Scotland needs a government focused on the issues that matter most to you – your bills, your job and your family.
After nearly two decades in power, the SNP have taken their eye off the ball. Taxes are higher, public services are under pressure, and too many people feel they are paying more but getting less. Instead of fixing these problems, ministers have been distracted by constitutional arguments and political priorities that do nothing to improve everyday life.
The Scottish Conservatives would take a different approach.
We would focus on delivering better value for your money, cutting taxes, and making sure public spending is directed towards frontline services like our NHS, schools and policing. We would back working people, support families, and take practical steps to grow Scotland’s economy.
This is a common-sense plan to get Scotland working.
Here are some of the key things the Scottish Conservatives would deliver:
Propose a new law to ban the Scottish Government from spending taxpayers’ money on pro-independence propaganda.
Scottish taxpayers are fed up with SNP ministers squandering their hard-earned money on pro-independence propaganda that has cost millions. These funds should have been invested in vital public services like the NHS, policing, and education.
That is why we would legally ban the Scottish Government from spending money on this kind of propaganda, introduce a requirement for all civil servants to formally confirm their neutrality on the question of independence, and abolish the SNP’s Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution role to save taxpayers’ money and end the government’s institutional focus on independence.
This misuse of taxpayers’ money must come to an end, and the Scottish Conservatives’ proposals would ensure it does. We are proud to stand up for our Union, but we also want to move beyond the independence debate so we can focus on growing the economy instead.
Cutting income tax by:
Provide a break for all taxpayers by raising the point at which you start paying income tax in Scotland in line with inflation in every year of the next Scottish Parliament.
Lower income tax to 19p in the £1 for low- and middle-income households.
Cut income tax for middle earners by raising the Higher Rate income tax threshold to end the gap between Scotland and the rest of the UK, which sees middle-earners pay £1,500 more.
Allow pensioners to claim back the first £500 of tax they pay on pension income.
Pension income in Scotland is subject to devolved Scottish Income Tax rates and pensioners, like the rest of Scotland, have been hammered by the SNP’s higher taxes. It’s not right that after working hard for most of their lives, pensioners are then hit with the high levels of tax forced on them by the SNP Government.
Pensioners often rely on small pension pots as a source of income upon their retirement, but due to the rising level of the State Pension, this means many pensioners with other pension pots are being dragged into paying income tax. We would allow pensioners to claim back the first £500 of income tax they have paid on their pension income in a year.
Provide households with an annual tax rebate funded by unspent taxes.
For nearly two decades, the SNP have treated public money like their own personal piggy bank.
They boast about balanced budgets they’re legally required to deliver, and quietly pocket every penny left unspent at the end of the year.
The Scottish Conservatives believe that unspent taxpayer money belongs to taxpayers. That’s why we’ll introduce an annual taxpayer dividend, returning Scottish Government underspend, worth £200 for every household last year.
Use funds raised from ScotWind to provide households with a £100 direct energy bill discount.
Under this UK Labour Government, energy costs have spiralled out of control, and the SNP have done nothing to address this.
The ScotWind auction has raised over £750 million for Scotland by renting out the seabed for offshore wind projects, but almost £100 million of the revenue generated has been squandered on SNP pet projects like active travel routes and climate change funding.
The Scottish Conservatives would put these funds to good use by providing households with a £100 energy bill discount, while we progress the work of making energy cheaper for households in the long term.
End the SNP’s system of light touch benefits reviews where people are able to stay on benefits by literally ticking a box.
Under the SNP, the benefits system is out of control with the number of people receiving Adult Disability Payment set to increase by 50% in the next four years and Scotland on course for a benefits bill that costs £10 billion a year.
The SNP deliberately set up a light-touch system where people are able to stay on benefits by ticking a box without providing any evidence of their condition.
They have turned a blind eye to fraud and do not even have the power to require that people repay overpaid benefits.
That is why the Scottish Conservatives would crack down on fraud by making sure Social Security Scotland have the power to recoup ill-gotten funds.
We would also ensure people claiming ADP for mental health conditions have to provide a medical diagnosis and evidence that they face real costs as a result of their condition, and set up new schemes to help more people who are able to work back into employment.
Pass an emergency law to speed up upgrades to roads like the A1, A75, A77, A83, A9 and A96.
Trunk roads like the A9, A96, A1, A75, and A77 are key to Scotland’s future economic development but they have been neglected by the SNP.
The SNP promised to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025, and other key roads remain neglected and it is unclear when they will be upgraded.
The Scottish Conservatives would pass an emergency law to speed up the dualling of the A9 and other key trunk roads like the A9, A96, A1, A75, and A77 . This law would also establish Infrastructure Investment Partnerships with private companies to help complete these projects faster, expedite environmental impact assessments that have previously delayed progress on these roads, and would guarantee funding to ensure that these roads are upgraded.
Abolish the tax on buying a home in Scotland for those purchasing a primary residence.
For far too many people across Scotland, getting onto the housing ladder feels increasingly out of reach, with the huge upfront costs putting homeownership beyond their grasp.
This problem is further exacerbated by the SNP’s “Land and Buildings Transaction Tax” or LBTT, with Scots purchasing a home with a value of £145,000, or £175,000 for first-time buyers required to pay the tax. This applies to around two-thirds of transactions.
With so many Scots struggling to get on the housing ladder, it is not right that prospective homeowners should be forced to fork over for LBTT, on top of the cost of the property.
Under Kemi Badenoch, the UK Conservatives have pledged to abolish stamp duty in England. We would use the Barnett consequentials from this policy to end LBTT in Scotland, saving the average homebuyer £900.
Double the GP budget to guarantee you can see your family doctor within 48 hours.
Under the SNP, Scots are forced to wait weeks just to access a GP appointment while the number of whole-time equivalent GPs has fallen since 2013.
Rather than taking real action to deal with this crisis, the SNP have chosen instead to prioritise unworkable gimmicks like walk-in GP clinics.
That is why the Scottish Conservatives would double the proportion of the NHS budget spent on general practice in order to guarantee access to a GP appointment within 48 hours by the end of the next Parliament, and within 7 days in the first year.
Provide additional support to help parents return to work with a new ‘extra hours’ model of extended childcare for parents of children from age nine months.
Everyone in Scotland who wants to start a family should be properly supported, particularly through access to sufficient childcare, but instead of backing working families, the SNP have failed to provide funded childcare for children under the age of three, aside from limited provision for some two-year-olds.
That is why we would introduce funded childcare from nine months old, modelled on the existing 1,140 hours system, giving parents greater choice and flexibility in how they balance work and family life.
Expanding access in this way would help support household incomes, grow the economy, and ensure children benefit from high-quality early years provision.
