Scotland's 'freebie culture' must be overhauled, says new Tory leader
Scotland's "freebie culture" must be overhauled, the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives has said.
In his first keynote speech since taking over, Russell Findlay took aim at free prescriptions and baby boxes and insisted it was "time to end the student politics of gimmicks and cheap headlines".
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Hide AdAsked about potentially ending universal free university tuition fees, he said nothing should be off the table.
Mr Findlay, a former journalist, was elected Scottish Tory leader last month following the resignation of Douglas Ross. He has pitched himself as representing the “common sense” views of mainstream Scotland.
He said Scotland’s "bloated" quango sector was saddling taxpayers with huge costs while reducing accountability and transparency.
And he called for the tax burden to be reduced and for the size of the state to shrink, while insisting he did not want to cut public services.
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Hide AdAddressing activists and MSPs in Edinburgh, Mr Findlay said public services "must become more effective by being more efficient".
He said: "It's time to end the student politics of gimmicks and cheap headlines that come with costly price tags.
"Like the baby box. It has now cost £50m, without any hard evidence of their effectiveness. Or the fact the Scottish Government spends £9m a year on ‘foreign embassies’, despite international affairs being reserved.
"And I think it’s agreed that almost everyone, but especially the wealthiest, can afford 39p for a packet of paracetamol or Ibuprofen instead of getting it free on prescription. Examples of unnecessary and wasteful spending could fill a book."
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Hide AdMr Findlay said there needed to be a "complete overhaul of the architecture of government" in Scotland.
He said this included reforming the NHS to cut out "middle managers" and reducing the number of public bodies, quangos and commissioners.
The new Scottish Tory leader said there were at least 131 of these, with a collective budget of more than £19.6 billion.
"Do we really need them all?" he added. "I very much doubt it. We will set out proposals to reduce that number and make savings for taxpayers.
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Hide Ad“Sepa [Scottish Environment Protection Agency] and NatureScot seem an obvious example to potentially merge. During a twin climate and biodiversity crisis, doesn't it make sense that environmental protection and nature should go hand-in-hand? The existing set-up is not just bad for the public’s pocket, but for policy and the planet too.
"And what about the Scottish Land Commission? Couldn’t it be scrapped altogether?"
He continued: "The growth in quangos not only saddles the taxpayer with extra costs, but it reduces accountability."
Asked specifically about free university tuition fees by The Scotsman, and whether the wealthy should benefit from this, Mr Findlay said: "In terms of the freebie culture that the SNP have fuelled, nothing should really be off the table.
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Hide Ad"What I would like to look at specifically in respect of education is the amount of degrees that offer no value not just to taxpayers, but more importantly to the young people who are doing these degrees."
On tax, Mr Findlay advocated scrapping the 21p tax rate on middle earners - those earning between £26,562 and £43,662 - and simplifying the system.
"The SNP will try to claim that this unfair mess of a tax system is ‘progressive’," he said. "But it's not progress to pick the pockets of Scotland’s teachers, nurses and police officers – leaving them worse off than they would be elsewhere in the UK."
He said the tax gap between Scotland and the rest of the UK "must begin to narrow now, with the ultimate aim of closing it altogether".
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Hide AdMr Findlay said the patience of Scottish taxpayers had been “stretched to the limit”.
He delivered his speech while standing in front of a backdrop featuring the slogan “common sense for a change”, and he repeatedly took aim at the existing political consensus in Scotland.
“Holyrood has not lived up to its potential,” he said. “It has become an echo chamber for posturing and preening student politics.”
He said Scotland had been governed by “different types of socialism” in the quarter century since devolution.
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Hide AdMr Findlay, who has been an MSP for the West of Scotland since 2021, said he would work to “rebuild the broken bond of trust between politicians and the public”, adding: “We must reconnect with the common ground where mainstream Scotland stands. Our politics and public trust depend on it.”
His party is under threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and suffered its worst ever performance at the recent general election in terms of vote share. Polls suggest it will lose MSPs at the next Holyrood election in 2026.
But the new Scottish Tory leader said he was focused on setting out a “common sense, Conservative vision based upon our values and our policies, and showing the people of Scotland that we’re on their side”.
SNP MSP David Torrance accused the Tories of being “obsessed with cuts”.
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Hide AdHe said: "The SNP Government has, with limited resources, prioritised investing in our society to ensure everyone, regardless of background, is equipped to prosper.
"Record numbers of young people going to university; all new parents supported through access to the essentials; ensuring that no matter your financial situation you do not pay for prescriptions - that is the SNP delivering for Scotland.
"The Labour Party and the Tories are both obsessed with cuts upon cuts - only the SNP is calling for further investment in our vital public services."
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