Credible


Ed Miliband's short visit to Scotland seems to have been something of a damp squib with his public appearances limited to a stump speech in front a hand-picked audience of Labour supporters and accredited journalists.

Now I have my doubts about the economic policies advocated by the SNP Government, but faced with the choice between Holyrood and the House of Commons, I'll give my support to the Scottish Parliament every time because I believe that the Westminster Parliament (with its House of Lords) is unrepresentative, unaccountable and no longer fit for purpose.

The latest opinions polls give Labour in Scotland only 25% of the popular vote and its UK leader, Ed Miliband, is less popular than the Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron, who has faced five years of making tough decisions in difficult economic times.

So the issues comes down to democracy, credibility and accountability which is why if you ask me, the SNP and are winning the 2015 general election campaign.  

Election 2015: Parties clash on Scottish finance plans

The main political parties hit the election campaign trail ahead of the vote in May

Labour leader Ed Miliband has said the SNP's backing for Scotland to take full control of taxation would leave a £7.6bn hole in its finances.

Campaigning in Edinburgh, Mr Miliband said taxes would have to be raised or borrowing increased in Scotland if it gained full fiscal autonomy.

But SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland could grow its economy without suffering more Westminster cuts.

She said the Conservatives supported more Labour-backed spending reductions.

The Tories accused the SNP of trying to achieve "quasi-independence" by the back door, while the Liberal Democrats said the nationalists were threatening public services.

The Scottish budget is traditionally funded by a block grant from the Treasury, calculated under the Barnett formula.

Full fiscal autonomy - which Ms Sturgeon this week said could be voted for by SNP MPs as early as next year - would see the nation, in future, having to raise enough cash to cover all its public spending.

 
Ed Miliband and Ed Balls, along with Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy, were in Edinburgh campaigning on Scotland's future finances

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said more powers for Scotland meant less chance of further Westminster spending cuts

Ruth Davidson
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said the SNP was trying to achieve partial independence through the back door

Liberal Democrat Sir Malcolm Bruce said full fiscal autonomy would threaten Scotland's public services

Mr Miliband, campaigning with shadow chancellor Ed Balls ahead of the May UK election, said the Barnett formula would be secure under Labour.

"Full fiscal autonomy will mean a £7.6bn hole in Scotland's finances," he said, adding: "A £7.6bn gap that would need to be filled with more taxes on working people or more borrowing.

"You can't build social justice with a £7.6 billion funding gap because the burdens of it would fall on working families across Scotland."

The Labour leader said scrapping Barnett would also end the pooling and sharing of resources across the UK, arguing: "It means the benefits of Labour policies, like the mansion tax for the NHS and the bank bonus tax to pay for jobs for our young people, won't be felt in Scotland."

The £7.6bn figure comes from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and is based on the latest projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

But Ms Sturgeon said: "The argument over more powers for the Scottish parliament is about giving Scotland the ability to grow our economy more - not to be at the mercy of continued Westminster cuts."

Speaking in Stirling, the Scottish first minister accused Labour of "desperation", adding: "The only cuts on the horizon for Scotland are the cuts that the Tories are planning and that Labour have signed up to.

"The big opportunity in this election is to make Scotland's voice heard, so we can win an alternative to austerity and see modest spending increases over the next parliament."

NHS spending

Ms Sturgeon said her party's plan to invest in growth would free up resources to allow Scotland's NHS budget to increase by a total of £2bn by 2020 - as part of an overall proposal to increase NHS spending across the UK by £24bn - £9.5bn above inflation.

Scottish Liberal Democrat deputy leader Sir Malcolm Bruce, who was campaigning in Cupar, Fife, said: "I suspect the rest of the UK might cheerfully vote for fiscal autonomy, because it would cut Scotland loose without the obligation of supporting, for example, pensions in Scotland.

"The SNP should be careful what they wish for - Nicola Sturgeon is now fundamentally threatening public services and pensions in Scotland on a scale that people should understand would be catastrophically disastrous for the people of Scotland."

Sir Malcolm was speaking as he said his party's policies had seen the state pension increase by £900 since 2010.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who was in Biggar in South Lanarkshire, said: "When people saw Nicola Sturgeon talk about full fiscal autonomy and how she wanted it as early as next year, they probably felt a little bit betrayed, because it sounds to many like quasi-independence by the back door.

"That's something they voted against in the referendum in September.

"There are real issues here - not least, what's going to get cut to cover the £7.6bn shortfall in Scotland's budget that full fiscal autonomy would result in."

Ms Davidson was speaking as she set out her party's policy to boost mobile phone coverage in rural areas - saying it would ensure the four major mobile networks delivered on an improvement deal negotiated with the UK government.

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