Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Budget was the most savage set of tax and spending announcements in decades.
He unveiled a £55billion austerity package of tax rises and cuts, partly to mop up the mess left behind by his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng.
Many of the measures affect Scots but devolution means some of the pain will have to be administered by Holyrood.
The Scottish Government will next month reveal its own budget and every indication is it will be one of the toughest of all time. Rampant inflation will eat into the budget and the demand by public sector workers for fair wage increases will add to the pressure.
With income tax devolved, MSPs can raise more money above and beyond the block grant from Westminster.
So it is encouraging to learn that the Scottish Government is considering tax reform to make the wealthy pay more.
It is specifically looking at increasing the number of well-off taxpayers who pay the 46p top rate of income tax. This would be done by lowering the threshold from £150,000 to £125,000 – as the UK Government announced on Thursday.
Such a move would be long overdue and end the anomaly of people on £44,000 paying the same top rate as those on £144,000.
High earners benefit from free higher education and subsidised childcare, so paying a bit more in tax should be seen as a fairer contribution to society’s running costs.
The Government must hold their nerve and ensure those with the broadest shoulders pay their way.
Emergency case
The crisis facing our ambulance service shows no sign of easing.
Horror stories of Scots left waiting hours for paramedics to attend are becoming more and more common.
Dean Fraser was left lying in agony on a wet football pitch after badly breaking his leg playing football.
Despite an immediate 999 call, it took 90 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
The 25-year-old then spent two hours in the vehicle outside Raigmore Hospital until a bed became available.
We often associate the crisis in the NHS with the elderly and the very sick. But Dean’s story reminds us everyone in Scotland needs the NHS to work properly.
Even the young and the fit – like Dean – sometimes find themselves desperately needing urgent medical attention.
It’s a further reminder that Scotland’s health service is struggling to cope as we enter its busiest season.
Plans are already under way to try to ease the pressure on the NHS but it could take years for them to take full effect.
Our hospitals and ambulance service need emergency treatment now.
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