Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay branded the Scottish Greens extremists who want to abolish prisons and legalise class-A drugs. He likened the SNP to a group of gangsters who rule with ruthlessness and demand blind loyalty, and compared long-serving MSPs to prisoners who have been incarcerated for lengthy periods. Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer stood by candidate Kate Nevens, who described herself as a prison abolitionist.
Greer claimed prisons are only needed for a small number of violent individuals who have committed horrendous offences. The Scottish Conservatives have proposed several economic measures. Russell Findlay promised to cut taxes permanently for businesses in Scotland if his party wins the Holyrood election.
It's a tough question. I genuinely think the Greens, if you just look at some of what they are proposing.
The Scottish Conservative manifesto pledges to end extreme business rates by capping the maximum rise each cycle. Russell Findlay has reversed his position on assisted dying legislation. He was one of 70 MSPs who backed the general principles of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill last May, but has announced he will now oppose the bill at stage three.
On infrastructure, Russell Findlay demanded the accelerated upgrade of key roads including the A75 and A77 in south-west Scotland. The Scottish Conservatives are proposing an emergency law to fast track the dualling of the A75, A77, A9, A96, and remaining sections of the A1. Findlay also criticized Reform UK and the SNP's handling of road maintenance.
Just this week, we’ve had a senior candidate who may well end up in Holyrood saying we should abolish prisons. That would mean murderers and rapists aren’t locked up.
He claimed Nigel Farage’s Reform UK cannot be trusted on the Union or its key policies. Findlay said the SNP’s pothole epidemic has left parts of Scotland looking like a third world country. The Scottish Conservatives would introduce a National Pothole Action Fund for kerb-to-kerb resurfacing.
Other party leaders have outlined their positions. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar pledged a £100 million emergency plan to cut household bills and petrol prices. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole Hamilton said he would rather have an early election than prop up a failing SNP.
It is their policy that heroin and crack cocaine should be effectively legalised, which would cause further devastation and drugs deaths in Scotland.
Additional context includes ferry network issues and retail sector concerns. John Swinney claimed widespread disruption to the CalMac ferry network was due to a perfect storm of annual maintenance and repairs. The Scottish Retail Consortium warned that medium and larger shops in Scotland will pay £162 million more than their English counterparts over the next three years.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies concluded that key policies in Reform UK's manifesto are not fiscally credible.
So, I think the Greens actually win that contest.
As the party of business, the Scottish Conservatives are committed to creating a positive environment for firms to thrive – which would create jobs and increase prosperity.
Scottish businesses and workers are being relentlessly hammered by SNP and Labour taxes.
My party would fundamentally overhaul Scotland’s business rates system to make them fair and transparent.
People might raise an eyebrow when you say there are comparisons between the behaviours of organised crime and my political opponents, but there are some pretty stark parallels.
If you take organised crime, there's an expectation of blind loyalty to those who are your associates, those who are in your gang. The cost of betrayal is severe. They will protect one another against all the odds, and there's an absolute ruthlessness to the way in which they treat their opponents.
I think you can probably see why I sometimes look at the SNP and I think they are a pretty well-oiled, ruthless machine that doesn’t tolerate dissent.
While I remain in agreement with the general principle that individuals should be able to choose to end their own lives to avoid unnecessary suffering, I am not able to vote for the Bill at stage three.
Year after year, John Swinney’s useless SNP has broken its repeated promises to upgrade Scotland’s lifeline roads.
Reform cannot be trusted on the Union. They cannot be trusted, full stop.
Their manifesto fell apart inside 24 hours. The IFS think tank described key pledges as a “mirage”. It was based on fantasy figures.
Sometimes this looks like a third-world country we’re in. Scotland’s pothole epidemic is a monument to two decades of neglect and failure by the SNP.
The state of our local roads is appalling and dangerous – and the buck stops with John Swinney, whose government has starved councils of the resources needed to repair them.