The Scotsman Politics: FMQs Review
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Good afternoon.
00:09 We're here on the Scotsman's Politics Show
00:11 to do the wrap of the final First Minister's Questions
00:15 for the year.
00:16 My name's Dale Miller, I'm Head of News at the Scotsman,
00:18 and I'm joined by our political correspondent,
00:21 Rachel Armory.
00:22 Rachel, Humza Yousaf was back in the chair
00:25 answering questions today, and no great surprise,
00:29 it was all about the budget,
00:31 and there was plenty of spirit.
00:32 I'm not sure whether it was festive spirit,
00:34 but it was certainly spirited exchanges.
00:37 - I definitely think it would be a spirited exchange.
00:39 That's definitely a good way to put it there.
00:41 There's a lot of back and forth there
00:42 between Humza Yousaf, Douglas Ross, and Anna Sarwar.
00:45 Lots of cheering amongst the MSPs.
00:47 The Presiding Officer had to stop proceedings
00:49 quite a few times to tell people off
00:51 and tell them to calm down a bit,
00:53 particularly referencing the front bench of the SNP as well.
00:56 So yes, spirited is definitely a good word
00:58 for what happened today at FMQs.
01:00 But it was mostly focused on the budget today,
01:02 as you said, we predicted that
01:04 because it's what all anyone's been talking about this week.
01:07 Both are criticising the government
01:09 for increasing income tax rates
01:11 and potentially the impact that that will have
01:13 on higher earners.
01:14 We had something in the Scotsman today
01:16 suggesting that higher earners in this new income tax band,
01:20 that's between 75,000 pound and 125,000 pound in earnings,
01:24 may move to Northern England
01:26 or choose to live there instead of Scotland
01:27 because of the high tax rates.
01:29 That's something Douglas Ross brought up today,
01:31 suggesting that people in the NHS,
01:33 or nurses, doctors, specialised staff,
01:35 may choose to leave the NHS or cut down their hours
01:39 to try and pay less tax.
01:40 So that was something that he was very keen to point out.
01:43 Palace News' response, of course,
01:44 was saying that we've avoided doctor strikes in Scotland,
01:49 I think there's one in England right now, actually,
01:51 and that nurses are better paid here
01:53 than elsewhere in the UK as well.
01:54 So he was very keen to point that out in the budget.
01:57 Anna Sarwar is going down a very similar route,
01:59 suggesting that people will not be happy paying more tax
02:02 when NHS services are not up to scratch.
02:05 People will not be happy with their rates going up
02:07 when waiting lists are not going down.
02:10 And it was also quite interesting as well,
02:11 because we were talking beforehand,
02:13 will there be some festive anecdotes put in the mix here?
02:16 And there was a little one,
02:17 with Humza Yousaf saying that Anna Sarwar
02:20 should ask Santa for a backbone this Christmas,
02:21 which I thought was pretty funny.
02:24 - Rachel, we've had a couple of weeks
02:26 where Humza hasn't been in the chair,
02:28 he was missing through illness last week,
02:31 and then we know a couple of weeks ago he was at COP28,
02:33 and Shona Robison had to stand in on both occasions.
02:37 Did it feel different today with him back in the driving seat
02:40 in terms of how he was pushing SNP messaging
02:43 in particular around the budget?
02:45 - I think so, because it's where he's comfortable.
02:47 We know that Shona Robison, while Deputy First Minister,
02:50 that's not her day-to-day job to do FMQs.
02:52 So it was good to see Humza Yousaf back in the chair there,
02:54 and definitely, as we were seeing earlier,
02:57 lots of them backing for us, lots of them,
02:59 lots of cheering and cheering.
03:01 So I think he was definitely comfortable
03:02 being back in the position.
03:03 It was good to see him back there as well
03:05 after a few weeks off
03:06 and having Shona Robison in his place.
03:08 - And rail fares, some of our readers
03:12 would have picked up on this late yesterday.
03:14 There was an announcement that an 8.7% rise
03:19 in line with CPI to May of this year would be brought in.
03:22 That's for all ScotRail services from April next year,
03:26 also all Caledonian sleeper services from January.
03:30 That basically means your average ticket at the moment,
03:33 if you were travelling Edinburgh, Glasgow,
03:35 given that we have the peak fare suspension in place,
03:38 goes up from just under 14 pounds day return
03:42 to about 15 pounds, 50 roughly.
03:47 It is a significant rise.
03:49 We do know that they've extended
03:51 the peak fare suspension trial for three months,
03:54 but Rachel, I believe Humza addressed that post FMQs.
03:59 - Yes, it's quite interesting actually.
04:00 You mentioned this, I get the train into work
04:02 from Perth to Edinburgh each morning,
04:04 and both yesterday and this morning,
04:07 the person at the ticket desk was very keen
04:09 to point out what's happening with rail fares.
04:11 It's clearly a big, big hot issue amongst people,
04:15 particularly those who use the trains regularly.
04:17 It was something that we stopped Humza Yusuf
04:19 to talk about after FMQs on his way out,
04:21 basically trying to defend the Scottish Government's
04:24 decision here, saying we're still scrapped peak fares,
04:27 it's still going to be cheaper than had it been otherwise.
04:30 So plenty to talk about the trains too,
04:33 but I'm sure there'll be plenty of people
04:35 a bit disappointed to see it going up by so much.
04:37 - Is public transport in Scotland affordable?
04:40 - Public transport in Scotland is affordable,
04:42 and that's why, of course, what we're looking to do
04:45 is of course make it even more affordable.
04:46 That's why, of course, we have a pilot
04:48 scrapping rail peak fares, and of course,
04:52 any fare increase is going to be unwelcome,
04:54 but I hope people understand, because of 13 and a half years
04:56 of Westminster austerity, we are having significant
04:59 pressures on our budget and we have to respond accordingly.
05:02 But look, the budget outlined, of course,
05:04 further extension to that pilot in terms of rail fares,
05:07 peak fares, but also, of course, our commitment
05:09 to bus travel, concessionary travel.
05:12 - Are you worried that it could discourage people
05:13 from using public transport, though,
05:14 for the increase in fares?
05:15 - We'll continue to do what we can
05:17 to try to make it affordable, and that's why
05:19 the removal of peak fares for a pilot
05:22 has been extended for the further couple of months.
05:25 - I know Aslef, the union brand,
05:27 and then an outrageous slap in the face
05:29 to go up by that much.
05:31 Clearly, it's the CPI rate that they've used,
05:33 the inflation rate having now dipped just below 4%,
05:37 but when you hear about a rise of 8.7%, it is a shock.
05:42 Rachel, thank you very much for joining us.
05:44 A Merry Christmas to you when it comes,
05:46 a Merry Christmas to all our readers and viewers as well.
05:51 You can, as always over the festive period,
05:55 tune into scottsman.com for all your latest news.
05:58 We will still be running a regular daily news service.
06:02 You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram,
06:05 and go out and buy a copy of the paper tomorrow.
06:06 Thanks for joining us.
06:08 - Merry Christmas.
06:09 (upbeat music)
06:13 (upbeat music)
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