Scottish Parliament Election 2026
Policy Comparison & Manifesto Tracker

Argues only independence can give Scotland full economic control. Spending £36m on walk-in GP services as part of public investment programme.

9,000 new apprenticeships and a new industrial strategy. Plans to replace business rates and create a Scottish Treasury.

A 'growth test' for every government policy. Enterprise-style zones, cut red tape and lower business rates to attract investment.

Tax wealth and polluting industries to fund public services. Establish regional green skills hubs linking colleges, employers and unions.

Slash quangos to save £7.5bn and return powers to ministers. Cut spending to grow the private sector.

£36m investment in a new network of walk-in GP services. Claims to have halved NHS waiting times for new outpatients. Pledges the NHS will never be privatised.

End the 8am rush for GP appointments and bring back the 'family doctor'. Speed up rollout of an NHS app, invest in AI-enabled scanners and use all available NHS capacity to cut waiting times.

Guarantee a GP appointment within 48 hours. £350m extra NHS funding above inflation. Bring back recently retired doctors and nurses to reduce waiting lists.

Campaign priority: ensure everyone can see a GP, dentist or mental health professional in their local community when they need one.

NHS to remain free at the point of need. Establish an independent Scottish Healthcare Reform Commission to develop a workforce plan, train more nurses and solve delayed discharge.

Free university tuition fees retained. Further commitments pending full manifesto (16 April).

Up to 2,000 specialist education recovery teachers. Breakfast clubs in all primary schools, ban mobile phones in classrooms, more classroom assistants and two weeks of funded summer holiday clubs.

Raise educational standards, increase classroom assistants and ban mobile phones. Support for teachers as a priority.

Scrap Education Scotland. Move to a knowledge-based curriculum and restore exams, reversing what the party calls a decade of declining standards.

First-time buyers pay no LBTT on the first £175,000 of a property. Further housing commitments pending full manifesto.

125,000 new homes by 2031, including more than 50,000 affordable. A dedicated Housing Bank to direct investment. LBTT relief threshold raised to £200,000 for first-time buyers.

80,000 affordable homes over the next five years. Abolish LBTT on primary residences entirely. Opposes rent controls.

All new homes must meet net-zero standards. Strengthen rent controls by removing exemptions for mid-market and build-to-rent properties. Four-month notice period for evictions and ban on evictions for sale or owner-occupation in the first 12 months.

Target 75,000 affordable homes over five years.

Committed to net zero by 2045. Argues Scotland's energy resources should be in Scottish hands, achievable only through independence.

Support renewables expansion and remove what they describe as the SNP's block on new nuclear energy in Scotland.

Back oil and gas industry alongside support for new nuclear power. Less emphasis on accelerating net zero targets.

Get Scotland back on track for net zero by 2045 with a coordinated climate action delivery programme. £600m investment in onshore and offshore wind, wave and solar to lower energy bills.

Scrap all Scottish Government net zero targets. Fast-track planning for new energy projects including open cast coal mining. Prioritise energy security over climate targets.

Scotland's energy resources should be in Scottish hands. Argues only independence can deliver lower energy bills by controlling the energy system.

Support renewables expansion. Remove the block on new nuclear energy to diversify Scotland's energy mix.

Back North Sea oil and gas alongside support for new nuclear power as part of a balanced energy policy.

£600m investment programme in onshore and offshore wind, wave and solar. Zero-carbon energy to lower bills and cut emissions.

Scrap net zero energy targets. Fast-track planning approvals for new energy projects including open cast coal. Back North Sea oil and gas.

Peak rail fares permanently scrapped. Further transport commitments pending full manifesto.

£350m dedicated potholes fund. Deliver the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

National pothole fund, trunk road upgrades and bridge restoration across Scotland.

All new homes must be connected to zero-carbon public transport. Reduce transport emissions as part of the climate action delivery programme.

Fix potholes as an immediate priority. Abolish ULEZ-style schemes. End what the party calls 'the war on the motor car'.

Council tax and water bills kept lower than the rest of the UK. Prescription charges abolished. Peak rail fares scrapped.

Making life more affordable is the first manifesto priority. Commitments include tax relief for first-time buyers and breakfast clubs to reduce household costs.

Cut taxes so people keep more of their own money. Raise the income tax threshold and reduce rates to ease cost-of-living pressure.

Tackling the cost-of-living crisis listed as a campaign focus. Full detail pending manifesto (17 April).

Lower energy bills through £600m renewable investment. Stronger tenant protections to limit housing costs.

Cut Scottish income tax below rest-of-UK rates. Save households money by cutting what the party calls wasteful government spending.

LBTT relief up to £175,000 for first-time buyers. No tuition fees, no prescription charges. Further tax policy pending full manifesto.

Raise LBTT relief threshold to £200,000 for first-time buyers. Replace business rates with a fairer system.

Raise the income tax threshold to £13,892 by 2031 (saving ~£250/year). Income tax rate of 19% up to the higher rate. Higher rate threshold raised to £50,270 to match the rest of the UK. Abolish LBTT on primary residences entirely.

Tax wealth and polluting industries to pay for public services. Ask the richest in society to pay more.

Cut Scottish income tax below rest-of-UK rates, funded by closing quangos and cutting £7.5bn in spending.

Free personal care retained as an existing commitment. Further social care policy pending full manifesto.

Tackle the 'bloated welfare budget' with rigorous face-to-face assessments for claimants. Focus on reducing dependency rather than expanding entitlements.

Named local police officers for communities. Stronger action on antisocial behaviour.

Repeal the Hate Crime and Public Order Act. Tougher sentencing and more prison capacity.

Back the police. Repeal the Hate Crime and Public Order Act. Tougher approach to crime and sentencing.

Cut one-third of quangos and return powers to ministers. Create a new Scottish Treasury to improve economic management.

Cut quangos by at least a quarter. Introduce a Taxpayer Savings Act to ensure public money is spent efficiently.

Shut down quangos entirely, saving £7.5bn. Reduce the number of MSPs from 73 to 57 by aligning Holyrood constituencies with Westminster boundaries.

Independence is central to the SNP's campaign. The first SNP vote elects an SNP Government; the second delivers independence. Argues Westminster doesn't work for Scotland.

Opposes independence and a second referendum. Argues Scotland's challenges are best solved within the UK.

Strongly opposes independence and any further referendums. Positions the election as a choice between SNP division and Conservative stability.

Opposes independence. Supports a federal UK as an alternative to both the status quo and separation.

Supports Scottish independence as part of building a greener, fairer country. Would use Holyrood to advance the case for independence.

Strongly unionist. Opposes independence and any second referendum.