SNP told to put Scotland above ‘political survival’ in last Holyrood Budget before election

Shona Robison will announce the Scottish Government’s spending plans for the 12 months ahead in a statement at Holyrood today.

The SNP has been urged to put Scotland before its own “political survival” when the last Holyrood Budget before the election is announced today.

Shona Robison, the Finance Secretary, will reveal the Scottish Government’s draft spending plans for the 12 months ahead in a statement this afternoon.

SNP ministers have already signalled they will invest more in measures to tackle child poverty as well as increase funding to reduce the number of Scots forced to wait for NHS treatment.

The Budget is not expected to vary income tax levels following a previous commitment from John Swinney.

The SNP spending plans will pass a vote at the Scottish Parliament in the coming weeks after Labour confirmed it would abstain.

Scotland’s largest trade union body urged the Scottish Government to prioritise the “people of Scotland and not political survival”.

Roz Foyer, STUC general secretary, said: “With the election looming large, this budget can’t sacrifice the long-term wellbeing and growth of our nation on the altar of short-term political survival.

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“We must see bold decisions from the Finance Secretary on reforming tax on property and land, along with the introduction of wealth taxes, not more of the same measures designed to prioritise short-term electioneering.

“STUC research has shown that modest wealth taxes on Scotland’s richest few can benefit the many with almost £500,000,000 raised for the public coffers in the process. These are the measures the Scottish Government must prioritise if they want the support of Scotland’s workers.

“This isn’t about the next four months; if the government wishes to re-take office for the next five years, we urge them to do what is right and stand beside Scotland’s workers tomorrow, prioritising public services, job security and decent pay in their budget measures.”

Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said: “John Swinney and the SNP have been writing budgets for nearly two decades and they have left services across Scotland at breaking point.

“Our NHS is on life support, violence is rife in our schools, our justice system is dangerously overstretched and local Councils can’t afford to get the basics right.

“The SNP has squandered billions of pounds of public money through incompetence and mistakes.

“John Swinney is taking the public for fools by pretending this SNP government’s 19th budget will deliver anything other than more of the same.

“Another budget by John Swinney and the SNP won’t deliver a new direction for Scotland – but a Scottish Labour government will. John Swinney and the SNP cannot be trusted with a third decade in power and another five budgets to damage Scotland’s services.

“In four months we have a chance to put an end to SNP mismanagement and waste and build a brighter future for Scotland by electing a Scottish Labour government.”

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