Keir Starmer should have followed SNP lead and asked higher earners to pay more tax - John Swinney

First Minister John Swinney offers his thoughts on Labour’s first 12 months in power at Westminster – and where Keir Starmer has got it so wrong.

When Keir Starmer stood up shortly after taking office and told us things were going to get worse, even he could not have envisaged the extent to which broken promises, infighting, bad decisions and shambolic U-turns would define his first 12 months as Prime Minister.

Barely a household in the country has not been left disappointed or downright angry by the actions of a Labour government, which – time and time again – has found itself on the wrong side of the argument, defending the frankly indefensible.

I am well aware, from the office I hold, that governments must be driven by consistent values and clear direction – both of which appear to be completely lacking at Westminster.

First Minister John Swinney during a visit to Springburn Academy in Glasgow. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

When I became First Minister, I set clear missions around eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, improving public services and tackling the climate emergency.

SNP-run Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is expected to fall, and soon we will take another step forward by abolishing Labour’s two-child cap.

We are introducing more measures to help with the cost of living, such as scrapping peak rail fares permanently. And when it comes to the NHS, I am putting in place lasting solutions around the country, which will deliver sustained long-term improvements.

Incidentally, I have managed to do all this – and much more besides – without the enormous parliamentary majority that Keir Starmer enjoys.

I intend to build on this progress over the next year and, as we approach the 2026 election, the SNP will set out ambitious plans to move Scotland into the next decade.

The dividing lines for that election are already becoming clear.

People wanting to know what a Labour government would be like in Scotland need look no further than the shambles of the last 12 months at Westminster.

Anas Sarwar has defended Keir Starmer every mis-step of the way, and there is little doubt that a Scottish Labour government would be equally determined to balance the books on the backs of the poor, the disabled and older people.

Labour could have avoided the fiscal nightmare currently tearing them apart if Keir Starmer had the courage to do what the SNP have done, and ask higher earners to pay more tax. This is therefore a strange moment for Mr Sarwar to begin arguing for precisely the opposite – but that is what he has begun doing.

Much like every Conservative leader who makes similar demands, Mr Sarwar will have to explain what he would cut in Scotland to pay for his tax cuts for the rich. NHS funding? Free university tuition? The Scottish Child Payment?

The Prime Minister’s many mistakes in his first 12 months add up to a much bigger problem – he has taken the hope people felt last year and has extinguished it.

Hope must be the defining feature of next year’s election, and hope is what I intend that the SNP offer – a vision of an independent Scotland free from Westminster chaos.

The last year has demonstrated Labour cannot be trusted with government in Scotland – but it has also shown that no matter who we vote into Downing Street, Westminster will simply never work for Scotland.