James Kelly MSP

Labour has brought fair taxation and funding our public services to the top of the agenda in Holyrood.

Last Wednesday, MSPs debated our motion which simply stated: “that the parliament believes that income tax should be increased to allow greater investment in public services”.

Everyone in Scotland wants the best public services possible.

We want an NHS that cares for us at every stage of life and we want an education system that prepares all young people for their future.

However, if we want these worldclass services we have to pay for them.

The response to this reality from the SNP and the Tories was quite astounding.

This debate put the Nationalists on the spot. After all, it was only in the 2016 Holyrood elections the SNP campaigned on a promise to freeze income tax rates and attacked Labour’s proposals for a fairer taxation system.

Now, one Scottish budget and barely 18 months later, the SNP wants to start a ‘conversation’ with other parties over tax policy.

Scottish Labour’s tax policies would have raised more than £1 billion in the past two Scottish budgets, according to the Scottish Parliament’s expert independent researchers.

The SNP’s approach to income tax, council tax and air departure tax has protected the pockets of millionaires at the expense of public services. Last year South Lanarkshire Council faced cuts of £19 million to vital local services while the very richest in our society got away with not paying their fair share.

When it came to the vote, our motion passed while the SNP sat on their hands - avoiding taking a difficult decision, rather than voting to use the powers of our parliament to tackle austerity, while the Tories rejected the proposal of asking the very richest to pay that bit more to improve our services for all.

Readers may be justifiably confused where the SNP stand on fair taxes, as the party’s position has varied from election to election.

Scottish Labour is unequivocal. We believe in using the tax powers of Holyrood to stop the cuts and invest in our public services.

We will continue to call on the Scottish Government to use their powers and invest in our public services and make a real difference to the lives of working people.

It’s been great getting out and about with Martin Lennon, our candidate in the Rutherglen Central and North by-election.

He couples experience with a genuinely hard-working attitude and will make a superb councillor for the area.

Building on Labour’s local success in the general election, and in recent by-elections elsewhere in Scotland, I am confident Martin stands a good chance on 23 November.