Income Tax (Charge)

Elaine Stewart Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Elaine Stewart (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

The Budget was a huge victory for mineworkers. I was born in a mining community, in a pit village called Bellsbank. Today, sadly, coalfield communities like the one I was raised in are still behind the national average on growth and prosperity. Unemployment, poor health and lack of opportunity have created a legacy of deprivation in those once lively communities. With that in mind, I was immensely proud to stand for election on a manifesto that promised to end the injustice of the mineworkers’ pension scheme, so that the people who powered our country would receive a fairer pension. I am delighted that we have a Chancellor who listens to colleagues and a Government committed to ending injustices. Now, almost 700 pensioners in my constituency of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock will receive £29 a week more in their pension. That was the pension uplift for 112,000 former mineworkers across the country.

The Budget protects working people in Scotland, and injects more money than ever before into our public services. The Scottish Government will need to ensure that that additional funding for public services reaches the frontlines, bringing down waiting lists in the NHS and raising attainment in our schools.

People in Scotland rightly expect results. The SNP is pretending that its hands are tied, and that somehow its decisions do not matter, but this is not just about having more money; it is about spending money better. The NHS in Scotland is in perpetual crisis because of the SNP Government’s chaos, mismanagement and incompetence. After 17 years of the SNP in power in Scotland, we are left with the reality of a two-tier health system. Patients in pain are forced to scrape money together to go private. Over 860,000 patients—equivalent to one in six Scots—are on an NHS waiting list for tests or treatment. My sister has awaited a hip replacement for over 14 months. Decisions in the Budget mean that the Scottish Government will receive more per person than the rest of the UK.

The Labour Government are committed to growing day-to-day spending on essential services, delivering 40,000 extra appointments a week and reducing NHS waiting lists. When will we see the same ambition from the Scottish Government and the SNP?