SNP cuts to local youth services and education is damning for John Swinney

Daily Record

26-05-2025

Violent attacks against young people are devastating communities right across Scotland. We are regularly seeing reports of violent bullying, stabbings and even of Primary School aged children bringing knives to school.
In the very worst cases, young people are losing their lives – their potential, promise and future stolen in an instant.
The First Minister says even one stabbing is too many and he is right, but the truth is there have been too many of these incidents to count.
The fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Kayden Moy from East Kilbride last weekend was utterly heartbreaking. The day before that a boy was stabbed in Portobello.
It has happened before, and the grim truth is that it will happen again without meaningful action.
We need to fix the problems the SNP created in our justice system and make communities safer, but it will take much more than that to address these deep-rooted issues.
Too many young people are feeling hopeless – they have been deprived of opportunities and unable to get mental health support.
I have spoken many times about the SNP 's dangerous mismanagement of child and adolescent mental health services. Too often young people at crisis point are being left waiting months or even years for the help they desperately need.
Local youth services have suffered as the SNP has raided billions from Councils.
More and more teachers and pupils report feeling unsafe in schools. Attainment is declining, inequalities widening, and teachers struggling to cope.
It is not just schools – right across the board, the SNP's education system is letting young people down.
Colleges have had places, staff and funding cut, universities have harsh caps on places for Scottish students, fewer young people are doing apprenticeships, and youth unemployment is rising.
The SNP once said we should judge them on their record on education – well this record is one to be ashamed of. It is the duty of any government to build a better future for the next generation, but the SNP has done the opposite.
The SNP has robbed young people of opportunities, demolished support services and allowed violence to run riot.
One constant throughout the many years and many failures of this SNP government is John Swinney. He was the Finance Secretary who cut local services, the Education Secretary who tried to downgrade the exam results of working class pupils, and the First Minister who failed to act in the face of a growing youth violence epidemic.
John Swinney and the SNP created this crisis – they will not be the ones to fix it.
The UK Labour government is delivering for young people by boosting the Minimum Wage for young workers, meaning a pay rise of up to £2,500 a year. But young people need a Scottish Government that is on their side too.
Scottish Labour will rebuild our once world-class education system, make sure CAMHS can cope, and deal with both the causes and the consequences of violence head on.
It's time for a new direction for the next generation.
HOUSING EMERGENCY
A year ago the SNP declared a housing emergency, but things are still getting worse.
After Ministers acknowledged this national emergency, rough sleeping rose and the number of children in temporary accommodation hit a record high.
Housebuilding in 2024 was lower than the year before, and house prices and rent are still rising faster than inflation.
The SNP's plan for the year ahead was branded a 'Programme for Homelessness' by Shelter Scotland and 31 out of 32 Scottish Councils have had their social housing budgets cut by the SNP.
This is a shameful record with catastrophic consequences for people across Scotland. Extortionate rents are piling pressure on struggling Scots and home ownership is a distant dream for many.
Families are stuck in overcrowded, mouldy homes because they don't have any other options. Worst of all, 10,000 children are in temporary accommodation without a home to call their own.
The UK Labour government is leading the way by reforming planning and building more homes in England, but the SNP is failing to act.
Scotland deserves better and Scottish Labour will deliver it by getting Scotland building and working with Councils to ensure every Scot has the safe, secure home they need.
SAVE HAMILTON ACCIES
Football belongs to the fans and clubs shouldn't be able to leave their local communities without their support. Davy Russell has pledged to work with the SPFL to give fans a voice and save under-threat clubs like the Hamilton Accies.