Now help us defeat the Scottish Government, says Douglas Ross trends now
Humza Yousaf cannot be forgiven for the damage he has done to families in Scotland, Douglas Ross has said.
The Scottish Conservative leader insisted the First Minister was guilty of compounding the misery felt by many Scots already hammered by the cost of living crisis.
In a savage take-down of Mr Yousaf’s record, Mr Ross said the SNP leader’s policies hurt those he had vowed to serve by imposing sky-high taxes and failing to bring down NHS waiting lists.
The Tory bid to hold a vote of no confidence in Mr Yousaf this week helped trigger Mr Yousaf’s resignation as he looked increasingly like losing without the support of the Greens.
Mr Ross said the Tories had ‘forced Humza Yousaf out of office for repeatedly failing Scotland’.
Douglas Ross says the Conservatives can push the SNP out
He added: ‘Faced with our vote of no confidence, the SNP leader has quit rather than face a humiliating defeat.
‘We cannot forgive the damage he did to families and households across Scotland by raising taxes, letting NHS waiting lists spiral and attacking free speech.
‘Humza Yousaf is gone but the SNP remains – and the power to change that is in the hands of Scotland’s voters.
‘Now that we have forced Humza Yousaf out of office, we are asking voters to help us beat the SNP in seats up and down Scotland at the next general election.’
Mr Ross pointed to the unprecedented backlash Mr Yousaf faced over his tax- hiking Budget that has seen people ‘pay more and get less’.
The SNP leader himself admitted he was ‘concerned’ about the impact raising taxes would have on those willing to leave the country to escape his punishing regime.
In a triple whammy, a new 45p income tax band hit earnings above £75,000, the top rate on earnings above £125,140 rose by 1p to 48p, and the higher rate threshold was frozen at £43,663.
The First Minister was also accused of threatening free speech with the introduction of his controversial Hate Crime Act, with particular concern over the number of people who could end up on police databases for involvement in a so-called non-crime hate incident, where a criminal offence has not occurred.
Mr Yousaf, a former health secretary, was also slammed for failing to fix NHS waiting lists, which have hit record levels, while hospitals across the country are dogged by staffing shortages and bed blocking.
Mr Ross said all this was happening while the SNP continued to waste time, money and resources on producing papers on independence.
He said: ‘The next First Minister must abandon the nationalist obsession with independence and focus solely on Scotland’s top priorities, such as creating jobs and improving our ailing public services.’
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said Mr Yousaf had at last made the right decision to resign as Scotland’s First Minister.
He said: ‘Humza Yousaf’s leadership has lurched from crisis to crisis from the very start, and he could not command the confidence of the Scottish parliament.
‘Scotland now needs a stable, functioning Scottish Government focused on the issues that matter most to people – fixing public services and growing the economy.’
Mr Yousaf doubled down on some of his most unpopular policies in his resignation speech.
He said: ‘As First Minister, I’m incredibly proud to have a fair tax system, the most progressive in the UK, with those who earn the most contribute the most.’
He also claimed that independence ‘feels frustratingly close’.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Humza has gone, and SNP must be driven from office by DOUGLAS ROSSThe
