Leonard plans tax on wealthy elite to fund £40billion injection

Richard Leonard has vowed to fund £40billion of new investment in Scottish industry through tax rises for high earners if he becomes First Minister.

The Scottish Labour leader has struggled to gain a public profile since defeating Anas Sarwar in a contest for the top job last November.

But in a wide-ranging interview in which he addressed Brexit, a second Scottish referendum and antiSemitism, Leonard insisted his message of “radical change” is now breaking through with voters disil lusioned with a “timid” SNP.

The 56 - year - old former union off icial s a id : “One of t he Scottish Government’s own reports found that the richest one per cent of the country now owns more wealth than the bottom 50 per cent put together.

“So my argument is that the SNP are far too timid in their approach to addressing this growing wealth divide and also the growing gap betwe en the demand for public services and the amount of resources going into them – whether that be schools, the NHS or care for the elderly.

“My message for the people of Scotland is that there is a real alternative to this growing gap between the rich and poor, and increasingly impoverished public services.

“We’ve said there will be £40billion available for new investment in infrastructure and industry over a decade to get the economy going

“We’re prepared to increase the top rate from 45p in the rest of the UK and 46p in Scotland, back to 50p. We think the 1p on the top rate by the SNP didn’t go anywhere near far enough.

“We’ve said the 50p rate is the right place for us to be and we would keep that under review because we are an anti-austerity party. We also need to have a debate about some form of wealth tax.

“It could be a one- off, or it could be a new form of regular taxation.

“The concern I have is that we currently tax earned income at a much higher rate than unearned income, for example through dividend payments on shares and increases in the value of property.”

Leonard is from Yorkshire, but moved to Scotland in 1980 to study at St i r l ing University.

He was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2016 as a member for Central Scotland and lives in Paisley with wife Karen. He has two children – a son and stepdaughter.

Unsurpr i singly, given his willingness to propose income tax increases for the rich, the 50p rate would hit those earning more than £150,000 a year.

Leonard is also open about his traditional Labour views on public ownership in

Public ownership of buses should be a first resort We’ve said the 50p rate is right. SNP have been too timid