THE contest to succeed Theresa May as the UK's next prime minister has been branded a "horror show" by Scotland's First Minister.
Nicola Sturgeon spoke out after frontrunner Boris Johnson unveiled a plan to give a massive income tax cut to higher earners south of the border.
The former foreign secretary wants to increase the threshold at which people in the rest of the UK start paying income tax at 40p from £50,000 to £80,000.
The change would not apply in Scotland, as the setting of income tax is now devolved to Holyrood ministers.
But it would be part funded by increasing employee national insurance payments, which Westminster has sole control over.
With this rise applying across the UK, SNP MSP Angela Constance said: "Scottish taxpayers now face the prospect of paying for a tax cut for the likes of Boris Johnson and his cronies."
She added: "That would be entirely indefensible - and is only likely to see a further rise in support for independence, which would give Scotland full powers over tax."
Meanwhile, Sturgeon took to Twitter to voice her concerns.
What a horror show the Tory leadership election is. Tax cuts for the richest, attacks on abortion rights, hypocrisy on drugs, continued Brexit delusion. True colours well and truly on show.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 10, 2019
The SNP leader stated: "What a horror show the Tory leadership election is. Tax cuts for the richest, attacks on abortion rights, hypocrisy on drugs, continued Brexit delusion. True colours well and truly on show."
Her comments came as the race to be the next Conservative leader officially got under way, with some of the candidates vying to succeed May launching their campaigns.
Michael Gove, the Scottish-born Environment Secretary, is battling to stay in the contest, after his admission of cocaine use led to calls to withdraw.
Fellow leadership hopeful Rory Stewart has already had to apologise for smoking opium at a wedding in Iran.
Meanwhile Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary who is now Foreign Secretary, said he was still in favour of reducing the legal time limit for abortion from 24 weeks to 12 weeks.
And both Dominic Raab and Esther McVey have come in for criticism after they refused to rule out suspending Parliament in order to get a no-deal Brexit through.
Setting out his tax plans in his Daily Telegraph column, Johnson said: "We should be raising thresholds of income tax - so that we help the huge numbers that have been captured in the higher rate by fiscal drag."
But Constance hit out and stated: "Boris Johnson's priorities are all wrong - and this latest wheeze is an appalling insight into the future of the country if he gets his way.
"This proposal has more to do with appealing to Tory MPs than to meeting the very real challenges facing the UK. Yet, bizarrely, Boris Johnson remains frontrunner to be the next Prime Minister."
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has already backed Home Secretary Sajid Javid in the leadership race.
Davidson said that Javid, the son of a Pakistani bus driver, "embodies the Conservative values of aspiration, education, opportunity, hard work and just reward".
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel