"Scottish Lib Dems secured a fantastic £300 million on everything from business rates relief to social care in the #ScotBudget for the year ahead." - Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole Hamilton www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/opinion...
A hall of people watching Alex-Cole Hamilton speak on stage.
Edinburgh Western MSP @alex.scotlibdems.org.uk speaks at #SLDConf in Edinburgh: "We've secured massive commitments in the #ScotBudget after Labour chose to abstain.
We're the antidote to the cynical politics of Reform, and 19 years of a tired SNP government".
💛 The @snp.org #ScotBudget for 2026/27 will help to further tackle child poverty through:
🧮 £61.5m Tackling Child Poverty Fund
🥣 A breakfast club for every primary school by Aug 2027
👶 Upping the Scottish Child Payment to £40pw for children under one
💼 £20m to help people get into & stay in work
#ScotBudget
📈 We've added a section on the #climate impact of the budget spending decisions
@edi.bike @sccscot.bsky.social @transform.scot @oxfamscotland.bsky.social @keithirving.bsky.social @marklazarowicz.bsky.social @pedalonparliament.org @clairedalyjazz.bsky.social @tomballantine.bsky.social
Start of Spokes budget article... ScotGov draft budget 26/27: Active Travel obfuscation The ‘Level 4 spreadsheet’ accompanying the Scottish Government’s draft budget shows Support for Active and Sustainable Travel rising by an incredible 66.3%, from £135.8m in 25/26 to £226m in 26/27. This has been widely commended. However, when the smoke and mirrors are removed, it seems likely that total funding for active travel will actually fall slightly in cash terms, and, as a % of total transport, from 4.3% in 25/26 to less than 4% in 26/27. How can such an apparantly good news story be so misleading? We discuss this in detail later below, but, in summary… the big combined rise in Active and Sustainable looks likely to be for Sustainable (specifically, bus infrastructure) whilst Active looks likely to fall the quoted £135.8m for Active and Sustainable is misleadingly low, which makes the 66% increase to £226m look misleadingly high.
#ScotBudget #ActiveTravel🚶👩🦼🚲
☝️ see above
@michaeljmarra.bsky.social @sarahboyack.bsky.social @ross-greer.bsky.social @patrickharvie.bsky.social @jamiegreeneuk.bsky.social @alex.scotlibdems.org.uk @fionahyslop.bsky.social @ianmurraymp.bsky.social @labourwalkscycles.bsky.social @libdemcycling.org.uk
#ScotBudget #ActiveTravel 🚶👩🦼🚲
☝️ see above
@helenrambler.bsky.social @bjpaddy.bsky.social @da-anderson.bsky.social @chasbooth.bsky.social @sccscot.bsky.social @bikes4refugees.bsky.social @gobikeglasgow.bsky.social @2760.bsky.social @urbaneprofessor.bsky.social @iaindocherty.bsky.social
Start of Spokes budget article... ScotGov draft budget 26/27: Active Travel obfuscation The ‘Level 4 spreadsheet’ accompanying the Scottish Government’s draft budget shows Support for Active and Sustainable Travel rising by an incredible 66.3%, from £135.8m in 25/26 to £226m in 26/27. This has been widely commended. However, when the smoke and mirrors are removed, it seems likely that total funding for active travel will actually fall slightly in cash terms, and, as a % of total transport, from 4.3% in 25/26 to less than 4% in 26/27. How can such an apparantly good news story be so misleading? We discuss this in detail later below, but, in summary… the big combined rise in Active and Sustainable looks likely to be for Sustainable (specifically, bus infrastructure) whilst Active looks likely to fall the quoted £135.8m for Active and Sustainable is misleadingly low, which makes the 66% increase to £226m look misleadingly high.
#ScotBudget #ActiveTravel 🚶👩🦼🚲
☝️ see above
@lauralaker.bsky.social @carltonreid.com @holyroodmag.bsky.social @vickyallan.bsky.social @edfoc.bsky.social @edtiss.bsky.social @morningsider.bsky.social @edinpl.bsky.social @johnrobson87.bsky.social @nigelbagshaw.bsky.social @drcarolinebrown.bsky.social
Start of Spokes budget article... ScotGov draft budget 26/27: Active Travel obfuscation The ‘Level 4 spreadsheet’ accompanying the Scottish Government’s draft budget shows Support for Active and Sustainable Travel rising by an incredible 66.3%, from £135.8m in 25/26 to £226m in 26/27. This has been widely commended. However, when the smoke and mirrors are removed, it seems likely that total funding for active travel will actually fall slightly in cash terms, and, as a % of total transport, from 4.3% in 25/26 to less than 4% in 26/27. How can such an apparantly good news story be so misleading? We discuss this in detail later below, but, in summary… the big combined rise in Active and Sustainable looks likely to be for Sustainable (specifically, bus infrastructure) whilst Active looks likely to fall the quoted £135.8m for Active and Sustainable is misleadingly low, which makes the 66% increase to £226m look misleadingly high.
#ScotBudget
#ActiveTravel 🚶👩🦼🚲 falls below 4% of total transport
--> www.spokes.org.uk/2026/01/scot...
@edi.bike @transform.scot @edinburghbug.bsky.social @keithirving.bsky.social @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social @alastairdalton.bsky.social @sw20.info @markruskell.bsky.social @magnatom.bsky.social
Councils like North Ayrshire are in this position because of political choices.
Different choices can be made - but only if people are prepared to call this out.
#ChooseLocal #FundCouncils
#ScotBudget
#ScotElection26
#SNPCUTS
🧵
Some thoughts on this budget.
The Scottish Fiscal Commission’s latest forecasts (Jan 2026) confirm what councils have warned for years: local government is being cut again, despite rising demand for services.
#ScotBudget #LocalGovernment
#CouncilCuts
🧮 This #ScotBudget delivers for the people of Scotland with:
👶 More money to tackle child poverty
🩺 Record health spending
🏥 A new Port Glasgow Health Centre
📈 2% real-terms budget increase for councils
📚 extra £70m for colleges
👏 This is the @snp.org delivering for Inverclyde.
Read our response to yesterday's #ScottishBudget: www.aberlour.org.uk/news-item/ab...
#ScotBudget #Budget2026 #Budget #EndChildPoverty
The Scottish Child Payment is a lifeline for families, but only if it keeps pace with rising costs.
Failing to increase it beyond the statutory minimum puts more pressure on parents already doing everything they can.
Our full response to today's #ScotBudget: opfs.org.uk/get-involved...
Picture of Ruth Boyle of the Poverty Alliance. Her quote says “People in Scotland want a just and compassionate society - but too many feel the system is rigged against them. “There was some good news today – but we can do much more to make sure that every child in Scotland gets the investment they need for a decent life and a better future. “Ensuring that every child in primary school gets a healthy breakfast is an excellent investment, because no child should go to school hungry. ..
“Increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £40 for eligible households with a baby under 1 is welcome and will help families at a time when they face increased costs. However, this must be a first step towards boosting that payment to £40 for every eligible child in the country. That is the kind of fundamental investment the Government needs to make if they are serious about meeting the 2030 child poverty targets. “With Scotland not on track to meet those legally binding targets, we need all political parties to set out their plans to invest in country where no child lives in poverty. Our children can’t wait any longer...
There was some good news in today's #ScotBudget – but Scotland can still do better for households in poverty.
www.povertyalliance.org/some-good-ne...
While we welcome the new £40 SCP rate for babies under 1, we continue to call for an increase to £40 a week for all.
Our @trusselluk.bsky.social
data shows food parcels for families with children aged 12-16 in Scotland rose by 7% over the past 5 years. #ScotBudget
#ScotBudget 26/27
☝️ see above
@carltonreid.com @sw20.info @harryjwilliams.bsky.social @edcriticalmass.bsky.social @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social @markruskell.bsky.social @nigelbagshaw.bsky.social @furtherfrom.bsky.social @2760.bsky.social @chasbooth.bsky.social @holyroodmag.bsky.social
#ScotBudget 26/27
☝️ See above for 🚲👩🦼🚶
ALSO ...
👍 Private jet tax
👍 Continued new 🚆 trains for #Fife #Borders
👍 Long-delayed #Winchburgh station promised
👎 #TrunkRoad budget up 12%, big emphasis on #A9 #A96
@scotsman.com @alastairdalton.bsky.social report--> bsky.app/profile/alas...
#ScotBudget 26/27
☝️ see above
@edi.bike @keithirving.bsky.social @transform.scot @alastairdalton.bsky.social @edinreporter.bsky.social @edfoc.bsky.social @helenrambler.bsky.social @bjpaddy.bsky.social @edinburghminute.com @heraldscotland.bsky.social @turvill.bsky.social @magnatom.bsky.social
picture of cover of budget document Scottish Budget: 2026-27
#ScotBudget 26/27
🙂 Good news #ActiveTravel - 🤔 probably
🙄 Bus again combined with 🚶👩🦼🚲 and not disaggregated
25/26 £189m (of which £20m+ went to 🚌)
26/27 £226m (includes "increased" 🚌 cash)
🤔 Also note 24/25 & 25/26 *expenditure* was significantly less than *budget*. So will 26/27 all be used?
Welcome news from today's #ScotBudget that people travelling to Scotland on private jets will be taxed ✈️ 🥳
We look forward to sharing our views in the consultation and making sure polluters pay appropriately for the damage they cause 💰
Our first thoughts on today's #ScotBudget:
"We’re pleased to see the introduction of a private jet tax. We now need the government to build on this move towards fairer pricing for the most polluting mode of transport by tackling frequent flyers and reducing short haul domestic flights."
Graphic with a bright green background showing a black‑and‑white image of the Earth on the right, covered in looping black flight paths, with a white private jet flying above it. On the left, a large black speech bubble with white quotation marks contains the text: “A commitment to a private jet tax sends a clear message: the super-rich will no longer get a free pass to pollute Scottish skies. Jamie Livingstone, Oxfam Scotland.”
🚨 BREAKING: at today’s #ScotBudget the Scottish Government announced a new tax on private jets, something we've been campaigning for.
The true test will be how tough the tax is: it must punitively punishes the pockets of private jet passengers raising millions for green projects.
Funding for local government will increase by 2% in real terms.
#ScotBudget
BREAKING: Shona Robison says the threshold for the "basic" and intermediate rates of tax in Scotland will increase by 7.4%.
#ScotBudget
Shona Robison said she is proud to announce that the Scottish government's international development fund will be increased to £16m.
#scotbudget
Travelling by private jet in Scotland will be taxed.
#scotbudget
Shona Robison announces the introduction of two new council tax bands by 2028 for the most expensive properties in Scotland.
#ScotBudget
The Scottish child payment will be boosted for families with a baby under the age of one to £40 a week.
#ScotBudget
Shona Robison says there will be an investment of almost £68bn in the Budget for the wellbeing of the people of Scotland.
#ScotBudget
Shona Robison: This is a government that wants what's best for Scotland.
#ScotBudget
