Rebuild Scotland - The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Manifesto 2021
Ahead of the Scottish Parliament election on May 6, Douglas Ross made a number of bold policy pledges to the Scottish electorate in the party's manifesto. Some of the headline pledges included:
- Full fibre broadband rollout;
- £2 billion extra for our NHS;
- £500 skills grant for everyone;
- Recruit 3,000 more teachers; and
- More local policing.
You can read the manifesto in full, as well as a financial supplement, below.
Power up Scotland - Economic Recovery from Covid-19
In September, Douglas Ross launched his ambitious policy paper, which explored an economic plan to recover the Scottish economy following the coronavirus. A summary of the many impressive plans outlined by Ross in this report include:
- Sector-specific Job Security Councils to help laid-off workers transition and find skilled work, based on Sweden’s hugely successful retraining programmes.
- A Town Centre Rescue Plan to help small local shops adapt and free up planning restrictions.
- A ‘Scotland First’ procurement strategy to have the government spend more money locally.
- A Scottish education guarantee to age 18 and expanded adult learning programmes.
- Community Right to Buy schemes for local pubs and other employers in fragile areas.
- Scottish Enterprise reformed on regional lines and new Rural Growth deals to spread high-quality jobs and business growth across the country.
- A yellow/red card system for businesses who make late payments and bid for public work.
- A new research and development target with better incentives for innovation.
- A Hardship Fund for businesses facing localised lockdowns.