Scots Tory leader Russell Findlay has been accused of pandering to Nigel Farage after attacking aid for schools in Malawi. He singled out the cash sent abroad for education after opinion polls showed Reform is eating into the Tory vote.
SNP MSP George Adam said: “Scotland has deep and historic ties with Malawi that spans governments of all colours. This vital funding supports crucial development in areas such as health, education, renewable energy and access to safe water supplies. The SNP is immensely proud of Scotland’s collective effort to help support the people of Malawi, one of the most impoverished nations in the world, and will make absolutely no apologies for supporting Malawi as other governments have done before.
“In a time of great hardship, I know the majority of the people of Scotland will be proud of the impact that they are making, and the Tories’ crass politicking over foreign aid shows there are no lows Russell Findlay is afraid of stooping to in an attempt to pander to Reform.”
Farage’s right wing party is in line for a Holyrood breakthrough over a spate of polls showing them at around 10%. Tory insiders fear they could lose half their seats at the 2026 election to the anti-immigration party and believe they urgently need policies to counter Farage.
In a letter to First Minister John Swinney recently, Findlay laid out a plan to cut income tax by £222 for the average taxpayer. Ideas for funding the tax cut included ditching the national care service and paring back the social security bill.
Findlay also said he would not “send money to schools abroad when Scottish schools need it”. Asked for an example of this practice, the Scottish Tory press office referred to the SNP Government wanting to spend £12.5m on education in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia.
Swinney announced the support last month: “This funding aims to help overcome some of the persistent barriers faced by women, girls and children with disabilities, to ensure they have equal access to education, and are fully included in the social and economic life of their communities.”
Reform’s general election manifesto attacked foreign aid by calling for deep cuts. Starting with the Scottish Executive led by former Labour First Minister Jack McConnell, successive administrations have provided aid to poverty-stricken Malawi.
Green MSP Ross Greer said: “Russell Findlay may be a new leader but he’s sticking to the same old nasty Tory policies which have caused so much misery. He wants huge tax cuts for the rich and devastating budget cuts for the public services that everyone else relies on. It’s pure Liz Truss. People across Scotland are proud of our efforts to support children around the world, particularly young girls and disabled children who otherwise would not have the opportunity to go to school.
“The money spent on this life-changing work comes to far less than 1% of the annual budget, confirming that this Tory attack has nothing to do with balancing the books. It is nothing more than a cheap stunt designed to grab headlines. Given that a number of the countries where this work takes place are still dealing with the harm done by the British Empire, it really is the least Scotland can do.”
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