Members of the Social Justice and Fairness Commission (SJFC) have said that Scotland has the chance to “reset our society” after a decade of Tory austerity, develop a social security system with fairness and justice at its heart, and reverse the devastating impact of Tory cuts.
Since its formation in 2019, the Social Justice and Fairness Commission has set out to build the case for independence – showing how, with full powers, Scotland can tackle poverty and create a fairer society.
Over the past year, the commission has launched consultations on providing a secure income for all, home and communities for all, health and wellbeing and reforming social care.
Addressing delegates at the SNP’s national conference, Shona Robison MSP (pictured) said:
“The past few months have demonstrated that change is possible, and that our ambition is constrained only by what we collectively consider desirable.
“As we hope to emerge from the constraints of this unprecedented global pandemic let’s emerge with the hope and confidence that together, now and with independence, we can change our society for the better, for all, forever.
“Conference, I believe it is essential that those businesses, which have benefited the most through the pandemic also contribute to recovery, with the focus of that recovery on supporting those individuals and families who have been impacted most.
“So instead of freezing public sector pay, scrapping the proposed increase to the national minimum wage and failing to extend the £20 uplift to universal credit, the UK Government must instead look to those with the broadest shoulders and consider a windfall tax on those businesses’ which have seen excess profits during the pandemic, raising much needed revenues to help ensure a fairer and more socially just recovery from this pandemic.”
Neil Gray MP added:
“We can see from the spending review that when we have our independence referendum we are going to have a choice of two futures – Brexit Britain with austerity on stilts where those on the lowest incomes will pay the biggest price once again – or building a good, fairer, wellbeing society with independence.
“Our children can’t afford to take the chance any longer – they need independence.”
