It’s clear Scotland can do so much better than the chaos in Downing Street

We took a big step towards that recovery yesterday when the Scottish Parliament voted to support the first budget co-produced by Greens in government. Despite the difficult backdrop of Covid and Westminster cuts, it is a positive and ambitious Budget that focuses on tackling child poverty and the climate crisis.

The last two years have seen inequality increase throughout our society. Across the country people and communities have made huge sacrifices to get through the pandemic. Their Prime Minister may have been too busy writing a book to attend emergency Cobra meetings but they were doing everything they could to protect themselves and the people they care about.

In contrast, this Scottish Government will double the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week, worth an additional £500 a year per child to families. This will help us mitigate some of the damage done by the Tories’ cruel cut to Universal Credit. Though it neatly illustrates how Scotland staying in the UK means spending hundreds of millions of pounds not to improve people’s lives but rather to simply stop the Tories from making them much worse.

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Even before the pandemic our teachers were working some of the longest hours in Europe. But over the last two years they have gone above and beyond. This budget includes £145 million to recruit more teachers and support staff.

Recognising that many people are experiencing bereavement, isolation and personal and financial anxiety, we are investing a record £1.2 billion in mental health services and providing a pay rise for the social care workers who do so much for us.

This week we announced an extra £120m for councils, further safeguarding local services that we all rely on. The total settlement provided to councils for the provisions of local services will now rise by more than a billion pounds.

We are delivering record spending for walking, wheeling and cycling and a £2bn climate package. Next week will see the introduction of free bus travel for everyone under 22, which will help family budgets, take cars off the road and reduce air pollution in urban areas.

Next week will see the introduction of free bus travel for everyone under the age of 22

The transition to a Green economy has to be just and fair. This budget includes the first £20m of the £500m Just Transition Fund that we are delivering to ensure that Moray and the north-east are supported through the move away from oil and gas. These communities will be at the forefront of our plans to create thousands of lasting green jobs.

These are not just words in a newspaper, they are real and significant changes that will make a lasting impact for families across Scotland.

The contrast in ambition and values between what we are doing within Scotland and the austerity and pain being inflicted by the corrupt and incompetent Tories in Westminster could not be clearer. We are investing in people and services while they are targeting vulnerable people with cuts and feathering the nests of their donors.

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This is a positive budget with positive changes. But there have also been big challenges. We have produced it despite a 5.2% cut in the funding provided by the UK Government. That’s more than a billion pounds.

This cut is due to Covid-specific funding being withdrawn by Westminster at a time when the impact of the virus is still very much with us. As an example, bus and rail use is still down by a third, which means that significant subsidies are needed to keep essential services operating. There are similar pressures on every area of government spending.

The Scottish Tories have not uttered a word of concern or condemnation about the cuts their Westminster colleagues are imposing. They have even claimed that the 5% cut is actually an increase. This isn’t just a case of politicians picking and choosing figures that support their argument, it is actively misleading. We can see through it, and so can the people of Scotland.

Every year Labour and the Conservatives try to out-do each other in making uncosted demands on a fixed budget without suggesting where the money should be cut from or which taxes should be raised.

The cuts and misinformation will continue as long as we remain tied to a Westminster government that has little interest in those hurt by their decisions.

That is why independence is essential. When we consider the lies, chaos, cuts and racism coming out of Downing Street on a daily basis, it is clear that Scotland can do so much better than this.

As we look to the future, it is vital that we learn from the pandemic. It has been the people with the least who have suffered the most. They are also the ones who have the least access to the UK’s media and corridors of power, forcing them to suffer in silence.

These last two years have emphasised how interdependent our lives are. None of us is safe until all of us are safe. We need to ensure that fairness and resilience are always at the heart of our services and systems.

With Greens in government we are building a better society, one which values solidarity and equality. Yesterday’s Budget was an important step in that journey. I am proud that, thanks to the record number of people who voted Green last May, we have been able to deliver so much in just our first few months in office.