Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay will today (Monday) call for "fairness and justice for Scotland's taxpayers" after years of higher bills from the SNP and "sleekit" tax rises expected from the UK Labour government in this week's budget.
In his first major set-piece speech in Scotland since being elected leader, Findlay will make the case for lower taxes and a smaller state that spends taxpayers' money more efficiently.
He will say trust has broken down between the public and politicians because taxes keep rising while services keep getting worse.
Findlay will criticise the left-wing parties for focusing only on “inputs, not outcomes” and believing “the only solution is to spend more”.
He will say the Scottish Parliament has “not lived up to its potential” and the era of “student politics” and “gimmicks” must come to an end.
His speech in Edinburgh will include suggestions on potential ways to make public services more efficient and limit state overreach into people's lives.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay will say: "The trust between the public and politicians has broken down because people pay more in tax every year for services that only get worse.
"People only ever hear Holyrood talk of how much more they should pay — never how much less they could pay if government was more efficient.
"People bust a gut to make a better life for their families, only to be told by politicians earning more than twice the average wage they need to cough up even more.
"It leaves folk even worse off, and it fuels the disconnect between people and politicians.
"The left-wing parties in the Scottish Parliament spend all their time on inputs, never on outcomes.
"The only solution Holyrood ever seems to come up with is to put more money in, as if that will fix the problem on its own.
"Proper funding of public services is crucial, but it's only part of the solution.
"Public services must become more effective by being more efficient.
"I don't want to cut public services, I want to cut the cost of delivering services.
"It's time to end the student politics of gimmicks and cheap headlines that come with costly price tags.
"Holyrood has not lived up to its potential. It has become an echo chamber for posturing and preening student politics.
"At the root of the problem is the attitude that levying further charges on tortured taxpayers is somehow an act of virtue. This needs to change.
"Continually squeezing more cash out of people is not righteous or progressive.
"We need fairness and justice for Scotland’s taxpayers.
"They won’t get it from Labour’s upcoming budget this week. It will impose sleekit tax rises on workers which blatantly contradict the spirit of manifesto promises to the public.
"So, going forward, my party will not only make the case for tax cuts, but for a smaller state that better serves the public.
"It's a markedly different approach to the left-wing consensus in the Scottish Parliament that favours a bigger state, expanding both its size and reach into our lives.
"If we focus instead on providing value for money at all times, eliminating wasteful spending, and reducing the burden of tax on workers and businesses, then I do believe that trust can be rebuilt.
"The Scottish Conservative and Unionist party I lead is up for that challenge."