Dave Thompson MSP

On Monday, an SNP amendment to overturn the 50p tax cut in the Budget received no support from Highland MPs Charles Kennedy and Danny Alexander in Westminster to the disappointment of Dave Thompson, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.

The 50p tax cut for the rich will benefit approximately 15,000 people in Scotland. The SNP, with Plaid Cymru, submitted an amendment to overturn the 50p tax cut considering that it punished the poor and benefited the rich. Not a single Scottish Tory, Liberal Democrat or Labour MP voted for the amendment.

In the last six months Sir Stuart Rose, former head of Marks and Spencers, said that he opposed the move to scrap the 50p rate of income tax, and that he was happy to pay more tax to help the country out of its current financial difficulties.  Monday’s vote eliminated that possibility.

Mr Thompson said, “With two Liberal Democrat MPs, Charles Kennedy and Danny Alexander, representing Highland constituencies in Westminster, I hoped they would stand up for Scotland and stand against the tax cut. But instead, the amendment did not receive their support, to the detriment of Scots across the Highlands and across Scotland.

“The Tory-Lib Dem Budget punishes pensioners and public sector workers, while doing nothing to stimulate the economy, and it is certainly not beneficial to Scotland. The Liberal Democrat Party has claimed that they mitigate Tory extremism. In this case, I can only presume that Mr Kennedy and Mr Alexander approve of Tory extremism.

“The budget enshrines the belief that it is OK to have one rule for the rich and another for the poor. If that is what Westminster is propounding, then the sooner that the Scottish Government gets the reigns to manage its own affairs, the better for Scotland.

Note:

Details of the Budget vote can be found here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201212/cmhansrd/cm120326/debtext/120326-0005.htm