Neither Ms Somerville nor her colleagues see it as anything approaching a priority to put curbs on the toxic dependency culture which stifles growth and ambition. Work should and must always be a road out of poverty and if it isn’t, then the system is badly flawed. But Ms Somerville appears to be accepting the situation – one which the SNP has helped to create and sustain – and sending a signal that the burgeoning benefits bill is here to stay. But Ms Somerville won’t accept that ‘in-work’ poverty has been exacerbated by unrelenting SNP tax raids. They pay soaring council tax for a diminishing standard of service which sees roads deteriorating and rubbish lying uncollected.

Source: Daily Mail January 12, 2026 21:29 UTC