Speaking ahead of the Scottish Budget, Scottish Liberal Democrat economy and finance spokesperson Jamie Greene MSP said:
The Scottish Liberal Democrats get stuff done, so we will always act responsibly and pragmatically in a parliament of minorities. We have been absolutely clear with the SNP about what we want to see in this year’s budget if they’re after cross-party support for it.
We’ve highlighted in our discussions with ministers the perilous state of Scotland’s colleges, councils being forced to cut services that people rely on, the barriers facing people with ADHD and autism, the cost of childcare preventing mums and dads from returning to work and the hammer blow being dealt to businesses by rate revaluations. We want to see young people being supported to be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, and our island communities need a fair deal too.
Thousands of people are stuck in hospital on costly delayed discharge, like Margaret MacGill in Wick who should have been home within 14 weeks but has now been in hospital for 14 months. It’s a care bottleneck that means cancelled surgeries, endless waits in A&E and ambulances stacking up outside. We’ve been clear with the government that you can’t fix the NHS unless you fix care.
Our message to the SNP is simple: if we see movement and investment in these key Lib Dem priorities, then there’s a conversation to be had.
Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP commented:
Scotland has so much going for it, but right now it feels like our country simply isn’t working. Nothing in this budget is going to unpick nineteen years’ worth of SNP failures. Scotland deserves better and the only thing that will truly bring about the change that Scotland needs is a change of government.
Scotland should be budgeting for change with fairness at its heart. Wherever you are, you can vote for that in May’s election by backing the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the second peach-coloured ballot. The more MSPs we have, the more we can get done.
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3 Comments
All very nice words –but where are the specific proposals which would be in a Lib Dem budget to allocate wisely and effectively the enormous annual £65 billion plus budget which a Scottish Government has at its disposal?
I am sure that we must have some proposals but what are they?
Or are we perhaps keeping our powder dry until the election campaign proper gets underway when we will hopefully tell the public what we would do with their money if they elect us to be part of a new Scottish Government?
We had plenty ideas for the government of Scotland before we entered into a coalition with Labour in the early years of the Scottish Parliament.
Where are the new Lib Dem ideas for Scotland and its people now?
The priorities are listed. Fuller details can be in the Manifesto, not in a press release just before the budget. Unfortunately Alex Cole Hamilton’s comments, including the usual “SNP bad” does nothing to distinguish the Lib Dems from other opposition parties
Time for constructive opposition, I think. Today’s SNP budget – which by law needs to be a balanced budget – has increased spending to help the poorest families with children, raised the lowest income tax bands by double the rate of inflation to help the lower paid, and at the same time introduced a mansion tax for houses worth more than £1M.
We would, or should, agree with these announcements, so let us acknowledge the bits we like and then point out what we would do differently. If we would propose spending more on some area, we need to explain where spending would be cut to save the money we wish to spend, or which taxes we would increase. Voters expect honesty and we will stand out as different from other opposition parties if we treat voters with this level of respect.