SNP/Green budget woes are a mess of their own making

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today said that the Scottish Government’s budget woes are a mess of their own making as he highlighted a series of expensive failures and called on the government to deliver a long-term plan for tax so that businesses and families can properly plan for the future.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“The SNP/Green Government is in a mess of its own making. They spent years ignoring the expert warnings around a budget black hole and the fallout of their failure to grow the economy. Instead, the nationalists opted to continue writing cheques they knew people wouldn’t be able to cash.

“Their mishandling of the economy and major projects is stretching the social contract, because people simply don’t trust the SNP Government with their money.

“Who can blame the public for being sceptical? From ferry failures to independence papers to the billion-pound bureaucracy of the government’s care reform plans, why would anyone want to hand over an extra penny just to see it wasted?

“The SNP are all over the place on tax with divisions at the heart of the Cabinet. Scotland needs predictability and a long-term plan for tax, not erratic changes that undermine confidence. There is no vision or sense of purpose about what people and companies would see in return for tax rises, and that’s a problem. The presence of the Greens makes this government even more out of touch with their eccentric plans and chaotic delivery.

“One month they want to ramp up the council tax, the next they are slashing it.  Last year they said the income tax rise was an emergency, this year they are talking about further rises for an even deeper emergency of their own making.

“We will always talk constructively about the issues that we care about: getting people the treatment they need fast by tackling NHS waiting lists, lifting up Scottish education, growing the economy and making homes warmer through a proper national insulation programme.  

“However, the government’s record does not inspire confidence. This should be a budget focused on the key issues that affect the people of Scotland day-in, day-out.”