New documents reveal that Ian Blackford tried to get Scottish Government to prove Scexit pensions myth was true

Ian Blackford attempted to get the Scottish Government to prove him right about Westminster continuing to pay pensions of Scots but was slapped down by a minister.

The former SNP Westminster leader told ITV Border last year that the UK Government would pay pensions if Scotland voted for independence.

This is a long-peddled myth which some nationalists claim would happen but that the Scottish Government has moved away from officially saying due to the fact it is untrue.

READ MORE: SNP pension myth busted as UK Government documents prove they are paid through social security

Mr Blackford’s claim was even backed up by finance secretary Kate Forbes who bowed down to his inner knowledge of banking and by Christine Grahame at the most recent SNP conference.

However, all other written documents and evidence point to the fact that this is in fact not true, with even Nicola Sturgeon moving away from this.

And now newly released documentation has found that Mr Blackford attempted to get the Scottish Government to prove his point about pensions but was told that it was not true.

Originally, the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MP had said that Whitehall “retained an obligation” to pay out as Scots pensioners will have paid their UK national insurance and accumulated the right to a UK pension.

He told ITV Border: “You pay into a national insurance fund. Ok, the UK is then responsible for the disbursements of that, and it covers cash flow for a certain period, but that’s a right to a UK pension – there’s no ifs, there’s no buts about that.”

In a letter to the Scottish Government, Mr Blackford’s caseworker writes to ministers to ask a question about pensions which has been posed by one of his constituents.

They ask about the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) state pensions and how pensioners who have moved to Spain and “Polish nationals who worked here for the qualifying years and returned to Poland” had retained them.

The email adds: “I note that the annual increments are not paid and the pension is set at the amount on leaving. After independence would the DWP State Pension continue to be paid by the DWP to pensioners in Scotland?

“If the DWP stopped making annual increments would the Scottish Government pay the increments? Dr Timothy Rideout, a member of a SNP Policy Committee, has stated in the media that the Scottish Government would take over paying DWP State Pension completely. Is this correct and where did he get this information from? Has the DWP agreed to this?”

But in response to his query, Ben Macpherson, the minister for social security and local government, responded by mentioning that the pensions position remains the same as set out in the 2013 white paper.

He adds: “Responsibility for paying for pensions after independence will rest with the Scottish Government. That covers pension entitlement accrued before and after independence.

“It is crucial that the people of Scotland have the information they need to make an informed choice about their future. The Scottish Government will therefore prepare a detailed prospectus for an independent Scotland which will be available in good time before a referendum takes place.”

Mr Macpherson’s position is the same as the UK Government pensions minister Guy Opperman who said that rUK taxpayers would not fund an independent Scotland’s pensions.

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