Scotland’s political parties accused of ‘lack of realism’ over manifesto plans
Scotland’s political parties have been accused of a “lack of realism” over how commitments made to voters ahead of next week’s election will be funded – with a new report claiming all the major parties do not appreciate “just how tough the fiscal challenges” will be for the next government.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said that a slowdown in cash from the UK Government, combined with growing demands – and costs – for health and social care and devolved Scottish benefits, together with a “hangover from some bad budgeting habits” by the last Scottish government means whoever is in charge after May 7 will find their budget “under significant pressure”.
In a paper published 10 days before polling day, the IFS said that plans to either expand the welfare state, as proposed by both the Scottish Greens and the SNP, or alternatively to cut taxes – as put forward by both Reform UK and the Scottish Conservatives – would require “difficult decisions elsewhere in the Scottish budget”.
It is worth pointing out that a lack of realism is what most voters vote for. If political parties venture out onto the thin ice of realism, they are likely to find out what inadequate support feels like and ease themselves back to the safety of caveats and vague aspirations.
9 comments:
Apparently Haringay, where I lived as a young man, is full of the unrealistic. Good luck to them, they may be exemplars for the Countries future.
Why do parents discussing their household expenditure not use words like "funding" , " expenditure " , " fiscal challenges" ?
Because they live in the real world. They cannot spend what they do not have.
"It is worth pointing out that a lack of realism is what most voters vote for. If political parties venture out onto the thin ice of realism ....."
Freeing normies from the chains they revere?
Trouble is that once you allow even a tiny bit of realism into a narrative, the realism spreads and the narrative collapses.
Reality - the universal solvent for politics.
Tammly - that may become the pattern and to some degree it already is, unrealistic districts where the unrealistic live and don't work.
Doonhamer - yes they live in the real world. Words like "funding" , "expenditure" and "fiscal challenges" entice far too many people to a land where the Magic Money Tree grows.
James - yes, they vote for the chains, it' seems safer than freedom. We saw it during the pandemic debacle and what a forcefully depressing message that was.
DJ - and that seems to be where fear of social media is rooted. The house of cards is not built to withstand realism.
As far as the SNP are concerned, their "appeal" is nothing to do with good governance, or fiscal rectitude, or any of those boring things. It's only and always about bashing the English. That is why, despite numerous notorious and embarrassing failures (think ferries, NHS, violent men in womens' prisons, etc etc), they are about to be elected yet again.
I sometimes think that the root of the problem is the universal franchise. Maybe we should go back to the franchise used in many of the boroughs before the Great Reform Act. Or, wouldn't it be amusing if we adopted the franchise used in the early years of the USA?
Peter - that's my impression from this side of the border. Hugely destructive and a great pity, but it doesn't feel dramatically better this side.
dearieme - I sometimes think that the root of the problem is the universal franchise too. The thought becomes more frequent as I grow older. Ironically, voting reform has made voting reform virtually impossible.
If only we could combine DJ's solvent with the electorate!
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