‘A SNP MSP has claimed an independent Scotland could guarantee a couple with children a minimum income of more than £37,000 a year,’ the Daily Record reported breathlessly this week, as it covered the SNP’s latest plans for an independent Scotland.
Then came the clincher: ‘Neil Gray admits the plans have not been costed.’
Neil Gray is an SNP MSP and deputy convenor of the party’s Social Justice and Fairness Commission, which has published its final report: A Route Map to a Fair Independent Scotland.
One of the report’s key recommendations is for a pilot of a minimum income guarantee. Gray, referencing work done by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, suggests that an independent Scotland could effectively guarantee a minimum income of £18,700 per person per year for a couple with children, and £19,200 for a single person, via a combination of minimum wage, tax allowances, benefits and pension.
The SNP will try to be all things to all voters to get independence over the line
The report assumes that Scotland leaving the UK is the key to achieving a number of positive outcomes, including the eradication of poverty.
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