STEPHEN Flynn had the perfect response to Laura Kuenssberg when she asked him to name one “mistake” the SNP had made in the General Election campaign.
Appearing on the BBC’s flagship politics show on Sunday morning, the SNP’s Westminster leader quipped that the election had clashed with Scotland appearing in the Euros.
Asked for a “mistake” the SNP had made, he said: “I don't believe that I spent enough time in Germany with the Tartan Army because of the election campaign. I was cut down to just one day.
“I wanted to be there for the full 10, 11 days, so that was the biggest mistake we made. We should have carted me off to Germany for the duration.”
Elsewhere, BBC host Kuenssberg challenged Flynn on the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ analysis of his party’s manifesto.
Kuenssberg said: “Your favourite tactic in this campaign has been to attack Labour and the Tories with that ‘conspiracy of silence’.
“Now, that was a criticism from the independent number crunchers at the IFS, saying that they're not telling the truth about all of their funding plans.
“But the IFS also has a go at your plans. They say your plans for independence would mean higher borrowing and either significant tax rises or spending cuts if Scotland was independent.
“What do you say to them on that?”
Flynn said: “What we would, of course, initially say to that, is that when we're looking at this General Election, there is that conspiracy of silence.
“There's £18 billion worth of public sector cuts which are agreed by both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. That's a choice that they are making at this election.
“We, of course, oppose that. We believe that there should be investment in our public services, investment in our NHS, and we need to get away from this race to the bottom on austerity that exists in Westminster.
“It doesn't work. It's broken the fabric of society over the course of the last 14 years. Why Keir Starmer would want to continue with that, knowing the damage it has caused, is beyond me.”
Flynn further highlighted how the IFS had “looked at the SNP Manifesto and outlined that the £30 billion which we believe could go back into the Treasury, could be invested into public services, as a result of rejoining our friends and neighbours in the European Union was something which they deemed to be reasonable”.
He went on: “The Labour Party don't want to be in the single market. They don't want to be in the customs union. They don't want freedom of movement. We believe in something different.
“The SNP believes in something different, and that's why the people of Scotland should put their faith in us.”
