Meeting of the Parliament 07 January 2026
I am happy to contribute to today’s debate. The last time that I took part in a Tory debate, Mr Hoy happened to be closing it. He said that my speech was one of the worst that he had heard in his time in the Parliament. I look forward to disappointing him again, because, frankly, if that is his assessment, I think that I am on the right track.
It is interesting that we again heard the Tory refrain of “common sense”, as if what they lay out is a commonsense approach. What we did not hear—although I thought that we might, because we often hear it from the Tories—is that the approach that has been taken by the Scottish Government is an ideological approach, as if “ideology” is, in and of itself, a four-letter word. However, the Conservative approach of cutting taxes and disinvesting in public services is also an ideological approach. We should not pretend that it is anything other than such.
It is clear where the Conservative Party gets its inspiration from. The Tory leader in this Parliament was a great supporter of the Truss-Kwarteng budget in 2022. I do not know why he is laughing; maybe he has forgotten. I am happy to remind him that he supported that budget, which was utterly underpinned by Tory ideology. That budget was predicated on assisting with the cost of living, but it saw inflation increase from 2 per cent to 10 per cent and mortgage rates triple overnight. So much for assisting with the cost of living.
To be fair, the Tories accept that their approach to taxation would reduce the amount of revenue that is accrued to the public purse. Indeed, if they do not accept that, they should, because that is what would happen. It happened with the proposals in 2022, which are similar to the ones that the Conservatives are advancing just now. The Fraser of Allander Institute said that those proposals would have generated a potential revenue loss to the public purse in Scotland of approximately £420 million.
Despite that, we will still hear calls from the Conservative Party for increased expenditure in many areas. Mr Harvie made that point just yesterday during the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee debate on investment in swimming pools and swimming infrastructure, when we heard calls for more investment in that area. Just this week, we heard a call from the Tories for increased investment in legal aid. They have also said that more money should be put into the Scottish veterans fund, and we have heard them talk about creating a new affordable transition fund. All of those are perfectly legitimate proposals to advance, but they cannot be taken seriously or credibly if, at the same time, the Tories seek to cut taxes.
I turn to Alexander Stewart’s point about our having the highest taxes in the UK. In that respect, I slightly disagree with Mr Harvie, as I consider that there is nothing wrong with our making the point that most income tax payers in Scotland pay less in income tax than is paid by taxpayers in the rest of the UK. Further, I note that that is a very narrow analysis of tax liability. We know that the average band D council tax bill this year is £1,543 in Scotland but £2,280 in England. So much for Scotland being the highest taxed part of the UK.
We should focus on assisting people with the cost of living crisis. I am proud and pleased that we have a Scottish Government that is doing just that, with its investment in abolishing peak rail fares, its continued commitment to free prescriptions and free eye appointments, and its commitment to funding childcare hours, which would otherwise cost more than £6,000 per eligible child per year. I am proud of, and stand behind, that record.