It’s time SNP faced up to the facts on health care

Just imagine being in favour of putting that at risk! Yet that’s what the SNP and Greens want to do.

The latest Scottish Government official accounts, known as GERS, show that Scotland’s deficit was more than the cost of running our NHS at £19 billion. That would simply be unsustainable in an independent Scotland.

To put those figures into context, £19bn more was spent than was raised in Scotland last year, despite the boom in North Sea oil revenues. That’s £2217 per person.

Leaving the UK would require tough spending cuts which would hit the poorest the hardest – that’s a simple fact the nationalists ignore.

Humza Yousaf has a duty to be honest and tell us Scots what services he would cut to balance the books – his failure to do so is a dereliction of duty and shows that he just doesn’t care about our country’s future.

He’s launched paper after paper on all sorts of subjects related to separation but never a paper on deficit, currency, pensions or borders. I wonder why?

Once again, GERS – which is produced by the Scottish Government’s own top economists and independently verified – has confirmed that Scotland is stronger in the UK. But this isn’t as good as it gets.

The GERS figures demonstrate the recklessness of independence, but that’s little comfort to families across Scotland who are struggling.

People are left in pain and anguish because the SNP can’t get to grips with NHS waiting times, inflation is more than three times the Bank of England’s target thanks to the Tories, and the cost of renting has hit its highest level since records began.

After 16 years in power and teams of economists around them, it is an extraordinary feat that the SNP still have not got a handle on the economics of their flagship policy. The reason is perhaps they know Scots won’t like the answer.

But there is an alternative to the Tories’ economic incompetence and the SNP’s economic delusions. We need to grow the economy, revive public services, and protect the finances of Scottish households.

Only a Labour government led by Keir Starmer will bring back economic credibility to government.

As Starmer said in Scotland this week, “smashing the ‘class ceiling’ that holds working people back is our defining purpose. A politics dedicated to service, not symbols. And a Labour Party that fights for a Scotland that serves working people.”

That means striking a new deal that will strengthen workers’ rights and make work pay, with no more zero-hour contracts and no more fire and rehire.

And as well as ensuring greater investment in our Scottish NHS by remaining in the UK, a Scottish Labour government would introduce proper workforce planning for our NHS – fixing the unforgivable mistake made by Nicola Sturgeon when she slashed nurse training places.

It also means giving mental health more attention. Only yesterday, the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland revealed that mental health services receive a smaller share of the NHS budget than they did a decade ago – that’s an SNP government budget choice.

Facts matter. It’s time for the SNP to face up to the facts.

Ian Murray is Labour MP for Edinburgh South

It’s time SNP faced up to the facts on health care - Ian Murray