Record View says if the SNP are to be trusted with another term at Holyrood, they need to be honest about the challenges the country faces
Keir Starmer is right to call out John Swinney on the SNP’s record in government.
From the NHS to housing, to prisoners being released early, Scots look round and see the condition of their local communities. They realise things have got steadily worse, not better, over the last 18 years the SNP has been in charge. SNP ministers would rather attention focused on hypotheticals about an independence referendum which is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Debates about the constitution are fine but they can’t mask the reality that Scotland faces hard choices about public spending. There are difficult decisions about how we pay for the things that matter going forward.
The Scottish Government already faces a significant budget shortfall. Voters need to ask themselves how public services are funded now, not in the future. The NHS received a record £21billion in funding this year alone. That amount will undoubtedly rise significantly next year.
But there are other public services that need funded beyond the health service. There is a limit to how much Scots can pay in income tax. But this is the only lever the SNP seems ready to pull.
Bold decisions over public spending are required. The SNP must face up to this or be prepared for more attacks from opposition parties. They were first elected in 2007.
If they are to be trusted with another term at Holyrood, they need to be honest about the challenges the country faces.
Turbine trouble
A Chinese green energy giant’s plan to build a vast wind turbine factory in the Highlands looks like a dream deal for Scotland, at first glance.
Ming Yang says it will eventually pour up to £1.5billion into the project and create as many as 1500 jobs, bringing badly-needed work to the region. But when it comes to China, nothing is quite that simple.
Every big Chinese firm is legally bound to co-operate with Beijing’s security services – the same shadowy agencies accused of cyber attacks, tech theft and intimidation around the world. MI5 boss Ken McCallum warned only last week that China’s regime is a huge threat to Britain’s interests.
That warning came as two alleged Chinese spies avoided trial amid claims the Government was too scared to call China what it is: a danger. First Minister John Swinney defended his talks with Ming Yang yesterday, saying he relies on the UK Government for security advice. But that sounds like dodging the consequences of a complex decision.
Instead, he could always just read the news – and work with the UK Government to ensure the right precautions are taken to ensure this multi-billion-pound win doesn’t also leave the country a hostage to fortune later.
