Finally, someone is actually planning on using the new tax-varying powers given to Scotland. Willie Rennie has made a big announcement on education this morning. He intends cleaning up the mess the SNP have made in education with 4 radical measures, paid for by a modest rise in income tax which will not affect anyone who earns £19,000 a year or less.
That £475 million investment will include the Lib Dem Pupil Premium, already successful in England and, thanks to Kirsty Williams, in Wales. That’s all about giving extra money to disadvantaged kids in school. Then there’s investment in nurseries and colleges, as well as a reversal of the SNP’s education cuts.
Speaking at an Edinburgh nursery this morning, Willie said:
Liberal Democrats have an ambitious plan to get Scotland back on track by making the biggest investment in education since devolution with just one penny on income tax.
A Scottish education was once the envy of the world. It has fallen hard and fast. But we have the plan that will put it right back up there.
To get fit for the future our economy and our children need the best education. If we fail to act, a generation of children will miss out on the quality education they deserve. Every day counts. Kids cannot get their time at school back once it is gone.
Liberal Democrats are not prepared to stand by while the SNP inflict even more devastating damage to our once-proud education system.
We have four immediate and urgent proposals for Scotland’s education system.
- A pupil premium for children who need extra help at school, which Scottish Liberal Democrat MSPs in Holyrood will lead a debate on this afternoon.
- An expansion of the nursery education programme.
- Repairing the disproportionate cuts to colleges.
- And stopping the SNP’s damaging cuts to schools.
Our costed and progressive package of measures will ensure that Scotland races back up the international education standings to our world-beating best.
We are protecting people on low and middle incomes thanks to the Liberal Democrats in government who raised tax thresholds to take thousands of people out of tax and cut it for thousands more.
One penny is a small price for a big boost to get the country fit for the future.
Our ambitious plan will enable every child in Scotland to make the best of themselves and get on in life. Progressives will support it, conservatives will oppose it. The question is where the Nationalists will stand. On investing in a first class future for our children, is Nicola Sturgeon progressive or conservative?
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16 Comments
A bold move.
The SNP keep saying that the cuts are all the evil tories in Westminster’s fault. But it’s not so, holyrood can stop these cuts in Scotland, but if we want public services and welfare we must pay for it.
Clearly the lib dems are doing more than talking left and acting right. They’re talking left and being open and honest about paying for it.
Unfortunately the problem for the lib dems is what is left of their own voter base. The lib dems have different messages in different parts of the country. Tax rises to pay for better public services, half the party will love it half the party will hate it, this moderate radical party will. Time to pick a political direction and stick to it.
I think the Scottish party will like it – if anything, they may want more.
I don’t understand the tax proposal. Is it 1p on the basic rate? If so how does it only affect those on £19,000 or above as the personal allowance is £11000 from April? Or does it involve a new tax band?
Better if it were on higher earners !
@Andy Allan “Is it 1p on the basic rate? If so how does it only affect those on £19,000 or above as the personal allowance is £11000 from April?”
There may be a little bit of smoke and mirrors to get the £19000 figure. As far as I can tell, it’s based on increasing the tax rate for all income tax bands by 1% in April at the same time as other changes raise the income tax threshold across the UK so that the penny rise is cancelled out for those on salaries below around £19000 (who presumably don’t get the full benefit of increasing the tax threshold and are still a penny on the pound worse off than they would otherwise have been). I think!
@Lorenzo “Better if it were on higher earners !”
I believe that the Scottish power to modify income tax is limited, e.g. the rate can only be changed (+/- 10p) equally across all existing tax bands.
Caron
First I’m not sure what your assumption is based on that “The Scottish Party will like it and may want more” last time I looked the Membership was pretty rooted in Middle Class areas – funny enough the same people aren’t likely to want to pay more taxes
as for the Electorate the same applies – we pull our Votes from Middle Class areas – saying we will raise taxes hasn’t won a lot of Votes in the past for any Party – Labour had to appeal to the Middle Class aspirations under Blair
The SNP thrive by talking “Left” but in reality doing nothing to hit the Middle Class vote – people Vote with there Wallet – the SNP understand that -hence they wont raise taxes.
This isn’t Student Politics “catching out the SNP by being more Left Wing” – might look good as a sound bite or at Holyrood FMQ and get 15 minutes of Media Coverage – selling it to the Electoral base ( ie Middle Class Lib Dem Voters ) is a different matter.
This is a fine policy, but Jim Alexander is also right that the Lib Dems are a middle class party and failure to recognise this leads to things such as losing seats to Tories in the South West (of England).
Also, every time someone very senior mentions a “progressive alliance” or “re-alignment of the left” I think it is similar to scoring an own goal. Tim Farron needs to stop doing this. People don’t associate the left with simply helping the vulnerable anymore – they associate it with naivety too.
I’m sorry, Tim says a realignment of “progressive politics”, but everyone knows this means left wing when the others in the debate are Labour and the Greens.
@Jim Alexander and @caron
I predict that you’re both wrong. I believe the lib dems are two parties. Social democrats who want to increase taxes, provide good public services, tell people what they can and can’t say and interfere in people’s lives and force drug users into treatment even when they don’t have a problem. The other half are liberal tories who want freedom from the state, free speech, freedom of expression and legal recreational drugs and licensed brothels.
This is what happens when a party tries to be all things to all people. It’s also why I can’t trust the lib dems.
Peter , thank you for that response . And , RSF7, the party has a range of views , those on the leftward farther shores ,are as much social liberals ,or more so, than social democrat , those on the rightward farther shores as much, or more,libertarians than Tories . Some of those might be happier in two other parties , whether they stay or go is up to them , all members of the Liberal Democrats tend to be in the mainstream on the whole , compared to the other parties !
This is the sort of policy that made me join the Lib Dems. It is somewhat of a return to the old playbook, but to be honest the old ones are the best ones, at least sometimes.
We are for improving public services, and we are OK doing some tax rises if the advantage is clear – Scotland and its people will economically benefit.
I’d love for the national party to look towards education again as an important issue. It’s not just hearts and minds to be won – investment in education now contributes to solving many problems in the future, as we carry on barreling further down the route of an economy based on skills.
Education is a local government function.
The money raised from the 1p should have spent on the Scottish NHS, which actually does fall under the remit of Holyrood, instead.
You might as well as shut down local government altogether if central government only gets to hand out the goodies, while local services are squeezed.
@peterwatson
Thanks for the clarification. Brave to use the existing 2012 powers rather than the more flexible and targeted forthcoming powers. But I can see problems. I thought the increase in the personal allowance was meant to compensate in part for the reduction of in work benefits by the UK Government. If so the Scottish LDs are taking away from relatively low earners the cushion against that. Secondly central government will be dictating how local authorities will be spending their resources as education is primarily a local government responsibility. I thought the LDs were against centralisation and so on.
At a parents council meeting last week discussing the potential impact of cuts, it was generally accepted that we need to pay more tax. Particularly as large parts of the education budget are locked through measures such as maintaining teacher numbers and free school lunches (and yes I’m aware this is in theory fully funded), the controllable budget is relatively small in comparison and the impact of cuts in those remaining areas would be drastic. Council tax rises were discussed but I don’t really care how to be honest. The reality behind council cuts is that they disproportionately affect the poor and vunerable and so we have to acknowledge there is a cost to those free prescriptions, free eye tests and free school meals that we are getting. So whilst protecting those on very low incomes lets accept if we want world class education for all we need to pay for it. Use the powers we have and try and make a difference. Well done Scottish Lib Dems.
Willie Rennie does the right thing and gets off the fence. Time for Tim Farron to do likewise.