How Tory pledges could save working families up to £12,000 a year

After 19 years of the SNP in government, taxes have soared, particularly for those on above-average earnings. At the same time, public services have fallen into steep decline, with people’s experiences of the NHS being that it is in a much worse state than two decades ago, with extended waiting lists and waiting times, and difficulties in many parts of Scotland even getting a GP appointment.

Meanwhile, standards in schools have not improved, with rising levels of disruption and violence against teachers. And when it comes to infrastructure, we’re well behind where we should be, with a ten-year delay in the completion of the A9 dualling project, and a crisis for our island communities due to the state of the ferry fleet.

Scottish Conservatives are clear that a strong economy underpins everything else that government wants to do. It is a vibrant economy that delivers the secure, well-paid jobs that people seek, whilst at the same time generating the tax revenues we need to fund public services.

How the £12,000 adds up

Yet, over the past decade, the Scottish economy has grown on average at half of the UK rate, leading to what financial experts describe as a “tax gap” of £1 billion annually – the extra revenue that could be raised if Scotland were simply to match UK growth levels. But rather than deliver economic growth, the SNP’s answer is simply to tax hard-working families more.

Fortunately, the Scottish Conservatives have a plan to tackle these issues. Our manifesto commits to income tax cuts, a reduction in energy bills, and a dramatic expansion of pre-school childcare provision. This package together could save working families around £12,000 a year.

It is families with children under three years old who stand to save the most, with a manifesto commitment to provide 30 hours of funded childcare, saving them an estimated £9,379.

When it comes to taxation, our plans to raise the threshold at which workers would start paying income tax, to create one 19 per cent band beneath the higher rate, and end the tax gap between Scotland and England, would save two parents on median, full-time salaries £2,346 annually.

On energy costs, under plans already announced by Kemi Badenoch to get drilling again for North Sea oil and gas, the additional tax revenues generated from this would cut spiralling fuel bills by £200 annually, whilst at the same time ensuring the UK’s energy security, and helping protect jobs in one of our most important energy sectors.

Finally, our plans to redistribute the government’s annual budget underspend, rather than simply rolling it over into the next year, would lead to an estimated annual £200 reduction in council tax bills, putting money back into people’s pockets. This all adds up to a very significant £12,000 a year saving for those who would benefit the most, whilst even those not working would see a benefit from reduced Council Tax and fuel bills.

How we’ll pay for it

Legitimately, others will ask how all this might be paid for. But our manifesto has a fully costed set of plans, centred on the need to reduce the growth in projected welfare spending. Currently there are nearly 800,000 people of working age who are not economically active, far too many are claiming benefits, and the number is growing rapidly.

Parking people, who could and should be working, on benefits, sometimes all their lives, neither makes economic sense, nor is it good for individuals and society. That’s why, in line with a package to reduce the numbers on welfare, we would establish new employability schemes to help get people into work.

Vital industries, especially in sectors like care, hospitality and agriculture, regularly tell us they’re crying out for workers, yet we have far too many people economically inactive and claiming benefits. They could be doing these jobs. That will require a new focus on employability, which is precisely what we aim to deliver.

Taken together, this amounts to an exciting package to tackle Scotland’s various challenges. It will grow the economy, create more better-paid jobs, and reduce household bills. Our plan is realistic, credible and affordable, and stands in contrast to what’s on offer from other parties.

SNP focussed on independence, not the economy

We know that John Swinney’s primary focus is on winning a majority of seats so he can push for another independence referendum. He is even now talking about a date as soon as 2028.

I cannot imagine anything that Scotland needs less than to see another two years of constitutional navel-gazing in the run-up to another independence referendum, with investment decisions being put on hold due to the economic and financial uncertainty. That is why the Scottish Conservatives are entirely committed to stopping John Swinney from winning a majority and starting work on a referendum.

Neither Labour nor the Liberal Democrats have much to say on this issue, whilst Reform are fielding pro-independence candidates, some of whom have said they are very relaxed about another referendum.

As I go out, day after day, knocking on doors in this election campaign, I find voters genuinely interested in Conservative ideas and prepared to back us. Neither at the 2016 nor the 2021 election did anyone predict we would end up with 31 MSPs as we did, stopping a SNP majority. We achieved that before twice, and I am sure we can confound the naysayers once again this time.

Murdo Fraser is a Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife