Scotland under the SNP is becoming a country for ‘skivers, not strivers’, according to the leader of the Scottish Conservatives.
In a speech to the Tories’ UK conference in Manchester today, Russell Findlay will accuse the nationalist government of discouraging enterprise and aspiration while failing to manage the economy.
He is expected to call for radical policy reform to ‘tackle Scotland’s economic despair’ and allow the country to be ‘open for business once more’.
Attacking the SNP for creating ‘stagnation’ during 18 years of power at Holyrood, he promised the Tories would always support ‘the entrepreneur, the innovators, the ambitious, the aspirational, the small businesses who make our country tick’.
Changes in income tax introduced by the nationalists mean anyone earning above £30,318 a year now pays more than they would in the rest of the UK.
Council tax bills have also risen to a record high, with the average bill for a Band D property now £1,543 a year.
Meanwhile, spending on benefits has spiralled, with the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasting that the annual welfare bill – which totalled £6.1bn in 2024-25 – will soar beyond £9bn by 2029-30.
Mr Findlay will tell party members that growing Scotland’s economy is the key to fixing public services.
Russell Findlay will accuse the SNP of discouraging enterprise and aspiration
The MSP will call for the SNP government to stop treating the private sector as the enemy and demand a ‘seismic change’ so that Holyrood no longer ‘views tax hikes as virtuous and tax cuts as vulgar’.
He will tell the conference: ‘The SNP’s biggest failure is on the economy. Under the nationalists, there are too few opportunities for the aspirational and ambitious.
‘Whole communities are held back. Workers can’t reach their full potential. Entrepreneurial risk-taking is not rewarded. Huge numbers of people suffer a life of reliance on the state. Many families do fine but don’t see any way to do better, no matter how hard they toil.
‘Instead of seeking to advance opportunities for everyone who wants to work hard, the SNP want to turn Scotland into a country that rewards skivers, not strivers.
‘Tackling Scotland’s economic despair is what the Scottish Conservative Party, under my leadership, is setting out to do.’
He will add: ‘We must be the true party of business once again. Always on the side of the entrepreneur, the innovators, the ambitious, the aspirational, the small businesses who make our country tick.
‘We will renew our focus on growth and stand for strong Conservative economic values of fiscal responsibility, sound money, efficient spending, self-reliance, more freedom for people to aspire and cutting red tape.
‘We will do so because driving up economic growth is key to fixing everything else in Scotland. A stronger economy can bring bills down; unlock faster GP appointments; raise school standards; fix the roads and everything else that needs to change.’
The Scottish Government was approached for a response.
