SNP manifesto to call for austerity end and public service boost

Nicola Sturgeon: Picture credit - David Anderson

Working to end austerity and boost investment in public services will be placed at the heart of the SNP’s general election manifesto.

Nicola Sturgeon was set to launch the document in Edinburgh today but has decided to postpone the event in the wake of the terror attack on concert-goers in Manchester that left at least 22 people dead.

RELATED CONTENT 

Election campaigning suspended after Manchester terror attack leaves 22 dead 

Scottish Labour to base manifesto pledges around opposition to independence

Pledges in the document include a demand for the devolution of immigration powers to Holyrood, a ban on zero-hours contracts and efforts to repeal the Trade Union Act.

The First Minister will also argue the 8 June vote is a chance to "reinforce the right of the Scottish Parliament to decide when the nation should be given a choice on its future" in a second independenc referendum.

Meanwhile, the manifesto will also demand that Scotland remains in the European single market after Brexit.

Sturgeon will insist SNP MPs will "defend Scotland from the Tory assault on Scottish jobs and workers' rights".

She said: "At the heart of our plans is a responsible fiscal plan to end austerity and free up resources to invest in public services, protect family budgets and call a halt to cuts in social security support for working families and the disabled.

"A vote for the SNP will also strengthen Scotland's hand against an extreme Brexit that will put tens of thousands of Scottish jobs at risk.

"And a vote for the SNP will also strengthen Scotland's right to choose our own future.

“This election won't decide whether or not Scotland will become independent - but a vote for the SNP will reinforce the right of the Scottish Parliament to decide when the nation should be given a choice on its future, and will make sure that Scotland's future is always in Scotland's hands."

The SNP is defending 56 of the 59 parliamentary constituencies in Scotland, but opinion polls have shown a surge in support for the Conservatives.