First Minister launches SNP council manifesto with cost-of-living pledge

Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to tackle the cost-of-living crisis as she launches her party’s manifesto for the local government elections.

The document includes commitments on protecting the council tax reduction scheme, improving energy efficiency of homes and the creation of a National Care Service.

The First Minister has said the response to rising bills will require a “pandemic-level response”, as she accused the UK Government of “methodically chipping away at living standards and family incomes”.

The party will also commit to improving walking and cycling routes across Scotland in a bid to meet the national target to reduce the number of kilometres travelled by car by 20 per cent by 2030.

At the launch, Sturgeon will say: “When I think about the last couple of years – of how we all pulled together in the face of huge uncertainty – I know that, by working together and with the right leadership, we can get through the challenges we are facing today and build a better tomorrow.   

“What we need over the coming period is nothing less than a pandemic-level, ‘Team Scotland’ response to these challenges.”

But she will also insist the “key levers” to respond to the rising cost of living remain at Westminster.

She will add: “While the SNP have a plan to move Scotland forwards, the Tory plans – laid out in the Chancellor’s spring statement – remind us how much Westminster is dragging Scotland back.”

Local government elections take place on Thursday 5 May, with results to be announced over 6 and 7 May.

Recent polling puts the SNP in first place, with the Conservatives and Labour battling it out for second place.