Polls predict a gravity-defying fifth term at Holyrood for the Scottish National party – albeit on a much reduced vote share – but the advent of Reform UK has radically altered the dynamics of the election campaign. The manifesto pledges set out below reveal how established parties are responding, however, a lack of engagement with an estimated £5bn hole in Scottish government finances by the end of the decade has prompted economists at the independent Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) to accuse all parties of “a collective bout of fiscal denial”.
