Russell Findlay: Scottish Tories will knock £500 off pensioners’ tax bills

Russell Findlay has pledged to knock £500 off pensioners’ tax bills as he urged voters to back the Scottish Conservatives to prevent the "living nightmare" of an SNP majority.

Launching his party's manifesto ahead of the Holyrood election in May, the Scottish Tory leader told activists: “The thought of a divisive and distracting referendum is not just concerning to me, but terrifying."

He said he would "give absolutely everything I’ve got" to stop the SNP.

Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Russell Findlay during the launch of the party manifesto for the upcoming Holyrood election | PA

It comes after John Swinney said there could be an independence referendum in 2028 if the SNP wins a majority in next month’s Holyrood election.

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The First Minister also insisted it would be “achievable” for Scotland to become an independent nation within 18 months if voters backed it in a referendum.

Polls suggest the SNP will fall short of an outright majority but will still emerge as the largest party by some distance. The Tories are on course to come fourth following the collapse of their vote and the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

But Mr Findlay insisted every vote for his party on the more proportional list system "will help us stop the SNP".

He said: “Can you imagine the living nightmare if John Swinney gets his majority and gets his way? We cannot allow him to plunge the next parliament into constitutional chaos.

“If we prevent an SNP majority, we can stop John Swinney from pressing ahead with his plans for a referendum. We can spend the next five years focused on the issues that matter to people.”

The Tory leader said he is offering the “most comprehensive manifesto our party has ever produced for a Holyrood election”.

He said his plans would enable pensioners to claim back the first £500 they pay in tax on their pension income. This would then be triple-locked, increasing in line with earnings, inflation or 2 per cent – whichever figure is highest.

The party said this would cost £209 million in 2029/30 and £230 million 2031/32.

“We can afford to do this because we will end the SNP’s obscene waste of taxpayers’ money,” Mr Findlay said. “For pensioners who have worked hard and deserve to enjoy retirement, this is no more than they deserve.”

The Tories said they would save almost £2 billion a year by introducing new restrictions on adult mental health benefit claims. They would also introduce a two-child limit for the Scottish child payment and reduce foreign aid spending, among other measures.

The manifesto pledges to cut income tax by raising the point at which workers start paying, creating one lower rate of 19 per cent and ending the freeze on the higher-rate threshold which has dragged middle earners into paying more.

It said the Tories would “retain free tuition for Scottish students at university but examine alternative systems so that Scottish students are no longer put at a disadvantage in the admissions process”.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said the manifesto “is not worth the paper it is written on”. She added: “The Scottish Tories are completely irrelevant, and their ambitions only stretch to attempting to deny the SNP a majority.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate Jamie Greene, who defected from the Tories, said Mr Findlay’s party were “simply too chaotic and irrelevant to effectively hold John Swinney and the SNP to account for their dismal record on education, the economy, transport, and health”.

Michelle Ferguson, the director of CBI Scotland, said: “With costs continuing to soar for firms and consumers, businesses will be encouraged by proposals to close Scotland’s income tax gap with the rest of the UK.

“That would help Scottish firms compete for highly skilled employees and reduce the risk of pushing even more talent south. It would also help employees by allowing them to keep more of their pay in their pockets.”