First Minister John Swinney defends near £20,000 pay rise for SNP ministers as ‘fair’ | UK News

John Swinney awarded his ministers a £ 20,000 increase, but rejected the Wagebult himself to avoid the perception he benefited from his own decisions.

Scotland’s Prime Minister lifted the salary freeze – set by the former Snp Leader Alex Salmond in 2009 – to coincide with the beginning of the new tax year.

All ministers receive £ 19.126 extra of this month, and take the salary of a cabinet secretary to £ 116.125 and a junior minister to £ 100.575.

This comes because many Scots are forced to tighten their belts in the midst of the upcoming domestic accounts, Including council tax increases from up to 15.6%.

Mr Swinney deny that he made the decision to lift the payment of the wage in an attempt to attract SNP -LPs from Westminster to Holyrood.

This is because many prominent MSPs have announced that they intend to retire before the Scottish parliamentary election in 2026.

The list contains former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza YoussafSecretary of Rural Affairs Mairi Gougeon, Financial Secretary Shona Robison and the Secretary of Transport Fiona Hyslop

During a news conference in Bute House in Edinburgh on Monday, Mr. Swinney said: “I had no conversations with Westminster colleagues about the decision.”

The Prime Minister said the freezing point of 16 years is’ needed ‘, adding:’ But I have applied the principle of fairness that I think that all members of the Scottish Parliament should take the salary they are entitled to.

“I reflected on my own position as the decision maker and decided that people did not think that I made a decision from which I personally benefit, that I will leave my salary – MSP and ministerial – so there is no feeling that I benefit from decisions that I believe are fair to make for others.”

MSP Craig Hoy, the Scottish Conservatives’ Shadow Finance Secretary, branded the SNP’s performance in office as “uniformly gloomy”.

He added: “Nationalist politicians have made a mess of everything they touch – our NHS, education, housing, policing and transport – while suffocating the economy, penetrating and making cruel cuts Scotland The part of the UK with the highest tax. ‘

John O’Connell, CEO of the Alliance of Taxbo Payers, said “Scots will absolutely struggle”.

He added: “The public empire is in a miserable state in Scotland, with politicians failing to comply with voters’ priorities, while also hammering taxpayers with some of the highest accounts in the UK.

“If these ministers had a disgrace, they would abandon this wage increase and not consider another one until they boosted living standards, measured by GDP per capita.”

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During the media conference, Mr. Swinney also announced that the Scottish Government Legislative Program will be published on May 6 earlier than usual to make a ‘full year of delivery’ before the 2026 election.

He said the legislative program would make it easier to get appointments with GPS, adding that a ‘angle’ was turned on the NHS performance.

Mr. Swinney said: ‘I know that people are tired and anxious, desperate for light at the end of the tunnel, which is why I want us to be prepared rather than being afraid.

‘Advice and activities amid this latest challenge, rather than just anxious. And that is why I want us to be united and creative in our answer, to ensure that we are as resilient as we can be possible.

‘You can put rates on many things, but you can’t put them on ingenuity and common purpose.

“The government program will be laser focused on delivery. It will set out what I believe that my government can and will deliver for the people in Scotland this year.”

Mr. Swinney said he spoke to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other leaders who were deviated on Friday about US President Donald Trump’s rates.

He said although the call was constructive, the British government “has to” do much more to protect the economic interests of Scotland “.

Mr. Swinney said he would convene a meeting of business leaders and trade unions this week to discuss how to respond to the ’emerging economic realities’.

The Prime Minister also said that the Grangemouth -OLIERFINDANDERING should be nationalized by the British government in the light of Action taken at the British Steel site at Scunthorpe.

He urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to relax her fiscal rules and added: “If British steel needs to be nationalized to protect it, it must also be granemouth”.