THE SNP’s manifesto opens with a commitment that a vote for them is a vote for Scottish independence.
The 32-page document sets out the SNP’s vision for their role in the next parliament and the pressures they hope to exert on the next government.
Speaking at the launch in Edinburgh on Wednesday, John Swinney spoke of SNP MPs putting the screws a “prospective Labour government”, in the hopes of moving Keir Starmer (below) to the left.
Challenged on what the SNP could achieve in Parliament being unable to form a government, Swinney pointed to the work of Stewart Hosie in exposing Russian money in the UK economy and Marion Fellows in supporting victims of the Post Office scandal.
In his foreword to the manifesto, Swinney puts a strong emphasis on the cost of living crisis and protecting public services, especially the NHS.
Independence
Foremost in the manifesto is the pledge that a vote for the SNP is a vote for an independent Scotland.
The document sketches out the arguments for independence, pointing to cases of “more successful” small independent European nations like Denmark, Sweden and Ireland.
The SNP say that if they win the most Scottish seats at the General Election, they will consider this a mandate to request permission from Westminster for another independence referendum.
Public spending
The SNP say they want an end to “14 years of Tory-imposed austerity”.
They have charged Labour and the Tories of signing up to spending plans that conceal £18 billion worth of cuts.
SNP MPs would demand the “full” devolution of taxes to Holyrood, including the windfall tax on oil and gas companies. They said they would spread this out over a “wider” range of companies than what is proposed by Labour and the Tories, to “tackle the twin crises of cost of living and climate change”.
And they have proposed scrapping the Government’s current fiscal rules. They would be replaced with a new framework which would allow for increased levels of capital investment.
Brexit
The SNP reaffirmed their opposition to Brexit and accused the two other big parties of failing to “talk about what we’ve lost, or how much worse off we are with Brexit”.
They said their vision for an independent Scotland in European Union gave the country the opportunity to regain what has been lost as a result of a hard Brexit and harness the opportunities that independence would provide”.
Cost of living
The SNP have called for a chunky package of measures to help ease the cost-of-living crisis. They want cut price bills for “all who need”, cuts to standing charges, a new fuel poverty scheme made by combining the Warm Home Discount and Energy Company Obligation.
They also want to reintroduce a “simplified” Help to Buy ISA.
NHS
The SNP have set out plans they say will “protect the NHS from Westminster privatisation”.
They would introduce a “Keep the NHS in Public Hands” Bill to stop “any UK government undermining the principles and protections of the NHS as part of any future trade deal” and demand that the NHS gets £10bn extra each year.
And they have called on the UK Government to “match Scotland’s NHS pay deals” to the tune of £6bn. Altogether, the SNP say this would result in £1.6bn for the Scottish NHS each year through the Barnett formula.
Energy
The most controversial aspect of the SNP’s manifesto launch, not least for those in their former coalition partners the Greens, is the party’s ambivalent stance on oil and gas.
They call on the UK Government to “take an evidence-based approach to oil and gas”. While not specifically backing new licences, they say new permissions should be given for fossil fuel exploitation if such developments pass “a robust climate compatibility assessment”.
The manifesto states: “We believe any further extraction must be consistent with our climate obligations and take due account of energy security considerations.”
Other areas
The party have reiterated their calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, protecting women’s rights to have abortions, an end to “punitive” welfare reforms and taking a “public health” approach to tackling the drugs death crisis, including the legalisation of drugs, among others.
The party have also supported compensation calls for Waspi women, the victims of the infected blood scandal, the victims of the Equitable Life scandal and the victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
