Local Liberal Democrats call for wholesale clearance of failed policies by new First Minister – “He should scrap SNP fixation on independence!

The new First Minister should have a wholesale clear-out of a clutch of failed SNP policies, according to local Liberal Democrats. Councillor Robert Brown, Liberal Democrat Group Leader on South Lanarkshire Council said the Scottish Government should call time on a range of things which, under the SNP, had been holding Scotland back. He welcomed the call during the SNP leadership election by all 3 candidates for a re-setting of key policies and said this was a major opportunity to halt the centralising power grab from SNP Ministers and empower local communities and local councils again.

• The plans for the discredited and bureaucratic National Care Service – already put on hold - should be torn up, and the £1 billion plus cost of setting it up should be reallocated to local Councils to invest in front line care, long starved of funding by the SNP government. That £1billion should be used to support local, front line services, not least to enhance the quality of care and reward staff with better pay, conditions and career progression. This would deliver fair work, help recruit vital staff and deliver an improved care service years ahead of the SNP’s current schedule.
• The salami slicing of council funding should stop and councils should get their fair share of the Scottish budget to pay for the local services provided by them. For a start the new First Minister should take the overdue decision to pass onto councils the money made available by the UK government to support swimming pools hard hit by huge energy price rises.

Robert Brown said:

“I congratulate Humza Yousaf on his election as SNP Leader and First Minister of Scotland. It is a significant moment to see both the UK Prime Minister and the First Minister of Scotland coming from Asian heritage.

He has though a weak mandate with the SNP badly split over the direction of travel. Humza Yousaf should recognise that the Scottish public recognises as strongly now as in 2014 the value of being part of the United Kingdom family. It is time to reset the dial, put independence on the back burner and have a sharp focus on tackling the major issues our country faces.”