Housing crisis reveals how Scotland has been damaged by 18 years of SNP rule

Across Scotland, people are dealing with the consequences of SNP mismanagement daily, but those responsible for these failures never face any consequences. This SNP government rewards the dismal mediocrity of its ‘best’ ministers and overlooks the gross incompetence of the rest.

We see it repeatedly – declining performance is greeted with a shrug and scandals are swept under the rug until it becomes untenable. As a housing emergency took grip in Scotland, the SNP failed to act – in fact, it fanned the flames of the growing crisis by slashing almost £200 million from the affordable housing budget and chronically underfunding local government.

Now homelessness is rising, with the number of open cases in Scotland rising by almost 2,000 in a year. Rough sleeping has soared, with the number of people who slept rough the night before making their application rising by 28 per cent in a single year.

The number of children living in temporary accommodation is at a shameful, record high, at 10,360 – young people growing up, attending school and even sitting exams without a permanent home.

Homelessness is rising, and the number of people sleeping rough has soared | PA

Home ownership a distant dream

How can a government that claims tackling child poverty is its first priority tolerate this situation? These people are experiencing the very worst consequences of the SNP’s housing emergency, but thousands more are also suffering.

Eye-watering rent and mortgage costs have piled pressure on struggling families and worsened the cost-of-living crisis. Home ownership has become a distant dream for many as house prices continue to climb.

It’s estimated that the condition of a shocking 27 per cent of homes falls below a tolerable standard. House building has collapsed and the SNP appear to have quietly given up on meeting its affordable housing targets.

But despite this record of shame, no one in government has been held accountable. Housing minister Paul McLennan – a man who has by any measure failed at his job – is still in post, claiming a ministerial salary and tasked with fixing the very crisis he let spiral to this point.

Ensuring people have a safe, secure home is one of the most basic duties of government – but the SNP is failing to deliver on it.

When Scottish Labour was last in government, I served as housing minister and we worked hard to tackle these issues. We brought forward world-leading action on homelessness – a legacy the SNP has squandered.

NHS at breaking point

And it’s not just housing – every institution in Scotland has been left weaker after 18 years of SNP government. We have an NHS stretched to breaking point, with almost one-in-six Scots stuck on an NHS waiting list.

Our social care system is overwhelmed, but the SNP’s National Care Service plans have fallen apart. There are rising levels of violence in schools, unacceptable delays in the courts, overcrowded prisons and mounting pressure on local services. But again, no one is ever held accountable.

As we head towards the next Scottish Parliament election the choice is clear – more of the same decline with the SNP, or a new direction with Scottish Labour.

A Scottish Labour government would deliver badly needed planning reform to boost house building, deliver fair funding for local government so it can be there for people in their hour of need, and work to put home ownership back within reach.

Jackie Baillie MSP is Scottish Labour’s deputy leader