... as he raises fears of a high tax Holyrood
SCOTLAND risks becoming a high tax country under the SNP, David Cameron warned yesterday.
The Prime Minister said he was concerned about the Nationalists’ plans for Holyrood’s new powers, as he urged voters to make Ruth Davidson the effective opposition leader after May’s election.
Miss Davidson used her own speech at the Tory conference in Edinburgh to announce a U-turn on a 2012 pledge to immediately cut income tax by 1p in the pound, in a bid to persuade more Labour supporters to switch to her party.
But she promised the Tories will never support higher taxes north of the Border than in the rest of the UK and said tax cuts remain a ‘medium-term’ goal.
The recent deal on the Scotland Bill will see the full devolution of income tax powers to the Scottish parliament from April 2017. The SNP favours the return of a 50p top rate of income tax, up from 45p, despite figures recently revealing that George Osborne’s decision to reduce the level has generated £8billion for the UK Treasury.
Mr Cameron said: ‘There is a concern that you could face problems with higher taxes and anti-enterprise measures. That highlights the importance of these elections.
‘There’s now really competitive and proper elections in Scotland about not just spending money, but about how you raise it. It’s a responsible, accountable parliament.
‘So I’ve let those arguments begin. I think the Scottish Conservatives can feel very free to campaign on not only that we’ll run things well, but we’ll spend money efficiently. We won’t be asking you for more money. There’s a proper accountable election taking place.’
In 2012, Miss Davidson said: ‘We are committed to reducing personal taxation when the power to do so comes to the Scottish parliament and I want us to look further to see if 1p in the pound is all we can afford.’
But yesterday she told delegates: ‘I would like nothing more than to stand before you today and announce that we should cut income tax tomorrow to below that in the rest of the UK. As the Labour Party keeps pretending is a revelation, I am a Tory. It’s true, I believe in less government and low tax.
‘But as our commission on tax reform said in January, those tax cuts have to be affordable. We can cut tax in Scotland, but over the medium term, and our manifesto will show how. But if we’re going to cut tax rates in Scotland, I believe we as a nation need to earn it first. And the truth is – we haven’t done that yet.
‘So I’m left with a judgment. And – right here, right now – when spending limits are still tough, when public services like our NHS and our education system need support, I don’t believe the time is right for a short-term tax cut below that of the UK.’
The move is an attempt to win over traditional Labour voters who want to keep existing levels of public spending.
Miss Davidson promised May’s election will signal a ‘new start’ for the Scottish Conservatives that will ‘bring the SNP bandwagon to a halt’.
She said: ‘We’ve fought hard, we’ve won ground and we’re back on the centre-stage of Scottish politics. We are on course this May to record our best ever result in the history of the Scottish parliament. More MSPs, more supporters, the only pro-UK party in Scotland that’s on the up.’
But Labour MSP Neil Findlay said: ‘The Tories just don’t get it. The elections in May will be about using the new powers to make different choices f rom Cameron and Osborne, not copying their cruel policies.
‘ Labour would do things differently. Instead of the Tories’ uncosted tax cuts, we would ask those who can afford it, like those earning more than £150,000 a year, to pay a little more so we can invest in our schools.’