Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2026 [Draft]
I do not think that John Swinney is listening. People are saving 77p per week. John Swinney will not admit that he is forcing taxpayers to fund the SNP’s sky-high and soaring benefits bill. The IFS found that the average Scottish household is more than £500 worse off than those elsewhere in the UK as a direct result of his tax and benefits policies. It describes elements of the benefits system as “unfair” and says that some benefits act
“as a strong disincentive for some households to increase their earnings”.
It is not just the IFS—ordinary Scots can see that injustice, too. A retail manager contacted me to say that he and his wife, a nurse, are angry at the unfairness. He asked whether it is really worth being honest, hard-working people in this country. Can John Swinney explain to them why they are out striving, to pay for others not to work?