Meeting of the Parliament 07 January 2026
No thank you, sir.
The public are more likely to accept paying a bit more in tax if they can see improvements in public services. One has to come with the other. However, in Scotland, our NHS is in chaos, with waits of more than 12 hours in accident and emergency departments continuing to rise; our education system is in crisis, with falling attainment and staff on the verge of burnout; and we have an SNP housing emergency with more than 10,000 children stuck in temporary accommodation and house-building rates among the worst in our history. Scots are paying more and getting less in return.
I move amendment S6M-20294.1, to leave out from “calls” to end and insert:
“understands that the Scottish Government’s incompetent approach to the public finances and failure to grow Scotland’s economy are leading to heightened budgetary pressures; further understands that income tax should not be used as a substitute for economic growth and believes that, given the pressure on household finances, income tax rates should not increase in the course of the next parliamentary session; welcomes the UK Labour administration’s Budget, which tackles the cost of living for households across Scotland by cutting costs on energy bills, lifting thousands of children out of poverty, and increasing wages for hard-working people in Scotland, and believes that the Scottish Labour Party’s plan to establish a Scottish treasury with strategic oversight for spending in all Scottish Government departments is essential in order to put an end to waste and ensure that taxpayers’ money is treated with respect.”
15:09Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.