Hard times require hard choices. But it doesn’t need to be this difficult. We need the Scottish Government to step up to the plate and support key workers and their communities in next week’s Budget. Luckily for them, we’ve shown them how.
Our lobby at the Scottish Parliament today has the support of unions, students, anti-poverty campaigners and many within the SNP and Greens – our two parties of government. Our message to that Government is clear: next week’s Scottish Budget must defend our communities, the services they rely on and the key public service workers who looked after us during the pandemic.
Workers across this country on low and medium incomes are increasingly reliant on food banks. Public sector pay has fallen in real terms over the past decade and is now falling rapidly compared to pay in the private sector.
We all know that the chief responsibility for our dire economic situation lies with the Tories at Westminster. But that cannot be an excuse for inaction here in Scotland. The recent period of high inflation and record decline in real wages was aptly described by the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, as “a humanitarian crisis that will cost lives”.
Our People’s Plan for Action calls for immediate measures such as boosting benefits, protecting private tenants, introducing free school meals for all and, yes, protecting public service workers from the ravages of sky-high inflation. We can’t do everything but we can – and we must - do more than we are doing now.
Our Fairer Taxes for a Fairer Future paper leads the way. Progressive tax rises for the better off, increases in council tax for higher band properties and a more focussed Small Business Bonus scheme can have the potential to raise £1.3 billion in additional cash next year. That would go some way to protecting wages and the core services our communities rely upon.
These measures could be included in the Scottish Budget and kick in from next April. Longer term we need to crack down on the unearned income of the wealthy. Scotland's richest 20 families are as wealthy as bottom 30 er cent of households in Scotland. We must also replace the Council Tax with a scheme that is fairer for those at the sharp end.
A property tax aimed at the wealthy would raise more revenue too. Taken together, these proposals could see public spending in Scotland increase by £3.3billion by the mid-2020s. Now that could make a really big difference.
No increases in taxes are pain free. But we’d rather see the strain fall on those with the broadest shoulders than those who are struggling to make ends meet. The Scottish Government, however difficult, must take a stand.
Now more than ever, we need a progressive government prepared to stand by those most in need. Scotland’s workers cannot afford to wait any longer.
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