JOHN Swinney has insisted the SNP are ready for an early Holyrood election if the Scottish Budget fails to pass.
The First Minister warned in Edinburgh on Wednesday that if the SNP’s tax and spending plans do not garner enough support to go through, it would cause “a lot of disruption”.
However, in accepting his Government needs support or abstentions from opposition MSPs, he said that if it came to it his party would be ready for an early election.
As the SNP do not have a majority at Holyrood following the breakdown of the Bute House Agreement earlier this year, they are likely to need to persuade the Greens or LibDems to back their Budget in order for it to pass and each party has set out polarising terms.
The LibDems have said they will not back the Budget if it contains any spending on plans for Scottish independence, while the Greens have said this spending must not be cut if they are to vote it through.
At a speech at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Swinney highlighted the need for collaboration and consensus to tackle the “complex and pervasive” problems Scotland is facing.
Asked afterwards if he was worried about securing support to get the Budget through, he said: “We need other people to assist us in getting the Budget through and I’m saying that if we don’t have enough votes then we don’t have a Budget and there will be a lot of disruption and on April 1 there will be no budget plans in place that will afford public services at the level they will expect.
“That’s the very real, practical difficulty that will be faced and I want to avoid that so I’m saying to all members of Parliament that, of course, we are going to bring forward a Budget, it’s the product of a lot dialogue across Scotland and with other political parties – Shona Robison and Ivan McKee have been involved in a huge amount of discussion.
“We’ll bring forward a proposition that reflects what we think can be delivered within the resources that are available.”
Asked if the SNP were ready for an early election if the Budget fails, Swinney initially said: “If it was necessary then we would have to be.”
Pressed further on the question, he added: “Yes, aye, we are.”
Swinney has previously hinted at an early election if the Budget fails to pass, with Finance Secretary Robison due to set out draft proposals on Wednesday, December 4, to MSPs.
A Budget not passing at Holyrood can have serious implications. According to the Fraser of Allander Institute, law mandates that public spend would be capped at last year’s spend in that situation, so this could mean a real-terms decrease in spend for the budgets of different services like the NHS and local government.
Since 2009, there has also been another complication with the devolution of income tax rates. MSPs need to pass a rates resolution, confirming the rates and bands of Scottish income tax, before the end of March or they won’t be allowed to levy taxes in the next financial year.
The Budget goes through three stages before it a final vote is held in the new year.
