Greene: Lib Dems will squeeze Scottish Budget for every penny
Scottish Liberal Democrat economy and finance spokesperson Jamie Greene MSP has today said that his party will continue to squeeze the SNP Government “for every penny” as the budget negotiations continue, and emphasised the hundreds of millions of pounds of government investment backing Scottish Liberal Democrat priorities in the draft budget.
The Scottish Liberal Democrat priorities set out in the draft budget include:
- A new £2.5m package backing young entrepreneurs
- £7.5m to improve neurodevelopmental assessments for children and young people facing long waits for help
- £6.5m for hospices contending with rising costs
- £70m for colleges which are in a perilous state
- £1.8m to remove peak fares on Northern Isles ferries for island residents
- £36m for business rates relief
- £651m more for councils
Jamie Greene said that in the coming weeks, Scottish Liberal Democrats will press the government to go further, “squeezing the budget for every penny we can.”
Jamie Greene said:
“The hundreds of millions of pounds backing Scottish Liberal Democrat priorities in this budget show just how serious we are about getting stuff done, but a deal isn’t done until we’ve exhausted all avenues to squeeze the SNP for more cash.
“Our efforts mean that this draft budget includes more money to help small businesses, to support the next generation of entrepreneurs, to remove peak fares of Northern Isles ferries for island residents. There’s more money for councils, for hospices, for colleges, for people waiting on a neurodevelopmental assessment. Every single one of those were key Lib Dems asks of the budget, and we made that clear in our discussions.
“The Tories can shout all they like about the budget, but they never seriously ask for, or get, anything out of one. They have really missed an opportunity to get something for their constituents, and they continuously act irresponsibly when it comes to achieving anything in politics.
“Labour turned up to the card game with a transparent deck and similarly have got nothing in this budget, in stark contrast to the Lib Dems.
“In the coming weeks, we will use our leverage as an opposition party to get the Scottish Government to go further, squeezing them for every penny, so that we can deliver for our constituents. Why would we not?
"From local government to businesses, the responses to this budget are coming in thick and fast. We're engaging with key sectors about what more they want to see, and those conversations will be key to informing the next steps in our negotiations.
“With the Scottish Liberal Democrats, you get grown-up, sensible politics. You can get more of that by backing us at May’s election on your second, peach-coloured ballot paper. The more MSPs we have, the more stuff we can get done.”
