Scottish Budget needs to show SNP is not simply in government but out of ideas

When Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister in 2022, there was a feeling that the game was already up for the Conservatives. After Boris Johnson’s ignominious fall from grace was followed by the Liz Truss debacle, few gave Sunak much hope.

His government was less chaotic than under his two immediate predecessors, but his less dramatic style was always going to struggle to shift the dial of popular opinion in a significant way.

To an extent, John Swinney is the SNP’s version of Sunak. More safe pair of hands, than flamboyant and outspoken. The latter days of Nicola Sturgeon’s time and Humza Yousaf’s relatively short stint – associated with policy failures including gender recognition reform, the deposit return scheme, and highly protected marine areas – have damaged the SNP brand, while the Alba party split and the abrupt end of deal with the Scottish Greens caused friction within the previously united nationalist movement.

Scottish Budget needs to show SNP is not simply in government but out of ideas (Picture: Leslie Martin) | PA

Plan for economic growth

The last couple of years have created an impression, similar to Sunak’s time in office, of a party in government but out of ideas. Yousaf’s misguided decision to reheat the council tax freeze – likely to be ditched today – only served to underline the lack of new ones.

Today, when Finance Secretary Shona Robison delivers the first Scottish Budget of the Swinney era, she has a chance to change that. To demonstrate that, after more than 17 years in office, her party has what it takes to transform Scotland’s fortunes – not in an imagined independent state, but in the here and now.

The country needs to hear a plan that will lay the foundations for economic growth. It needs to hear how the NHS will be saved from continual decline, how struggling retailers will be helped, how the arts sector will not just survive, but flourish.

More of the same is simply not going to cut it. The government cannot make everything better with a wave of its hand, but it does need to be a dynamic force in identifying problems and working with private business and others to find solutions. Today will provide a real indication of whether Swinney, Robison and co are up to that task.