YESTERDAY First Minister John Swinney announced the Scottish Government's Programme for Government for the coming year.

One of the key points in the programme, despite the difficult financial position imposed on Scotland due to Labour and Tory austerity, was a plan to invest £600 million in affordable housing in the coming year. Most of this money will go towards keeping rents lower and benefitting 140,000 children in poverty each year.

£40 million is earmarked for the acquisition of existing homes and bringing them into affordable use. An additional £100m will go to support the construction of around 2800 mid-market rental homes.

The Programme for Government states the Scottish Government will work towards further expanding free school meals to those in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment in P6 and P7 and provide £21.75 million for free school meal alternatives in all school holidays for eligible families.

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However, a previous commitment from former first minister Humza Yousaf to eventually make free school meals universal for primary school pupils appears to have been removed from plans due to budgetary constraints.

The removal of this commitment led to the nauseating sight of Scottish Tory leader (for now) Douglas Ross attempting to take the moral high ground on child poverty during First Minister's Questions. That's rather like the Child Snatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang claiming the moral high ground when it comes to failures in social work departments' child protection services. The difference being that the Child Snatcher is a much more relatable and sympathetic figure than Ross.

Under Conservative policies which were supported by Ross, child poverty has soared in the UK. 4.3m children, or 30% of all children in the UK, were living in relative low-income households after housing costs in 2022/23. This figure has increased year on year since the Conservatives took power in Westminster in 2010.

Thanks to the Scottish Child Payment introduced by the SNP government in 2021 at the rate of £10 a week for each child under 6. It was doubled to £20 a week in April 2022 and increased to £25 a week per child and eligibility was formally extended to under 16s in November 2022, Scotland has seen a significant reduction in levels of child poverty.

Child poverty in Scotland, unlike UK benefits, has no limits to the number of children an eligible family can claim for. This means that a family with three children will receive £3,900 a year. A significant addition to a low income household.

Expert analyses calculate that the introduction of the Scottish Child Payment has brought about a 5% reduction in the rate of child poverty in Scotland. Unfortunately Scotland is not immune to the malign effects of UK Government economic policies and squeezes on benefits. These are policies which Ross supported, he even backed the disastrous mini budget of Liz Truss, and demanded that the Scottish Government follow it. Yet here he is today bewailing the lack of provision of universal free school meals in Scotland.

(Image: PA)

The truth is that Ross (above) doesn't care about child poverty or free school meals, if he did he'd have spoken out against Conservative government politics which created an explosion in child poverty. The deeply hypocritical Ross is only interested in performance politics and scoring a gotcha moment at Swinney's expense before he's cast adrift by the Scottish Tories into the back bench obscurity where he rightfully belongs. Not even his own colleagues like him and Tories are not exactly known for their rejection of nasty and bullying hypocritical politicians.

Swinney was not in any mood to take lectures from Ross about child poverty, telling the failed Scottish Tory leader: “My commitment to eradicating child poverty is steadfast in this Programme for Government and the Government is putting the resources in to make sure that we can achieve that objective with over £400 million being spent on the Scottish Child Payment, which is keeping 100,000 children out of poverty.

“That is what is happening on this Government’s watch, we have a lower poverty rate in Scotland – far too high, for my liking, far too high – but it’s been made worse by the folly and the actions of the 14 years of the Conservatives.”

Ross, the boorish adolescent schoolboy that he is, could be heard heckling from his seat as the First Minister spoke, yelling: “Enjoy your choices,” leading to an intervention from the Presiding Officer.

Undeterred, the First Minister (below) continued: “Yes, it is my choice Mr Ross, it’s my choice to make sure we invest in the future of Scotland, which the Conservatives destroyed by the austerity agenda that was supported by all of the Conservative members over there.

(Image: Sourced)

“What the people of Scotland will hear from this Government is a determination to ensure that we deliver on our commitments to lift children out of poverty when the Tories have made the situation worse.”

Meanwhile, the mud wrestling competition which passes for the Scottish Conservative leadership contest continues to get even grubbier as Tory MSPs accuse erstwhile saviour of the Union Ruth Davidson of spreading 'misinformation' in an article she has published in the Daily Mail.

In the piece Davidson (below) attacks leadership candidate Murdo Fraser, accusing him and his mate Brian Whittle of wanting to split the Scottish Tories from the UK party and giving her backing to Russell Findlay, the establishment candidate who has been accused by his opponents of dirty tricks.

(Image: PA)

Davidson's article was criticised by Scottish Tory MSP Whittle who said on social media: “I have so much respect for Ruth but I am disappointed to see her perpetuate this untruth. I have been very clear I want closer ties with our colleagues in Westminster and wouldn’t support any attempt to split. This is no way to conduct this contest.”

READ MORE: Douglas Ross torn down in free school meals row as SNP blame 'austerity agenda'

“Shabby,” replied Tory MSP Graham Simpson, although it's unclear if he was referring to Whittle or Davidson. It speaks volumes about the mutual loathing that is widespread within the Scottish Tories that it could be either.

Whittle's comments were echoed by fellow MSP Finlay Carson, who said it was “well said” and added: “This is simply untrue. Murdo [Fraser], nor indeed any of the 2016 intake are pushing for a split from the UK party. It’s all a deliberate twist of the truth. Disappointed in Ruth is an understatement.”

This piece is an extract from today’s REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug.

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