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<\/p>\nDaily Record Political Editor Paul Hutcheon says the political parties failed to get on the same page as voters during a dismal campaign.<\/p>\n
04:30, 08 May 2026<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_01KP6T4WRN72RT0284JMNT8FRY.jpg\")
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The Holyrood election was marked by mud slinging<\/p>\n
The real winner of the Holyrood election could be apathy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Candidates who want to become MSPs tomorrow admit the election has failed to enthuse the public.<\/a><\/p>\n Turnout in Holyrood polls has only fallen below 50% once in the previous six election.<\/a><\/p>\n But senior political figures fear a worrying number of Scots could stay on the sofa and snub the democratic process.<\/p>\n Focus groups have latched on to the \u201cmeh\u201d factor felt by voters during the campaign, with the entreaties of politicians passing them by.<\/p>\n This \u201cswitched off\u201d feeling is largely the fault of the political parties that have fought the campaign promising easy answers to complex problems.<\/p>\n Scotland\u2019s auditor general Stephen Boyle last year warned the next Government is facing a \u00a35bn shortfall by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n Much of this black hole has been caused by a rising social security bill and public sector pay costs.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Scottish election 2026: Six funny or cringe moments from the Holyrood campaign trail<\/a>READ MORE: Anas Sarwar accuses SNP of “corruption” after sex offender Jordan Linden jailed<\/a><\/p>\n A fiscal iceberg is looming and whoever forms the next administration will be in the chair for some incredibly tough decisions.<\/p>\n The solution is likely to include a combination of targeted tax rises, spending cuts and public service reform.<\/p>\n But the reality of the campaign is the parties have promised tax cuts, spending rises and avoided talk of bringing the public sector into the twenty-first century.<\/p>\n The SNP, which is likely to win the election, did not make any huge spending commitments in their manifesto, with the exception of an expansion of childcare.<\/p>\n But their latest set of promises to voters avoided recognising the difficult choices First Minister John Swinney will have to make.<\/p>\n Swinney defaulted to policies like a food price cap and a phantom indyref2 promise that involves scraps with Westminster.<\/p>\n Picking fights with Westminster is relatively cheap – apart from the legal bills of doomed court fights – but they duck the challenge of getting the country\u2019s finances back on track.<\/p>\n Labour\u2019s manifesto promised to axe unnecessary quangos and slash waste in the public sector, both of which are overdue.<\/p>\n But Anas Sarwar\u2019s campaign was based on running Scotland better, rather than tearing up the foundations.<\/p>\n So much of Labour\u2019s manifesto was based on maintaining the SNP \u201cfreebies\u201d built up over the last nineteen years – a position that severely limits their ability to fund a bold alternative.<\/p>\n The Tories promised tax cuts again, while offering a set of welfare reforms that reek of punishing people who are in genuine need.<\/p>\n The gold medal for recklessness should be awarded jointly to Reform UK and the Scottish Greens, with the latter indulging in the fantasy politics of the Left.<\/p>\n Their manifesto proposed a huge increase in state spending – on everything from welfare to free bus travel – that would require an unrealistic set of tax hikes.<\/p>\n Reform leader Malcolm Offord\u2019s \u00a32.3bn income tax cut plan was so amateurish and unbelievable that the IFS, which is usually careful with the words, put it in the shredder.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not credible,\u201d the IFS blasted.<\/p>\n The experts said Offord\u2019s claim of tax cuts paying for themselves was a \u201cmirage\u201d based on a \u201cmisunderstanding\u201d of devolution.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not good enough,\u201d they thundered.<\/p>\n Reform UK Scottish leader Malcolm Offord tastes a Scotch pie at The Forty Twa Cafe in Cowdenbeath, Fife(Image: PA Wire\/PA Images)<\/p>\n In a stinging rebuke, the IFS also hit out at the promises made by all the mainstream parties: \u201cThe major parties share a common shortcoming: a lack of realism regarding just how tough the fiscal challenges facing the next Scottish Government are.\u201d<\/p>\n Reform\u2019s culpability for a poor election campaign runs deeper than a bogus tax cut plan.<\/p>\n A slack vetting process led to endless stories about appalling candidates saying terrible things.<\/p>\n These included a covid vaccine sceptic, a \u201cchemtrails\u201d conspiracy theorist and a Tommy Robinson fan.<\/p>\n Reform\u2019s obsession with asylum seekers also ensured the campaign stayed in the gutter.<\/p>\n The public are rightly concerned about the Tory policy of asylum hotels, but the solution to a \u00a35bn black hole is not targeting people fleeing persecution.<\/p>\n The mudslinging between the political leaders during the campaign fuelled the disconnect felt by voters.<\/p>\n Offord made a dubious claim during one of the TV debates about Sarwar trying to hatch a secret deal with Reform after the election.<\/p>\n The Scottish Labour leader responded with an allegation that Reform candidate Graham Simpson called colleague Thomas Kerr a \u201cweasel\u201d.<\/p>\n Scots struggling to pay their bills deserved better than this low grade soap opera.<\/p>\n The campaign has been a wasted opportunity for the parties to set out their stall.<\/p>\n And, yet, there is hope that the upcoming term of the Parliament will be better than the previous five years.<\/p>\n Holyrood is set to be boosted by dozens of MSPs elected for the first time, individuals who will bring a fresh eye to the problems of the day.<\/p>\n If the SNP fall short of a majority, and Reform are isolated, we may see ancient rivals work together to improve people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n Devolution can and must do better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Daily Record Political Editor Paul Hutcheon says the political parties failed to get on the same page 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