THE Scottish Conservatives have been accused of “tiresome attention-seeking” after telling Nicola Sturgeon to dump her plans for a second referendum in order to win support in passing the next Budget.
The party said it would help the minority SNP Government push through its spending plans if Ms Sturgeon ruled out another independence vote before the next Holyrood election in 2021.
It also called for air passenger duty to be slashed by 50 per cent and extra support for the high street, possibly in the form of a so-called “Amazon tax” on online retailers.
A spokesman for the First Minister said the Government would engage constructively with those who are “genuinely interested” in passing a Budget to benefit Scotland, but added: “I don’t think the Tories are in any position to lay down the law on anything.”
Citing the SNP’s own support for cutting air passenger duty, the Tories said they wanted to provide a pro-business alternative to the Greens, Labour and Liberal Democrats.
Shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said: “Last year’s Budget deal between the SNP and the Greens was bad for jobs and bad for Scotland’s economy.
“We do not want to see a repeat this year. So today the Scottish Conservatives are making it clear that if the SNP puts the needs of Scotland’s economy first, it could win support from us.
“Central to that is the need for the SNP to dump its plans for a second independence referendum in this parliament. It’s not wanted and Nicola Sturgeon should make clear it’s not going to happen. Doing so would then unlock the way forward.”
But the Scottish Greens – who have struck a Budget deal with the SNP for the past two years – dismissed the offer.
Co-convenor Patrick Harvie said: "This is a tiresome bit of attention-seeking from sidelined Tories who clearly have no interest in influencing the Scotland's budget choices.
“Tax cuts for the rich, tax cuts for the already-undertaxed aviation industry and wealthy frequent fliers, and the spurious notion that independence is a budget issue are all non-starters and they know it.
"By contrast, Green MSPs have brought genuinely constructive challenge to the SNP minority government, stopping the worst of the cuts to local council services and shifting the whole debate on income tax, resulting in a fairer system under which most Scots pay less and high earners pay a fair share.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie accused the Tories of being a “confused mess on tax”.
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay will set out the Scottish Government’s Budget proposals in December.
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