Here’s what they’ve promised:
- Legislate for an essentials guarantee ensuring that everyone can afford basic necessities like food and utilities
- Defend free university tuition in Scotland
- Devolve powers to create a bespoke migration system for Scotland
- Devolve employment rights and the minimum wage
- Increase the minimum wage to at least the level of the national living wage, increasing in line with inflation, and ending age discrimination of pay levels.
- Votes@16
- Re-entry into Erasmus+
Here’s what they’re missing:
- Abolish No Recourse to Public Funds
- Clarifying that Apprentices will be entitled to the single National Minimum Wage
- Scrap the NHS Surcharge
Commenting, NUS UK Vice President Further Education, Bernie Savage, and NUS Scotland President, Ellie Gomersall, said:
“The SNP have clearly listened to students in drafting their manifesto, and we warmly welcome their inclusion of many of our core asks from NUS Scotland’s Manifesto for Our Future, including rejoining Erasmus+, supporting people through the cost-of-living crisis through measures such as an essentials guarantee, and the devolution of employment and migration law to create a fairer Scotland for workers and international students.
"That said, the lack of detail as to how they would use these new devolved powers concerns us. Will apprentices be paid a living wage? Will they scrap the NHS surcharge and “no recourse to public funds” for international students? And with the SNP’s track record of education cuts in the Scottish Government, students will need to see action rather than just warm words from the Scottish National Party”