Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar made the right call in giving the nod to the SNP Government’s Budget. John Swinney’s ability to pump billions of pounds into public services was made possible by Chancellor Rachel Reeves calling time on austerity.
Swinney’s first tax and spending plan since replacing Humza Yousaf was a Labour Budget in all but name and Sarwar’s belated support will deprive the FM of an election dividing line.
Some banana skins could still trip up Glasgow MSP.
Labour say they will abstain but could vote in favour if the SNP bring forward plans to abolish the two child benefit cap. Voters may feel confused that Sarwar is tying outright support for an SNP Budget to Swinney fast-tracking the abolition of a UK Government policy.
One senior Labour figure said the “best solution all round” would be if Keir Starmer got rid of the cap across the UK.
However, Sarwar has cleared the path for Labour to hold the SNP Government to account on how it uses the extra money to deliver on people’s priorities.
Public services are on their knees and it is far for clear how Swinney and his team plan to link the new cash to specific policy outcomes.
Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary in England, this week announced a far-reaching plan to modernise the ailing health service. No such blueprint has been announced for Scotland other than shovelling an additional £2bn in an unreformed NHS.
After his New Year’s address, I asked Swinney about the 800,000 plus Scots waiting for treatment and whether that figure would fall by the end of the year. His response was uninspiring: “That’s our objective”.
The SNP have also failed to make a decent dent in the educational attainment gap and presided over a decline in other council-run services. An unelected quango-state grows by the year and the SNP have overseen eighteen years of centralisation.
Services were struggling before the pandemic and Swinney uses covid as a shield to cover up their failings.
Opinion polls are looking good for the SNP and bad for Sarwar by dint of a faltering start by the Starmer Government. But Swinney will only win in 2026 if voters are willing to forget about his culpability for the crumbling public realm.
The SNP’s record will be on the ballot next year.
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