What are the SNP policies at the 2021 Scottish Election?

by Olaf Stando
Posted on
3 years ago
4 min read

The SNP is the only party with a serious plan for a serious government, with the bold and progressive policies for a stronger recovery.

On May 6, Scotland faces the choice of two futures: the long-term damage of Tory cuts, Brexit and a power grab under the broken Westminster system, or a better, fairer and greener future as an independent country.

In this election, we’re published the most ambitious, progressive and detailed policy platform in the history of devolution. Click here to read our full manifesto.

Here are some of our top pledges:

1. Hold a post-pandemic independence referendum to put Scotland’s future firmly into Scotland’s hands – not Boris Johnson’s.

2. Deliver at least a 4% pay rise for NHS staff – the biggest in the history of devolution, giving a frontline NHS nurse an average pay rise of over £1,200 a year.

3. 100,000 more affordable homes with at least 70% for social rent, on top of the 96,750 new homes we’ve already delivered right across Scotland.

4. Create a National Care Service, abolishing charges for non-residential care and introducing a National Wage for carers.

5. Universal free school meals for all primary pupils, with free breakfast and lunch for all classes, all year round.

6. Free laptop or tablet, with a free internet connection, for every school pupil, ending the digital divide and providing more equal opportunities.

7. Double the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week to boost family incomes and tackle child poverty.

8. Abolish all NHS dental charges, ensuring an NHS truly free at the point of need.

9. Scrap council tax charges for all under-22s, on top of our national council tax freeze benefiting people across Scotland.

10. A new network of fast-track cancer diagnostic centres in every part of Scotland to help the NHS recover after the pandemic.

11. Free bikes for all school children who can’t afford one, and we will ensure that every child in Scotland leaves school with the ability to cycle safely.

12. Build a wraparound childcare system, providing care before and after school all year round, with less well off families paying nothing.

13. Put ScotRail into public ownership to create better value, accountability and stability for passengers and staff.

14. Freeze income tax rates and bands, and increase thresholds by a maximum of inflation, to keep money in people’s pockets.

15. Create a new National Infrastructure Company, investing over £33 billion in infrastructure and supporting 45,000 jobs.

A SCOTLAND THAT CARES

1. A fair pay rise to NHS staff – we will deliver the biggest NHS pay rise in the history of devolution – offering at least a 4% increase, not the 1% offered by the Tories.

2. Create a National Care Service, backed by increasing investment in social care by 25%.

3. Introduce a new, fair National Wage for Carers.

4. Increase health funding with at least 20% higher frontline spending to properly remobilise our NHS.

5. Double the Carers’ Allowance Supplement this year, worth £460.

6. A network of fast-track cancer diagnostic centres in every part of Scotland to help the NHS recover following the pandemic.

7. Maintain free prescriptions – while they rise to £9.35 per item south of the border.

8. Invest £100 million in the strategy to prevent violence against women and girls.

9. Increase NHS frontline spending by at least 20%, helping to support and renew our NHS as it recovers from COVID.

10. Abolish all NHS dental charges to improve access to dentistry and create an NHS truly free at the point of need.

A MORE EQUAL SOCIETY

1. Tackle child poverty by doubling the “game-changing” Scottish Child Payment to £20 per child per week.

2. Appoint a Victims Commissioner to provide an independent voice to victims and witnesses and review the provision of victim services.

3. Free laptop or tablet, with a free internet connection, for every school pupil – ending the digital divide and providing more equal opportunities.

4. Introduce the Bairn’s Hoose to make justice for children more effective and less traumatising, bringing the care and justice response to crimes together.

5. Scrap council tax charges for all under-22s.

6. Universal free school meals for all primary pupils, with free breakfast and lunch for all classes, all year round.

7. Strengthen children’s rights by implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child within the first six months of an SNP government.

8. 70,000 more homes for social rent and council houses.

9. Enhance rights and protections for tenants.

10. Free bikes for all school children who can’t afford one, and we will ensure that every child in Scotland leaves school with the ability to cycle safely.

A GREENER SCOTLAND

1. Progress to net zero by 2045 – meeting our world-leading, legally binding climate targets with bold action.

2. Put ScotRail into public ownership to create better value, accountability and stability for passengers and staff.

3. Invest in a green jobs revolution with our £100 million Green Jobs Fund.

4. Extend free bus travel to everyone under 22.

5. Decarbonise our homes and buildings with a £1.6 billion investment to make heating greener and more efficient.

6. Create the world’s first zero-emission aviation region in the Highlands and Islands, and decarbonise all scheduled flights within Scotland by 2040.

7. Restore over 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030, with our ambitious £250 million peatland restoration package.

8. Remove the majority of fossil fuel buses from the public transport network by 2023.

9. Increase woodland creation targets by 50%, enhancing Scotland’s leadership in tree planting.

10. Double our world-leading Climate Justice Fund to over £24 million, and cooperate with nations around the world to accelerate moves towards net zero.

And this is all before we’ve even launched our 2021 manifesto.

To deliver all of these transformative, progressive policies, re-elect Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister, and put Scotland’s recovery in Scotland’s hands, make it Both Votes SNP on May 6.

Watch and share our short video explainer, and read here why Both Votes SNP really matters.