SNP trade union chief warns that public-sector cuts could jeopardise independence push

The SNP Trade Union Group’s national secretary, Simon Barrow, warned that the government’s ambitious public-sector restructuring - including the elimination of several quangos and a reduction of health boards to two - is “unwinnable and deeply damaging.” Although officials claim no compulsory redundancies, unions fear hidden job cuts. Barrow said the reforms could alienate crucial voters needed for both continued SNP rule and a future independence referendum, especially as Andy Burnham’s possible early election looms.

He called for a constitutional convention and for the party to deliver transformational policies such as local wealth taxes, a publicly owned energy network, and a proportional property tax. Barrow stressed that economic credibility, not constitutional rhetoric, will persuade Scots to back self-determination. The Scottish Government defended the reforms as a way to focus investment on frontline services.