Scottish Budget Advances with Liberal Democrat Support After Negotiations
MSPs have voted to support the draft Scottish Budget at its first parliamentary stage, following a significant agreement between the Scottish Government and the Liberal Democrats. The Budget (Scotland) (No.5) Bill, proposed by Finance Secretary Shona Robison, was backed by 65 votes to 30 on Thursday, with 24 abstentions recorded.
Liberal Democrat Deal Secures Key Concessions
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Greene confirmed during First Minister's Questions that his party had struck a Budget deal with the Scottish Government, focusing on social care, hospices, and hospitality sectors. Greene stated that the negotiations resulted in approximately £300 million allocated to Liberal Democrat priorities.
"I did also make it clear that we needed to see more for hospices, for care providers, for hospitality and self catering all crying out for more support," Greene said. "It sounds like today we have made some progress for social care, for hospices and on business rates – my calculation puts that as just shy of £300 million for Liberal Democrat priorities. Why? Because we chose to negotiate properly and get things done so we will support the Budget this afternoon."
Labour's Conditional Response and Election Pitch
Scottish Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra offered a mixed response to the Budget. While welcoming the business rates changes resulting from the Lib Dem deal, Marra argued that the measures did not go far enough, with Labour advocating for a pause to the non-domestic rates revaluation.
Marra predicted that the Budget "will not last the year" and suggested that the next Scottish government would need to call an emergency budget. He concluded his speech with an election-focused message: "The fact remains that this SNP Government will never take the bold decisive action needed to fix what they have broken in our country – the real opportunity for change will be on May 7, when we finally kick out this knackered SNP Government and choose a new direction for Scotland with Scottish Labour."
Green Party Abstains While Keeping Negotiations Open
Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer announced that his party would abstain from the vote but remained open to further negotiations. "I announced earlier today that the Greens will be abstaining in the Budget," Greer stated. "I am proud of what we've achieved so far, I do believe that agreement is possible with the Government, but our job is to be a challenger, our job is to push the Government to go further, often to push the Government to go outside of its comfort zone, because we know that change is still needed."
Conservative Opposition and Tax Criticism
The Scottish Conservatives maintained strong opposition to the Budget proposals. Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy criticized multiple aspects of the financial plan: "This Budget does not add up. It does not add up for Scottish taxpayers, with more people dragged into ever higher tax under the SNP. It does not add up for Scottish councils, which are now considering brutal cuts and blistering increases in council tax, despite the discovery of an additional 20 million pounds today for social care."
Hoy also targeted healthcare and business concerns: "And it does not add up for Scotland's NHS, with health boards effectively facing no real terms growth in spending. And it certainly does not add up for Scotland's pubs and shops, which, despite today's U-turn on reliefs, still face crippling increases in business tax."
The Conservatives particularly criticized SNP spending on benefits, with Hoy arguing: "Yet again the SNP are reaching for the only lever they ever pull, clobbering middle income earners with higher income tax bills. And, by the end of this decade, one in three Scots will be paying the SNP's higher rates of tax, a tax intended for the few, now being paid by the many. And why is tax soaring in Scotland? Because, under the SNP, the benefits bill is frankly, out of control."
Budget's Path Forward
The Budget is now expected to pass through Holyrood in the coming weeks, with Labour having announced its intention to abstain before the plans were even unveiled. This strategic move effectively allows the Budget to proceed without Labour's opposition, setting the stage for further parliamentary scrutiny and potential amendments before final approval.
