July 2024 Leaders gear up for 2026 contest

Leaders gear up for 2026 contest

SNP

By John Swinney
First Minister and SNP leader

Our justice system is essential to every part of our society and policing is integral to that – which is why policing has always been a key priority for the SNP.

We are proud of the work that has taken place to strengthen and modernise policing in recent years.

Thanks to the hard work of our police officers and staff, the level of recorded crime is at one of its lowest levels in 50 years and homicides are at their lowest levels since comparable records began.

And, despite 14 years of austerity from the UK government and severe cuts to Holyrood’s budget, the SNP in government has chosen to increase police funding year-on-year since 2016/17.

As a result, Scotland has more police officers per capita than England and Wales, we have higher pay ranges for officers at all ranks, and high levels of investment over the last decade.

This year, the Scottish Government provided £1.5 billion to the Scottish Police Authority – an increase of £97 million on last year.

This includes increasing the capital funding by 12.4 per cent to £64.5 million – for investment in the police estate, technology and fleet.

Clear progress has been made. However, I am under no illusion about the challenges we are facing. Both with changes in crime patterns – like the increase in cyber crime – and in resourcing.

That’s why I am so deeply concerned that no matter who enters Number 10, Labour or Tory, our public services are facing around £18 billion of spending cuts, according to the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Neither the Tories or Labour have been straight with the public about what that will mean for our vital frontline services.

The strong voice of SNP MPs will be vital in standing up for our services, against Westminster cuts.

Policing in Scotland needs investment, not further austerity and cuts, and the SNP is the only party that can be trusted to put Scotland’s interests first.

Scottish Labour

By Anas Sarwar
Scottish Labour leader

Scotland needs change.

Fourteen years of chaos under the Tories at Westminster, and 17 years of failure under the SNP at Holyrood, have diminished hope, created division, and shattered opportunities.

Not a single public institution in Scotland is stronger than it was when the nationalists came to power.

And that is stark when you look at Police Scotland today, which quite simply has been gutted.

Hard-working officers are forced to spend so much time responding to mental health calls that their own mental health is suffering – and they can’t even investigate crimes anymore.

And elsewhere in our justice system, prisons are over-crowded, court backlogs continue to delay access to justice, and sexual offences and violent crimes are increasing.

This must change.

Change for our country is a two-step process – it starts by electing a Labour government in Westminster, with Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves delivering economic growth that will enable more investment in public services, as well as specific UK-wide justice policies to tackle cross-border crime and help tech companies prevent fraud.

But voters also want to know about the changes a future Scottish Labour government would make within the devolution framework, which I have also set out in our manifesto.

We will seek to restore community policing, listening to the concerns raised by the Scottish Police Federation and others.

We will seek to make officers more visible and responsive to communities, equip police with the latest technology so they can keep pace with modern threats, and introduce a police retention strategy, as well as improve co-ordination and interaction between emergency services to ensure the best use is being made of officers’ time.

We will introduce measures to tackle violence against women and girls, crack down on anti-social behaviour and knife crime, introduce a greater focus on prevention, ensure there is purposeful activity for prisoners to reduce reoffending, and address historical injustices.

Scotland can’t afford to miss this opportunity for change.

Scottish Conservatives

By Douglas Ross
Scottish Conservative leader

Under the SNP, Scotland is stuck. The general election gives us the chance to switch the focus from its divisive independence obsession and on to the issues that really matter to the people of Scotland.

The Scottish Conservatives have a programme that tackles people’s real priorities, rather than focusing on the nationalists’ constitutional grievance-mongering.

Under the SNP, violent crime is at a 12-year high. Since 2013, the SNP’s soft-touch approach has led to 140 fewer police buildings and more than 1,100 fewer officers.

One of our top five manifesto pledges is to make Scotland safer by recruiting 1,000 more police officers.

We will ensure that the justice system works for victims – and not criminals – by introducing a real Victims Law, rather than the SNP’s pale imitation.

We’ll introduce whole life sentences for the worst offenders who should never be freed – so that life means life.

And we’ll ensure that officers get the protection they deserve, via double sentencing for attacks on emergency workers.

We’ll enshrine victims’ rights in law and bring full transparency by putting parole board decisions on the public record.

Beyond policing and justice, we’ll eradicate NHS waits with 1,000 extra GPs, and patient guarantees.

We’ll restore Scotland’s schools after years of SNP failure. We’ll upgrade the shamefully neglected lifeline roads in rural areas, and tackle potholes in towns and cities.

We’ll make sure that Scots, who currently face the highest taxes of any part of the UK, keep more of their own earnings, by cutting taxes.

The Scottish Conservatives have brought down two first ministers. We can complete a hat-trick by showing John Swinney that his party has had its day.

Scots don’t share the SNP’s independence obsession and are fed up with its mismanagement of basic services.

In key seats up and down the country, it’s neck and neck between the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives.

We are the only party that can beat them, and for Scotland’s sake, it’s essential that we do.

Scottish Liberal Democrats

By Alex Cole-Hamilton
Scottish Liberal Democrats leader

In so many ways, things in our country are broken.

The economy, the National Health Service, the climate, the housing market – all are in crisis after years of Conservative and SNP neglect.

For more than 150 years, Liberals and Liberal Democrats have led the fight for a fair, free and open society.

At this election, we’re building on that tradition with a positive agenda to repair problems at their root and change our politics for the better.

We will tackle the crises in social care and mental health and, by doing that, get everyone faster access to GPs and NHS dentists.

We’ll roll out more mental health professionals in prisons and police stations, better resourcing these services with the tools they need to respond to mental ill-health.

Education is the best possible investment in our country’s future, and that’s why we will support every pupil and every teacher to restore Scotland’s position as a world-leader on education.

We’ll introduce a Clean Water Act to preserve our beautiful natural habitats and end the scandal of sewage dumping.

Our plans would generate an additional £1 billion in capital funding for Scotland. Just think of what that could be used for.

To build new health facilities, tackle the housing crisis and bring thousands of empty homes back into use and end the scandal of crumbling concrete in public buildings.

The Liberal Democrat vision of a better Britain is one where we work in partnership with each other, restore your faith in politics, and fix our broken relationship with Europe.

In huge swathes of Scotland, it’s only the Liberal Democrats who can beat the SNP and deliver change.

Back the Liberal Democrats and you will get a local champion who’ll stand up for you, who’ll fight for your community and ensure no one is left behind.