Tories accuse Swinney of misleading parliament over tax claims

The Scottish Tories have accused First Minister John Swinney of misleading Holyrood over claims his party has not broken its manifesto promise to freeze taxes.

The First Minister was challenged on his party’s record on income tax at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday by Tory finance spokesman Craig Hoy.

Mr Hoy pointed to the SNP’s 2021 manifesto which pledged to ensure income tax rates increased by, at most, the rate of inflation.

Taxes have, however, increased by more than that level since the party won the last election.

Mr Swinney said: “We’ve maintained our manifesto commitments in relation to taxation.”

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, a spokesman for the First Minister said the Government had been forced to respond to inflationary pressures following the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Friday, Mr Hoy wrote to the First Minister, accusing him of having “blatantly lied” to the public.

“The Scottish Ministerial Code states that when giving information to parliament, ministers must correct ‘any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity’,” he wrote.

“If you had forgotten that one of your own budgets increased taxes, then you should take this opportunity to correct your answer given to parliament.

“However, if you have tried to deliberately mislead parliament, this matter must be investigated urgently by the independent advisers on the ministerial code.

“You have increased people’s taxes – in breach of your own party’s promise.

“You should be upfront to the public and admit that to parliament.”

In a statement, the Tory finance spokesman urged the First Minister to correct the record, adding that Mr Swinney leads a government which “flagrantly and habitually lies”.

Mr Hoy pointed to the claims that the majority of Scots pay less tax than they would elsewhere in the UK made by the First Minister and Finance Secretary Shona Robison.

A Scottish Fiscal Commission report said this week it was not possible to come to say definitively if this is true.

Mr Hoy also pointed to Culture Secretary Angus Robertson’s claim he was not told of an invitation to a meeting with the beleaguered former chair of Historic Environment Scotland when he said he had not been asked to meet the board.

“The last week demonstrates that he leads a government that flagrantly and habitually lies in parliament as a matter of course,” he said.

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.