What we know about the SNP plans to cut airport tax that Gordon MacDonald MSP does not tell us (Comment, 21/06/17): it is a regressive move that is supported by the Tories in Scotland and their DUP chums in Northern Ireland.

Analysis from the Office for National Statistics has suggested the SNP’s plan to halve airport tax would save the top 20% of earners £73 per year whilst the poorest would save just £4 on average. In short, cutting airport tax will increase inequality.

Furthermore, the SNP Government’s own analysis shows its plan to cut airport tax by 50% could result in up to an extra 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year.

Indeed, the SNP were sent packing in Holyrood when the only evidence they could dig up to back their argument was provided by the airline industry.

Both the Tories and the SNP claim that in the longer-term the move will boost the Scottish economy, but neither say how it will be funded in the short term. Will the £300m needed be taken from Education in a move that will further worsen inequality?

Personally, I have trouble understanding how cutting the cost of a holiday in Florida or Australia boosts the Scottish economy.

Would a better way to boost tourism in Scotland not be to ensure councils have the money they need to maintain basic infrastructure. What must tourists  think when they see the result of SNP cuts in our Capital City?  We don’t see overflowing bins, cratered roads and pavements overgrown with weeds on postcards, but I’m sure they feature in conversations when tourists return home.