John Swinney is right to highlight the “catastrophic” consequences if MSPs fail to vote through the Scottish Government’s Budget.
The First Minister lacks a majority in the Scottish Parliament. He must persuade at least one other party to support his spending plans. Swinney yesterday spelled out the kind of drastic decisions the NHS could be forced to make if its finances for the next 12 months are not signed off.
Public services are reliant on money being passed to them from a central budget allocated by SNP ministers. Any delay could have dire repercussions. The NHS cannot have uncertainty over its spending powers when it is ordering lifesaving drugs.
Opposition parties have a right to scrutinise budgets and decline to support them. It’s up to the government to win their approval. But Swinney has not had everything his own way in negotiations with the opposition and has made concessions.
Shona Robison, the Finance Secretary, failed to mention the word independence once when she announced the draft Budget last month. It was a surprise move and upset some party supporters. It was a calculated appeal to pro-Union parties unhappy at spending on Nicola Sturgeon’s little-read series of papers on independence, now canned.
We cannot let well-worn arguments about the constitution get in the way of the smooth-running of the NHS. It’s on all parties, including the SNP government, to agree a deal on the Budget without delay. Voters will not take kindly to political point-scoring getting in the way of treating the sick.
Make it work
Poverty continues to blight Scotland despite 25 years of devolution – with every party that has wielded power here vowing to tackle the problem.
Benefits are clearly an important part of making sure nobody goes hungry. They help to protect the poorest in our society, and give people a safety net if they ever fall ill and are unable to work.
But the long-term way to lift people out of poverty is providing them with decent jobs. That’s why Labour’s Anas Sarwar is right when he said in a speech that benefits are not the solution to poverty. Getting people into work is the key and Labour’s plan is to support unemployed people back into the job market. It must be done in a fair manner.
The Tories demonised people on benefits and subjected thousands to demeaning work capability assessments. But if Labour can end the cycle of poverty linked to workless households they will take a massive step forward for Scotland and the UK.
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