by Bill Heaney
Anas Sarwar will today accuse John Swinney of making life harder for working families by raising taxes and wasting public money.
And insist that Scottish Labour has a practical plan to make life more affordable.
The Scottish Labour leader will say Scotland needs change after 20 years of SNP government and that a Scottish Labour government will fix the mess, get the basics right and build a better future for Scotland.
Scottish Labour will say that while families are struggling with household bills, childcare costs, housing costs and transport costs, John Swinney’s answer has been to put up the tax burden on working Scots and waste money on bloated bureaucracy.
Mr Sarwar will say Scottish Labour would take a different approach, with no income tax rate rises for the next five years, the ambition to lower the burden when growth allows, and action to cut a third of quangos so taxpayers know their money is being spent on frontline priorities, not SNP waste.
Scottish Labour said its plan to make life more affordable would include:
* topping up tax-free childcare to £3,000 per child and funding two weeks of summer holiday clubs
* breakfast clubs in every primary school so no child starts the day hungry and parents can get to work on time
* widening eligibility for energy efficiency grants so 3,000 more older households can upgrade their homes, with rural grants worth £500 more
* boosting uptake of the Warm Home Discount so every eligible household gets £150 off their bill
* preventing above-inflation hikes to water bills while Scottish Water generates multi-million-pound surpluses
* reducing tax for first-time buyers, saving them up to £1,100
* fair funding for local communities and action to stop families being hammered by rising council tax bills
* a £350 million potholes fund to fix the roads and cut the cost of damage to motorists
Scottish Labour said that if international instability continues after the election, a government led by Anas Sarwar would also deliver £100 million of emergency support in its first 100 days, including crisis loans for energy-intensive businesses to protect jobs, bulk buying fuel to help drive down prices at the pumps, emergency grants or interest-free loans for struggling households, action with supermarkets to cut the cost of staple items, and a national income maximisation drive so families do not miss out on support they are entitled to.
Scottish party leaders Anas Sarwar and John Swinney are at loggerheads.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “John Swinney has made his choice. He has chosen to raise taxes on working Scots and waste money on bloated bureaucracy while families are struggling to make ends meet.
“People are paying more and getting less, and after 20 years of SNP government, they are right to ask what they have to show for it.
“Leadership is about finding solutions to problems. All John Swinney does is point the finger somewhere else instead of coming up with a plan to help Scots struggling right now.
“I’m standing to fix the mess, get the basics right and build a better future for Scotland.
“That means practical help with the cost of living: lower childcare costs, help with energy bills, action on housing costs, no income tax rate rises for five years, and cutting government waste so more money goes to the priorities of working people.
“And if this international instability continues, we will not sit back and let Scottish households and businesses pay the price. We will act with £100 million of emergency support in our first 100 days.
“This election is a straight choice between more tax rises and more waste with John Swinney, or a Scottish Labour government focused on making life more affordable.
“On May 7, vote for Scottish Labour on both votes for the change Scotland needs.”