Humza Yousaf will consider introducing wealth taxes if he wins the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister
The SNP Health Secretary will look at raising cash from land, renewable energy projects and higher income tax for the better off to pay for more generous welfare benefits.
Yousaf, who described himself as a socialist, said the wealth tax plan would be discussed at an anti-poverty summit which would be his first meeting as First Minister.
The three-way contest between Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan ends today, with the winner announced at around 2pm.
Much of the campaign has been framed as a battle between the centre-left Yousaf, who is close to Sturgeon, and the more conservative Forbes.
In an exclusive interview with the Record, Yousaf said: “For me the choice is a pretty stark one. We can either continue to build on that progressive agenda and legacy that has been left behind by Nicola and John Swinney, that has helped us to become the largest political party by quite some distance in Scotland, or we roll back and we don’t make progress.”
In a dig at Forbes, he said of the implications of electing someone not on the centre-left: “I think we will simply struggle to win our independence.”
He added: “I think some of Kate’s policies that target economic growth and some of her other policies, particularly around the equality agenda, I think jar with those that are on the centre left.”
Figures published last week showed child poverty is at the same level as it was when the SNP swept to power in 2007.
He said his first act as FM would be a summit with anti-poverty groups: “The very first meeting I would have would be a roundtable with those organisations because I have many ideas around how to tackle poverty.
“I want to make sure that they are also feeding into the first minister directly on day one. And that’s certainly the way I would want to continue governing, to listen to those organisations, to listen to those who represent people that have lived experience of poverty.”
Yousaf said he is sympathetic to raising taxes on income and wealth, targeting high earners and companies raking in profits:
“Various poverty organisations say the government has to be bold around, not just taxation, but potentially wealth taxes, and that’s something I am committed to looking at.
“I’ve been a supporter of a windfall tax for a long time. So those industries where they are making billions of pounds of profit, I think there’s a way of making sure that some of that profit is reinvested back into communities.
“When it comes to future leases of ScotWind, for example, I don’t think we should just be leasing, I think we should be getting a public equity stake in that, so the profits from our natural resource come back into being reinvested in our communities.”
He said of a land value tax on big estates: “I want to start that leadership with a really open mind about how we can use our devolved powers to maximum effect.”
He is also keen on creating another band of income tax on earnings at some point between £43,662 and £125,140.
Revenues raised, he said, could be used to fund increases to the £25 a week Scottish Child Payment.
Asked whether he is a socialist, he said: “Yes, I believe absolutely in the redistribution of wealth. I don’t have any problem with saying that. I think those that are the wealthiest, those who earn the most should absolutely pay the most in society, particularly for our public services.”
A flashpoint during the campaign was Forbes blasting Yousaf’s record in Government and criticising the performance of Sturgeon’s administration.
Yousaf said the attack had “clearly” backfired: “I just think trashing our government’s own record and calling it mediocre.....attacking our track record, which activists have been spending their last 16 years not just defending but advocating that record on the doorsteps, I think was not helpful neither to the party nor the independence cause.”
Despite a denial from Forbes’ campaign, Yousaf said she apologised afterwards: “It’s certainly my recollection.”
Even though there has been tension between the pair, Yousaf said he would offer her a Cabinet post:
“I think she’s an exceptionally talented politician. I think she has still got a role, an important role to play, in Scottish public life at the highest level.”
He also hit out at claims about the contest being rigged or unsafe:
“They are damaging because ultimately they are smears. Nobody has produced any credible or tangible evidence to suggest there’s anything wrong with the integrity of the ballot.”
He concluded by insisting he is the right person for the job: “People will look to the Office of the First Minister, and they will want to see somebody in that office that shares the values of the majority of the population.
“And that is on, not just equality issues, but issues of social progress and the wellbeing economy as well. I think it’s really important that whoever is the next leader of the SNP, the next First Minister of Scotland, reflects the values of the majority.”
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