SCOTTISH Labour has proposed giving every adult £75 to spend in local shops to help struggling high streets recover from the pandemic.
Leader Anas Sarwar said the £340million proposal would be the largest and most radical economic stimulus plan in the history of devolution.
“This is a chance to reward Scottish families for their sacrifices in the last year and help keep fellow Scots in work to support our national recovery,” he said.
Under the plan, 4.5m people aged 16 or over would get a prepaid card which could only be spent in a physical premises - not online - and would be valid for six months.
It would be limited to “non-food retail”, as supermarkets have managed relatively well during lockdown.
The cards could also not be used to buy tobacco or alcohol, transferred to savings, or spent on household bills or gambling.
Any unused money would be donated to foodbanks.
The idea is a massively scaled up version of a £10m scheme in Jersey, where residents were given £100 vouchers last year as part of a Covid recovery plan.
More than a quarter of the money there went on food and bills, something not possible under the Labour plan.
Labour also said it wanted to boost the Scottish tourist industry by offering people a third free night in holiday accommodation in a “Great Scottish Staycation scheme”.
It would be accompanied by a ‘Scotland is open’ campaign to welcome visitors from across the UK.
Any tourist travelling within or to Scotland from the British Isles in September, October and November would be eligible, with up to £50 available per person towards the cost of their third night, capped at £100 per hotel room or £50 per person in other accommodation.
The package is aimed at encouraging shoppers and tourists to support local economies, when safe, and “redressing the balance following the boom for large online retailers”.
Mr Sarwar said cafes and bars had been excluded from the scheme because they should benefit indirectly from increased footfall as a result of the vouchers.
He also denied the cards and longer holidays would be a middle-class perk, saying a universal rather than targeted scheme was simpler and cheaper to run, while working class people also took holidays.
He said: “The last year has been tough for us all. The pandemic has separated us from our friends, families and neighbours.
“But amid the hope of an end to the public health emergency, we must recognise that Scotland still faces a job crisis.
“Without urgent and ambitious action in towns across this country, hundreds of thousands of people face a future out of work - with empty town centres hollowing out once vibrant communities.
“But it doesn’t have to be that way - the people of Scotland deserve a brighter future, and we have it in our power to act.
“This is bold and ambitious thinking to aid our economic recovery and get Scotland back on track.
“This scheme would invite people from across the UK to visit every corner of our beautiful country - saving jobs and creating a lifelong love of Scotland.”
He added: “This is a chance to reward Scottish families for their sacrifices in the last year and help keep fellow Scots in work to support our national recovery.
“A vote for us at this election is for a parliament focused on solutions, not divisions - a stronger recovery for every community and every family.”
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