Ian Blackford Profile picture
Mar 21, 2020 7 tweets 3 min read Read on X
I've written to @RishiSunak calling for an urgent cross-party meeting to discuss the financial measures that are still needed for self-employed and unemployed people - to ensure everyone has a guaranteed income and no one is left behind #selfemployed #Coronavirus
The SNP has welcomed the important measures that have been introduced so far - but it is vital that a financial package is introduced specifically for the millions of self-employed and unemployed people who also need support in this unprecedented emergency #Coronavirus
Its my view the UK govt should use the tax & welfare system to provide a guaranteed income for everyone, including self-employed & unemployed people - putting money in people's pockets through a Universal Basic Income, reverse National Insurance, or similar mechanism #Coronavirus
The UK government should also look at including self-employed people in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - providing the same support for self-employed people as already announced for others #Coronavirus
The UK's Statutory Sick Pay rates should also be increased to the EU national average - and we must ensure that all self-employed people, and those under the earnings threshold, are covered #Coronavirus
Finally, we should strengthen welfare protections by increasing Child Benefit and making Universal Credit more flexible - e.g. immediate upfront payments, extended backdating, removing capital tariff reduction, and providing a hardship payment for the self-employed #Coronavirus
There will no doubt be many other ideas for how we can help self-employed and unemployed people through this crisis, which is why it's important political parties urgently get round the table so a comprehensive package can be introduced asap #Coronavirus

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More from @blackfordian1

Jul 7, 2022
Boris Johnson's resignation is welcome but for Scotland it changes very little – we are still controlled by a broken Westminster system that saw fit to make him Prime Minister in the first place.
Whoever replaces him, Scotland will still be saddled with a Tory government we didn't vote for imposing Brexit, austerity cuts and damaging policies against Scotland's will.
And with all the Westminster parties fully signed up to a hard Brexit, it is clear a change of government alone cannot provide the real change that Scotland needs.
Read 5 tweets
Jun 10, 2022
I am aware of the concerns of residents, their families and all staff members at Budhmor care home as to the future of the home, with Crossreach indicating they are not prepared to keep the care home open beyond the end of July.
To put it mildly I am not at all impressed that whilst NHS Highland amongst others are engaged in a desire to determine whether Budhmor can be maintained as a care home that Crossreach are behaving in such a manner.
I am determined to make sure we have appropriate provision of care beds on the Island of Skye. Put simply the closure of Budhmor without an alternative plan for sufficient capacity would not be acceptable.
Read 12 tweets
Jan 31, 2022
Boris Johnson's position is now completely untenable.

The Prime Minister is guilty of breaking lockdown rules and misleading parliament. He must resign - or be removed from office.
The Sue Gray report is utterly damning. It has provided the final nail in the coffin against Boris Johnson's false claims that he would be exonerated.

Instead, it has provided conclusive evidence that rule-breaking events did happen and should never have taken place.
It's clear the Prime Minister knew about events, attended them, and lied to Parliament.

Misleading Parliament is a resignation matter in itself - but just as important is the fact that the Prime Minister and his Downing Street team were breaking the rules that they had imposed.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 28, 2022
The Sue Gray report must be published in full and undoctored without further delay.

This UK government farce has gone on long enough. People are understandably concerned that this increasingly looks like a cover-up.
It is a fact that Boris Johnson broke the rules, lied about it, and misled parliament.

This is an extremely serious resignation matter - and he must be held to account.
The Prime Minister cannot be allowed to wriggle off the hook by using the Metropolitan Police investigation as an excuse to further delay or doctor the report.
Read 4 tweets
Dec 17, 2021
I have written to the Prime Minister @BorisJohnson post the allegations made against Simon Case the permanent secretary.
"I write in reference to the serious allegations that have emerged in relation to two parties hosted at the Cabinet Secretary’s office last December, at which the Cabinet Secretary was present.
As you are aware the Cabinet Secretary is due to report on his investigations into parties at Downing Street in the coming days and it is clear that this process has been fundamentally and fatally undermined.
Read 10 tweets
Aug 17, 2021
The UK government's proposed scheme doesn't go anywhere near far or fast enough to protect vulnerable Afghan refugees - including women and children, and all those who are seeing their human rights and lives at threat under the Taliban regime #Afghanistan
The UK government shares responsibility for this major foreign policy disaster, which has seen millions of Afghans displaced and living in fear of what will happen next #Afghanistan
It needs to be far more ambitious, generous and swift to help the Afghan citizens that it has abandoned and left at serious risk of persecution and death. #Afghanistan
Read 8 tweets

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