Likely candidates for the Scottish Parliament election in May – Dame Jackie Baillie (Labour), Sophie Traynor (SNP) and David Smith (Reform UK). The Budget details will make or break their campaigns to win the Dumbarton seat.
by Bill Heaney
If Nigel Farage believes his UK Reform party will make a significant impact in West Dunbartonshire in the Holyrood election in May then John Swinney’s SNP sent him a powerful message in the Scottish Budget today that will send him homeward to think again.
Farage’s prospective candidates will have been rocked back on their heels as January 13 became a lucky day for Scots when Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced that families with babies are set to get £40 a week from next year as part of the SNP’s three-pronged plus plan.
That measure alone will make the Dumbarton seat, which includes Helensburgh, currently held for Labour by Dame Jackie Baillie, much more vulnerable to the SNP’s Sophie Traynor, but means David Smith [not to be confused with the council trade union official], the man predicted to wear the Reform party rosette, much to think about.
The First Minister promised that the Budget would focus on helping families with the cost of living crisis and provide ‘strong investment’ in NHS.
And it will — if the SNP delivers on its promises which had Health Secretary Neil Gray, sitting directly behind Shona Robison, sporting a broad smile and applauding frequently.
The hat trick of policies that will put broad smiles on SNP supporters’ faces and keep the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrat MSPs growling for another five years are:
- The Scottish Child Payment will be increased to £40 per week for families with a child under one-year-old from next year.
- A Mansion tax will be introduced on homes worth more than £1 million.
- An airport departure tax and private jet tax for Scotland.
Other measures include higher council tax for anyone who owns a home worth more than £1 million, and a tax on private jets.
The Scottish Child Payment will be increased to £40 per week for families with a child under one-year-old from next year, the Finance Secretary said.
The change will come in at the beginning of the 2027-28 year and “speaks to who we are as a Government”, Shona Robison said.
“From the baby box to Best Start Payments and, of course, our game-changing Scottish Child Payment, that support for mums and dads will help them through that critical first year of their child’s life, delivering the best start in life for children and families.”
First Minister John Swinney said he hoped the Budget could help build on what he insisted was “significant progress” made by the NHS in tackling long waiting times that have accumulated since the Covid pandemic.
The First Minister’s promises pre-Budget will be focused on helping families with the cost of living crisis and providing ‘strong investment’ for the NHS.
He added that his government will also take steps to invest in boosting the Scottish economy.
Ms Robison previously said that her tax and spending plans for the year ahead would stand in “stark contrast” to Westminster policies that she believes are “holding Scotland back”.
The Scottish Budget has come later than usual, reflecting the timing of the UK Government’s Autumn Statement in November and the time required to assess its implications for Scotland’s public finances.
Additional support from Labour at Westminster will help the Scottish Government as it sets out in fine detail its tax and spending plans for the next financial year.
One big worry here in West Dunbartonshire is that despite West Dunbartonshire Council’s inability to provide adequate public services, it could go up by as much as 15 per cent.
But that looks very much like a scare story put out by its spin doctors to make residents feel they are on to a good deal if it only goes up by ten per cent.
The UK Government has confirmed that Scotland is expected to receive an additional £820m in Barnett consequentials by the end of the decade.
Look out for more reports later today in The Dumbarton Democrat.
Artwork by Jane Heaney