Tories claiming Covid jags as Union benefit
THE Scottish Conservatives are hailing the Covid vaccine roll-out as an “incredible success story” for the UK.
As around two and a half million people in Scotland and 30 million people in the UK have been vaccinated, party leader in Scotland Douglas Ross said it was a benefit of the Union.
Analysis of vaccine rates shows Scotland could have had 1.5 million fewer vaccines if not in the UK scheme, according to Ross.
Set to campaign in Glasgow with candidate Sandesh Gulhane today, he said: “The vaccination rollout has been an incredible success story across Scotland and the United Kingdom. It has shown the overwhelming benefits of us working together across our Union to emerge from the Covid crisis.
“The SNP are in denial about how much worse off we would be if they had got their way and we were left out of the world-leading UK vaccine scheme.”
Meanwhile, Labour leader Anas Sarwar was highlighting the need to tackle a cancer waiting times backlog.
Sarwar was in Glasgow with Mary Hudson, who had to travel to London for NHS surgery after her ovarian cancer returned.
Sarwar said over the last three months of 2020 there were 485 people who waited longer than two months to start their cancer treatment, despite being urgently referred.
He said: “The pandemic has had a devastating impact on cancer services, but the problems were there before Covid struck.
“The next parliament must be fully focused on a national recovery plan for our NHS so that we never again have to choose between treating a virus or treating cancer.”
The SNP, meanwhile, were campaigning on tax, pointing to UK Government tax hikes on families in England to the tune of £2 billion while in Scotland the council tax freeze would save on household bills.
Finance secretary Kate Forbes said: “There is no doubt that families in Scotland are already better off under the SNP, with households paying £500 less on average as a result of the SNP’s council tax freeze.
“In stark contrast, the Tory council tax bombshell will leave families in England with a staggering £2bn bill on their doorsteps this morning, as council tax is hiked by a whopping 4.3% on average across the country.”
The Greens will be standing in three Glasgow seats as well as the regional list
Patrick Harvie, Kim Long and Nadia Kanyange will contest Glasgow Kelvin, Glasgow Provan and Glasgow Pollok respectively.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “I am delighted to be standing in Kelvin, and am confident that we can build on our second-place finish in the constituency last time.
The LibDems are today focusing on mental health with plans for mental health first-aiders.