Honesty needed on costs and benefits Some austerity is the inevitable consequence of the 2008 world banking crisis. Labour would not have the depth of cuts that the coalition imposed which has resulted in three years of stagnation and falling living standards.

Labour’s call for a mature debate backed by the Christie Commission and by respected economic journalists like Bill Jamieson, have been brushed aside. The SNP is addicted to populist ‘give-aways’. Every give-away has benefited the better off more than the less well off. Every give -away has had consequences .

Prescription charges gave away more than £50 million although previously charges were only paid by 1 in 6 of us. The system was badly in need of wholesale reform of the sort Kate Barker proposes in her King’s Fund report. But the consequence of abolition has been fewer cancer drugs in Scotland and pressure on the NHS.

The ending of the graduate endowment is estimated to cost around £60 million. The payment was only ever made by 50% of better-off graduates. The result of abolition is stark. The total amount spent on student grants has fallen by 35% in the last academic year which means that Scotland now offers the lowest maximum value of student grant of any jurisdiction in Western Europe. In the same period levels of student debt have increased by 65% or £175 million. Remember the SNP ‘dump the debt’ campaign?

At the same time, this SNP government has cut college places by 140,000. These places are vital to those seeking skills, particularly young people and cutting them disempowers many, Free bus passes, which Labour introduced, are eligibility-based on age. They hugely benefit older people dependent on public transport and reduce isolation particularly in rural areas. But I got vilified in 2011 by Keith Brown for daring to suggest that those of us eligible but still working should not get this subsidy. Even restricting the pass to off-peak was howled down by the SNP. The result is that Government bus subsidies have been reduced, leading to cuts in essential services in rural areas and to less well off housing estates.

The council tax freeze has resulted in higher community charges and 41,000 council jobs lost . This means fewer or poorer services. These are more relied upon by the less well off. The freeze which is now in its seventh year does not benefit those who are on benefits or a basic pension at all. It benefits those in the highest band-rated more expensive houses more than three times as much as those in the smallest houses.

One of the most significant problems facing us is the inequity in care. The social care system is close to collapse with poor, often minimal, wages for many social care staff and rising charges for community-based care. If you get a physical condition which is terminal the NHS is then free, backed by the free hospice network. If you get dementia and need a care home then, unless you have less than £23,000 of assets, and despite free personal care, you will pay at least £24,000 every year for your care home.

The SNP will not even debate these issues. We deserve better.

Policies have to be more progressive and currently, there is not a single SNP fiscal policy which benefits the less well off more than the better off.

As always, if you have any concerns or an issue you feel I may be able to help you with, you can contact me at Richard.simpson.msp@scottish.parliament.uk or my team on 01786 446515.

To keep up to date on my Parliamentary work, please visit my website: www.richardsimpson.info or find me on social media. I can be found on twitter at @rsimpsonmsp, or on Facebook at richardsimpsonmsp