Russell Findlay has announced he will “hand back £500 to Scotland’s pensioners” if they win the Holyrood election as he admitted his party is facing difficulties during the Scottish Conservatives manifesto launch in Edinburgh today.
The Scottish Conservative leader said that helping “hard-pressed Scots” should be the top issue in the election as he outlined the plan to knock £500 off pensioners’ tax bills.
The pledge comes as Mr Findlay acknowledged the scale of the challenges facing his party.
The Herald pointed out that he had drawn a smiley face on his speech notes during a huddle with journalists following his manifesto launch in Edinburgh on Tuesday.
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Asked why he had drawn a smiley face, the Conservative leader said: "It's a very difficult job. Nobody thought this was going to be easy.
"Kemi [Badenoch] and I took control of the party around about the same time and we knew this was not going to be a quick fix but I think if people across Scotland actually listen to what we are saying, we are talking about the issues that matter to them. What we are saying resonates with people.
"They don't want a parliament fixated on another five years of constitution wrangling or a parliament that's going to talk about gender or hate crimes. They want a parliament that's going to focus on reducing the cost of living, growing the economy, bringing down taxation and that's where our focus will be on."
A recent Norstat survey for The Sunday Times suggested that, if replicated on May 7, the Conservatives would fall to 12 seats — less than half of their current 28 MSPs — dropping from Holyrood’s main opposition party to fifth place.
Announcing his tax relief for pensioners, Mr Findlay contrasted his plan with Sir Keir Starmer, who he described as a “millionaire lawyer” who “snatched” away winter fuel payments from pensioners in Scotland.
Under the policy, pensioners would be able to claim back the first £500 they pay in tax on their pension income. This figure would then be triple-locked, increasing in line with earnings, inflation or 2% – whichever figure is highest.
Mr Findlay said: “This is a recognition that pensioners, who have paid in throughout their lives into the system and are trying to enjoy a retirement on what is a modest and difficult retirement income, to give them £500 by way of tax rebate.”
The party estimates the policy would cost the Scottish budget £209 million in 2029-30, rising to £230 million a year by 2031-32. It says the measure would be funded through “reductions in benefits spending and public sector bureaucracy”.
Mr Findlay added: “We are confident in these numbers…They are costed and credible.”
Under the same plans from the Scottish Conservatives, working families on low incomes would have their Scottish Child Payment cut.
Earlier, the party also outlined plans to cut income tax by raising the threshold at which workers begin paying, introducing a new lower rate of 19%, and ending the freeze on the higher-rate threshold.
The Conservatives say these tax reductions would be funded by reining in the SNP’s £7 billion benefits bill and reducing government bureaucracy.
The party made a raft of wider promises to voters during the launch. These include a pledge that “every woman has the right to be seen by a female GP”, the creation of a parents panel on “socially contentious” issues in schools, and plans to send prisoners to foreign jails.
Mr Findlay vowed to “give absolutely everything” to prevent John Swinney and the SNP from winning a majority in next month’s Holyrood election, warning this could lead to the “living nightmare” of a second vote on the future of the UK.
Mr Findlay said the prospect of a second “divisive and distracting referendum” is “not just concerning to me, but terrifying”.
He added: “We cannot allow John Swinney to plunge the next parliament into constitutional chaos.
“If we prevent an SNP majority, we can stop John Swinney from pushing ahead with his plans for a referendum.”
He said he is “going to give absolutely everything I’ve got to stop the SNP on May 7”, adding Scotland “desperately needs to break the SNP’s toxic spell”.
On the Tory policies, he said he is offering the “most comprehensive manifesto our party has ever produced for a Holyrood election”.
He quipped it was the “most exciting launch since Artemis II blasted off into the clear blue sky”.
The Scottish Conservative leader is urging voters to back the party on the regional, or “peach”, ballot paper in a bid to block an SNP majority in the Scottish Parliament.
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