JUST before Christmas, the Scottish Government set out its budget plans for the coming year – and the headlines didn’t make merry reading.
The housing budget has been slashed by a colossal £200 million, described by charity Shelter as “devastating” at a time when the country faces a homelessness emergency.
Thousands of jobs are now at risk across the public sector.
Deputy First Minister Shona Robison has admitted to “deep, real terms cuts to public services”. The fire service is at breakpoint and many police stations are expected to close.
Meanwhile, capital grants for local government, essential for protecting and investing in public assets such as care homes, libraries, swimming pools and schools have been cut by over 20% in real terms.
As a Scottish Labour MSP, I understand some may read these points and dismiss them as partisan politicking. Tory austerity means there’s a need to prioritise certain areas, particularly as the Scottish Government is limited in the ability to borrow large sums.
Nevertheless, they do have significant powers.
Politics is about choices and who benefits from those choices. These cuts are political choices and different choices could be made.
Continually passing difficult decisions onto hard-up local councils like Inverclyde, which disproportionately rely on government funding to fund expenditure on the services you rely on, isn’t fair or sustainable.
Research by the Scottish Trades Union Congress shows nearly £3 billion could be raised by reforming our taxation system, with suggested changes including the introduction of a wealth tax and a land value tax for commercial land.
Both before the last budget over a year ago and again last month, I asked in the Scottish Parliament what they were doing to develop land taxes. The failure to develop land taxation on the super wealthy is a political choice.
Nevertheless, as we enter the new year, I want to strike a positive note. There are solutions if we’re bold enough to take them.
The crises we face – homelessness, widening inequality, NHS backlogs, the climate emergency – can and will only be tackled with radical solutions and meaningful investment.
At a Westminster level, Labour has pledged a new deal for working people, with workers’ rights bolstered, and a £28 billion green economic revolution, working with local authorities to create jobs and opportunities across the country, if it wins this year’s general election.
The last decade has been one of stagnating services, spiralling cost of living and unprecedented health emergencies.
It's time to rebuild, but that will only be possible if the Scottish Government similarly recognises the scale of the challenges and shows some ambition.
That must begin with fair funding for local councils and public services.
My new year’s resolution is to fight for that.
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