Coalition's Lego Anti-Scottish Independence List 'Stupid', Says SNP

‘They May Take Our Lives, But They'll Never Take Our, Err, Lego?'

The coalition has been accused of being "patronising and stupid" for putting out a 12 point list on why Scots should vote to stay part of the United Kingdom, using Lego figures to tell them that they could spend more money on pie and Bovril.

The list boasts that Scots would be able to use their £1,400 "dividend" if they stayed in the United Kingdom to do things like "scoff 280 hotdogs at the Edinburgh Festival", "experience 636 joyful caffeine highs" and "watch Aberdeen play all season with two mates – with a few pies and Bovrils thrown in for good measure".

Speaking to the Huffington Post UK, Scottish National Party MP Peter Wishart mocked the list as "a case of ‘they may take our lives but they’ll never take our, err, Lego?'"

He added: "I don’t think I’ve seen a more tawdry, patronising and stupid campaign from a government department than this pathetic stunt. Though in saying that, the Nos' erroneous figures (already disowned by the people they quote) probably deserve to be part of some fantasy Legoland world. The Nos need to engage properly in this debate and stop treating the Scottish people like children."

SNP MEP Alyn Smith said: "The credibility of the Treasury figures is as unbelievable as this press release is patronising. I have faith the people of Scotland are smart enough to see through such nonsense and see that our long term interests are best served by taking decisions in Scotland and puting the assets of Scotland to use for the people of Scotland.

"A handy by-product of this will be that we will no longer have an out of touch discredited UK government feeling the right to tell us what is good for us."

The "12 things that £1400 UK Dividend could buy" list, which originally appeared on Buzzfeed, was put together by the Treasury and the Scottish Office.

Scots can also "share a meal of fish and chips with your family every day for around 10 weeks, with a couple of portions of mushy peas thrown in" using the £1,400 from staying part of the United Kingdom, the Treasury said.

And to round off, they will "still have enough left over for endless hugs with everyone to celebrate being in a United Kingdom"

The SNP later put out a statement, Treasury spokesperson Stewart Hosie MP saying:"This is the kind of patronising attitude to Scotland we have come to expect from the Tory Treasury - presumably the establishment elite think we spend all our time eating fish and chips and pies.

“The Treasury figures have been roundly discredited, so this is just adding insult to injury. Real figures are that £300 billion of North Sea tax revenues have flowed from Scotland to the Treasury over the last 40 years - nearly 60,000 for every man, woman and child - and Scotland has contributed more tax per head than the rest of the UK in each one of the last 33 years. But all we get in return from Westminster is bogus figures and silly nonsense."

The list is certainly more light-hearted than pro-union campaigners have been recently, with Better Together head Alistair Darling's this week comparing Scottish first minister Alex Salmond to the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il.

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