Reform UK’s new Scottish leader has pledged a cut in income tax and a bonfire of quangos to help turbocharge the economy.
Malcolm Offord said that if elected First Minister of Scotland he would revert to three income tax bands in line with the rest of the UK.
He would then cut 1p from each band with an objective of being 3p below each band in the first five years of a Reform UK government in Scotland.
Speaking at his first press conference since his appointment, Mr Offord said: “This immediate alignment will cost £1.2 billion and every 1p cut thereafter will cost £850m each.
“Therefore, the immediate cost will be £2bn which will be paid for by re-allocation of the £9bn
currently spent on highly dubious environmental protection, economic development and 132 unaccountable quangos.”
He offered no explanation about how the functions of these quangos would be deployed or what would become of the thousands of staff they employ, although Graham Simpson, the Tory defector and only Reform UK MSP, said “all parties are looking to cut the number of quangos”.
His plan was announced as former Conservative minister Suella Braverman became the latest defection to Reform UK. The former Home Secretary becomes the third sitting Tory MP to join Nigel Farage’s party in the last eleven days, and takes Reform’s tally of MPs to eight. She said: “I feel like I’ve come home.”
Mr Offord said his proposed income tax cuts were in response to frustrations among workers and business owners.
“Workers and owners in Scotland are paying too much tax,” he said. “Those with the broadest shoulders are now shrugging their shoulders and saying, ‘what’s the point…of expanding my business, of hiring more staff, of working longer hours, of launching new products?’
“What’s the point indeed? The pendulum at Holyrood has swung too far from work to welfare and Reform Scotland will build a new economy which rewards work first and creates prosperity for all.”
Mr Offord, who has renounced his peerage to seek election in May, questioned what devolution had achieved since the parliament was established 25 year ago. He said the political class had created a welfare economy “which does not create wealth; where work does not always pay more than welfare; and where 93% of Scots think the NHS needs significant reform.”
He said Scotland’s “once world famous Scottish education has gone from outstanding to average”; there is a “chronic shortage “of affordable housing; and “uncontrolled, low-skilled immigration has destabilised our communities”.
He added: “Contrary to SNP rhetoric, it has not been caused by a shortage of money. In 1999, the state spent £34bn in Scotland; today that figure is £118bn. That equates to a compound annual growth rate of 5%, so no austerity there!
“As a percentage of GDP, state spending has increased from 43% in 1999 to 55% today meaning that costs have consistently out- paced revenues. By comparison, New Zealand spends only 42% with similar GDP per head.”
Taking as swipe at the current Holyrood cohort, he said: “The reality is that modern, professional politicians have never worked in business, never had to generate their own revenues, never had to use their own money to make payroll on a Friday.
“Most professional politicians are financially illiterate and yet make spending decisions worth billions of pounds of taxpayers money. And the one thing they all pay lip service to, but never deliver on, is economic growth.”
On Reform’s ambitions for 7 May, he said: “Reform UK will be standing 73 new candidates covering every single constituency in Scotland. And what an impressive bunch they are: doctors, lawyers, economists, entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses, small business owners, farmers, civil servants, local councillors etc. experts from all walks of life and from every part of Scotland.
“Not professional politicians, instead passionate Scots who are dismayed by our country after 18 years of SNP.”
On the Scottish government’s finances, he quoted the official GERS figures that confirm Scotland collects tax revenues of £90bn, giving a £30bn short-fall against the total spend of £120bn.
“This £30bn deficit is funded by the block grant from UK Treasury supported by sterling and it is four times the deficit allowed by the EU, which is why [SNP leader and First Minister] John Swinney’s plan for leaving the UK to join Europe is pie-in-the-sky.
“John Swinney is being disingenuous with the country and disrespectful to his own supporters by promising to deliver Independence with the reality of this deficit conveniently ignored.
“If he really was serious about Independence, he would have spent the last 18 years reducing this deficit in preparation for separation, instead his Scotland is earning the equivalent of £750 per week and spending £1,000 per week.
“Fortunately, the UK Treasury backed by sterling is content to fund this deficit on a friends and family basis, but international bond markets would not be so kind with an independent Scotland. Borrowing costs would be extortionate without a creditable currency and international investors would demand swinging austerity to balance the books.”
“In Scotland, we are protected from bond markets because we borrow through the UK Treasury which gives us access to affordable borrowing thanks to the credibility of sterling built up over 300 years.”
He said that after the economy and the NHS, “the third most salient policy area of concern to Scots is immigration.”
He explained: “Our political opponents accuse us of fabricating this grievance because it suits them to pretend that this isn’t really a problem.
“Some want to label it as purely an English phenomenon, others take any opportunity to smear those of us who raise legitimate concerns.
“We totally reject that narrative, because the authenticity of Reform UK is to speak the truth on any issue. The sad reality is that immigration is now a serious issue here in Scotland and it cannot simply be wished away, swept under the carpet and ignored.
“Make no mistake, Scots have always been welcoming to immigrants and we have a good track record of community cohesion and integration.
“But right now, especially in this cost of living scenario, we need to prioritise our own people over strangers. Instead, from Inverness to Falkirk, local people are witnessing priority of services, opportunity and safety being given to strangers, and that is not fair.
“Which brings me to the economic reality. Our population in Scotland is 5.5m of whom 3.6m are of working age. Of that cohort, 2.6m are active in work and 1m are economically inactive.
Exempting students, carers, early retirees and the long-term disabled leaves half-a-million Scots of working age locked out of aspiration and prosperity. Such wasted talent!
“This is a mark of national shame, and it needs to be addressed by Holyrood as a matter of national urgency. Work is a key component of the Scottish DNA. We need to help our neighbours back onto the pathway to work.”
Asked by Daily Business what would become of the renewables sector under the party’s to reduce the UK’s commitment to net zero, he replied that the country had been promised cheap energy, but following the recent wind farm allocations, the UK was committed to 50 years of subsidies.
“Is that a good use of our money?” he said.
Asked how the government would compensate those who might lose out by a reversal of green policies, he said the current subsidy regime “is the biggest transfer of money from the poor to the rich since Robin Hood.”
#Offord #income #tax #cut #work #welfare #plan #Daily #Business