The announcements come after 20 consecutive public opinion polls in Scotland show either support for independence or a 50-50 split.
Commenting on the moves, a spokesperson for the Scottish National Party (SNP) described them as more “empty promises”.
The spokesperson said that according to official figures since 2010, the ruling UK Conservatives had axed almost 7,000 Public Service jobs in Scotland.
“In a period of Westminster austerity, the UK Government chose to disproportionately slash jobs north of the border — this announcement is a drop in the ocean against the backdrop of these wide-scale cuts,” the spokesperson said.
“The [Conservatives] know that if people vote SNP in the May Scottish election then a fresh referendum is coming — they wouldn’t be spending so much time relocating Whitehall staff to Scotland if they didn’t,” they said.
Edinburgh, 16 March 2021
