Scottish Conservatives to launch manifesto focused on lowering income tax and cutting the cost of benefits

The Scottish Conservatives will launch its manifesto later this afternoon, focusing on income tax cuts and reducing the benefits bill. 

The party will outline its plans today in Edinburgh, with its leader, Russell Findlay, expected to focus on the cost-of-living crisis. 

The party has said it would cut income tax by raising the threshold at which people start paying, creating one lower rate of 19 per cent, and ending the freeze on the higher-rate threshold. It plans to pay for this by curbing Scotland's benefits bill and reducing government bureaucracy.  

Findlay is expected to say: “We need to get Scotland working after almost two dismal decades of SNP incompetence, failure, and scandal. 

“Things do not have to be this bad. The mess that Scotland is in is the result of the wrong political choices made by SNP administrations. 

“Our manifesto shows there can be a different way – a brighter, more prosperous way for everyone. 

“A lower-tax Scotland, where people can keep and spend more of the money they graft for.” 

Over the last two weeks of the election campaign, the Tories have made a range of commitments across many policy areas.  

These include introducing legislation to allow Scotland to send prisoners abroad, preventing the need for the early release of prisoners.  

On health, it has set out plans to increase NHS funding above inflation every year of the next Scottish Parliament. It has also pledged to bring back the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy, protect exam-based learning, increase school inspections,and fund 1,000 more classroom assistants. 

Findlay is also expected to say: “This manifesto is our most detailed plan ever for making that vision a reality. It is comprehensive, costed and credible. 

“John Swinney has been crystal clear that he will use an SNP majority to press ahead with his plan to hold a second, unwanted, divisive referendum on breaking up our country. 

“We cannot allow him to plunge the next parliament into constitutional chaos. 

“We cannot allow any distraction from the issues that matter most to people: helping with the cost-of-living crisis, growing the economy and fixing our broken public services. 

“Every vote for the Scottish Conservatives on the peach-coloured ballot paper will take us a step closer to stopping the SNP.” 

Speaking ahead of the Tory manifesto launch, Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said:“The Scottish Tories are going through the motions, but everyone knows that they are utterly irrelevant in this election. 

“Russell Findlay and co were cheerleading for Liz Truss while she crashed the economy so it’s no wonder voters are turning away from the Scottish Tories in their droves. 

“It’s clearer than ever that only Scottish Labour can beat the SNP and deliver the change Scotland needs. 

“While the height of the Scottish Tories’ ambition is to deprive the SNP of a majority, Scottish Labour is fighting to remove them from government entirely. 

“Russell Findlay is happy to play John Swinney’s game and is trying to drag this election back to the arguments of the past because he has nothing to say about our future. 

“The momentum is behind Scottish Labour because we are the only party that can get rid of this failing SNP government and fix the mess they have made of our NHS, our schools, our justice system and our economy.”