Sturgeon’s shameless olive branch to the losers on the Left
NICOLA Sturgeon has opened the door to an alliance with Scotland’s defeated Left-wing parties to prop up her SNP government.
The First Minister yesterday made key concessions to Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens – pointedly freezing out the Tories, who stormed to a second-place finish in the election.
Speaking as MSPs finally got down to work nearly three weeks after the May 5 contest, the SNP leader also vowed to rebuild the case for Scottish independence.
Miss Sturgeon’s move, which comes after the Scottish Daily Mail revealed that the Labour, Lib Dem and Green leaders last week held secret Holyrood talks, will raise fears of tax hikes over the five-year term.
Both Labour and the Lib Dems went into the election proposing a 1p increase on the basic and higher bands of income tax, with Labour also wanting to freeze the threshold for paying the higher 40p rate. Both also support a 50p top rate, up from 45p, while the Greens want it to be as high as 60p.
But, in a blistering speech, Tory leader
Ruth Davidson yesterday warned against ‘tax raids born of envy’ and attacked the ‘three amigos’ – Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens – for proposing tax rises.
Miss Sturgeon fell two seats short of an overall majority in the election and will be reluctant to rely on support from Miss Davidson’s party. The votes of 34 Labour, Lib Dem and Green MSPs could therefore be crucial at Budget time.
The First Minister said there was a ‘clear progressive majority’ in Holyrood and set out plans to build alliances against ‘unfair or regressive Westminster policies such as continued austerity, the renewal of Trident or attempts to undermine human and trade union rights’.
She added: ‘We will work with other parties to maximise parliament’s influence and to make parliament’s voice heard.’
Miss Sturgeon said she would give consideration to ideas put forward by other parties – notably the introduction of a young carers’ allowance – as suggested by the Greens – and Labour proposals to expand the minor ailments service to all pharmacies.
Flagship efforts to close the attainment gap in schools will be taken forward ‘as far as possible on consensus’, she added.
The First Minister also pledged to ‘continue to build the case for Scotland to become independent’, insisting this was ‘a position backed by a majority of MSPs in this chamber’, as the six Green MSPs also support leaving the UK.
But she stressed: ‘We know that Scotland will only become independent if and when a majority of the people are persuaded.’
Miss Davidson said the SNP had ‘enough to be getting on with’ other than relaunching its separation campaign. She added: ‘The test for us when deciding whether to support or oppose this Government will be whether we are helping or hindering growth.
‘We will call out short-sighted fixes or tax raids born of envy rather than common sense.
‘The three amigos leading the Greens, Labour and the Lib Dems are ganging up to form a new high-tax alliance... if you want to keep charging up the valley of death – please, be my guest.
‘But to the Scottish Government, I say in all seriousness: there is no long-term future in a policy direction which will only suck enterprise out of Scotland.’
Labour leader Kezia Dugdale appealed for tax rises to invest in education. ‘We would ask the richest 1 per cent to pay their fair share so that we can educate our young people and prepare them for the future,’ she said.
‘That is not a tax grab, that is not the politics of envy in Ruth Davidson’s words, that is a
‘Charging up the valley of death’
question of fairness, it is an economic necessity.’
Green co-convener Patrick Harvie said: ‘The SNP may come to feel naturally entitled to propose its programme, but without a majority it will need to convince, it will need to compromise and it will need to be willing to give ground.’
Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said: ‘The SNP have lost their majority. You wouldn’t think it from the statement that was made. I think it’s clear we need to recognise that and that the SNP need to reach out across the chamber.
‘And it will need more than a couple of references to policies from other parties.’
According to the Institute for Public Policy Research, Labour’s tax proposals would strip Scots of £1.2billion a year. The Greens want even more radical reforms, including a 60p top rate of tax and a new 43p rate starting at only £43,000, which would annually bring in up to £950million from taxpayers, while Lib Dem proposals would sting Scots for £750million a year.
In contrast, the SNP – which largely copied George Osborne’s plan other than to reject his proposal to increase the threshold for paying the higher rate of tax – is only planning to bring in an extra £300million a year.
That plan could now be at risk, however, if Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens get their way.
The Nationalists’ bid to reduce Air Passenger Duty by 50 per cent is also in doubt. Cutting the socalled ‘tourism tax’ levied on flights was opposed by all four opposition parties during the campaign, with the Greens concerned about the environmental impact.