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Scottish Conservative manifesto: Ross and Sunak unveil pledges – BBC News

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Scottish Conservative manifesto: Ross and Sunak unveil pledges – BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross made five key pledges at his party’s manifesto launch

The Scottish Conservatives have announced five key policy pledges in their general election manifesto.

Party leader Douglas Ross – who was joined by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at an event in Edinburgh – said the document was “laser-focused” on the public’s priorities.

He said his party would recruit more GPs and police officers, upgrade rural trunk roads, improve education and cut income tax and national insurance.

Aside from national insurance, all of the policy areas are devolved to the Scottish Parliament and are not controlled by Westminster.

Mr Ross, who has confirmed he will stand down as Scottish Tory leader after the election, said voters had a chance to “bring an end to the decade of division – and move forward to solving the everyday issues that people across Scotland face”.

Mr Ross added: “Like how we clear the record patient backlogs in our NHS.

“How we get Scottish education back up international rankings

“Or how we deliver our transition to net zero without decimating north east livelihoods and our economy.”

Mr Sunak said the election in Scotland was crucial.

“It will determine whether we have MPs focused on the real priorities of the Scottish people, or whether the divisive constitutional wrangling of the last decade continues,” he said.

Image caption, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joined Douglas Ross at the manifesto launch in Edinburgh

The five key Scottish Conservative proposals are:

  • Recruiting 1,000 extra GPs to help cut NHS waiting times
  • “Backing teachers to teach” and increasing subject choices for pupils
  • Hiring 1,000 extra police officers and introducing longer sentences for dangerous criminals, including whole life sentences
  • Upgrading Scotland’s “neglected roads”, including the A9, A96, A90, A75, A77, A83 and A1
  • Cutting national insurance
  • Abolishing the intermediate income tax rate – 21p in the pound for Scots earning between £26,562 and £43,662

Mr Ross said the income tax change would save Scottish workers up to £171 per year.

He also said his party would raise the threshold for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, a duty on house purchases, from £145,000 to £250,000. The Scottish Tory leader told the event in Edinburgh this would save buyers up to £2,100 on the cost of their home.

On energy, the Scottish Conservative manifesto said the party would legislate to ensure annual licensing rounds for oil and gas production from the North Sea, as well as creating new gas power stations.

The party vowed to treble offshore wind capacity, progress carbon capture and storage in Aberdeenshire and give planning consent for a new generation of nuclear power stations north of the border.

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