Poverty, deprivation and drug abuse is legacy of 14 years of SNP rule in Scotland – Daily Express
PEOPLE in Scotland are considerably worse off after 14 years of SNP rule because the SNP is so intent on convincing people of the need for Independence that they have failed to focus on policies that would have made the lives of Scottish people better.
Far from improving the lives of Scots, the SNP reigns over the worst drug death rate in Europe, declining education standards and questions over the disappearance or misuse of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Nicola Sturgeon says she “took her eye off the ball”. That isn’t an excuse, and it isn’t good enough. There should be no greater focus than on improving the lives of the people you represent. It is completely unacceptable that in this day and age we have escalating and out of control levels of poverty and deprivation in Scotland.
In Nicola Sturgeon’s Scotland honest, hardworking people are struggling to get by and many are even having to resort to using food banks to feed their families.
Anyone who saw the long line of people who had to queue, in the snow, during a pandemic, for a food bank in Glasgow will be unlikely to forget the scene.
It is time to act. We must stop accepting the need for food banks; we must stop accepting that older people die in winter because they can’t afford to heat their homes.
We’ve experienced decades of policies that promote the rich getting richer, with the suggestion that perhaps wealth at the top will magically filter down and benefit the rest of society.
The reality of our experience reveals the reverse is true. Rather the rich salt their gains away in offshore tax havens and benefit no-one but themselves. We must reverse those policies and give people at the bottom of the wealth pyramid far greater disposable income.
Through mechanisms, such as Universal Basic Income, and changes to income tax and corporation tax, we can create greater disposable income among a far greater number of people; people who will then spend more on leisure activities, going out, doing up their houses, shopping and many other activities that will help to stimulate the economy and in turn help to circulate wealth more fairly around society.
If Nicola Sturgeon has concentrated on eradicating poverty, we would have seen hugely positive impacts throughout our society.
People would have been able to spend more money on healthier food and sporting activities, which would help to fight our epidemic of obesity and the conditions associated with it.
It might even have had an impact on Scotland’s Covid-related death figures, which are shocking. It might also have started to reverse the decline in life expectancy that Scotland has seen in recent years.
The SNP’s record on education is appalling. Another ball they took their eyes off. If we are to compete on a global stage, we need to ensure we have a well-educated population ready to take advantage of the opportunities that are coming our way thanks to changing technologies.
Standards of educational attainment have been declining and we must end that now before we have completely failed a generation in Scotland.
It is clear that Nicola Sturgeon has ‘taken her eye off the ball’ on the issues that are under the control of the devolved administration and would make a tangible difference to the people of Scotland.
In fact, it seems increasingly clear that the one ‘ball’ she has ‘had her eye’ on is Independence.
Perhaps if Nicola Sturgeon really wanted to convince Scottish voters that they’d be better off in an Independent Scotland under her leadership, she should have taken the opportunity the Scottish voters have given her to show how much better she could have made life for people in Scotland.