Scottish election 2021: Family Party propose council tax cuts for parents

Richard Lucas

Richard Lucas said there was a space for a party at Holyrood for a party which backed marriage, family and freedom of speech

The Scottish Family Party has pledged to push for council tax cuts for parents if it wins seats at Holyrood.

The socially conservative party is standing candidates in all regions of Scotland in the election on May 6.

Its policies include scrapping the Curriculum for Excellence in schools, restricting abortions, repealing the smacking ban and promoting marriage.

Leader Richard Lucas said his group could "fill a gap" at Holyrood for those with pro-life views.

He said: "If you listen to the existing politicians and think they just don't say what I believe, they're not pro-family, pro-marriage or pro-life, they don't understand the problems in education and they're not for free speech in any meaningful sense, then we're the party to fill that gap and represent you in the Scottish Parliament."

SCOTLAND ALERTS: Get extra updates on BBC election coverage

The Scottish Family Party is standing a total of 42 candidates in the Holyrood election, including on every regional list ballot and in seven constituencies.

Its manifesto states that family life "underpins our society", and that the state should not seek to interfere in it.

The party wants to repeal the legislation banning smacking, increase child benefit payments, and make income tax allowances fully transferable between married couples.

It also says the council tax "tends to penalise families with children", who need larger homes, and says this should be offset with tax discounts for families with dependent children as well as those who have an elderly relative living with them.

The party wants to scrap the "terrible" Curriculum for Excellence, with Mr Lucas telling BBC Scotland it is "vague and woolly and not focused on knowledge and understanding - proper academic rigour is just going out the window".

The manifesto says schools should "instil a proper respect for authority" and enforce high standards by punishing children who misbehave.

It also suggests a "national certification in character qualities" such as good manners, punctuality, trustworthiness and industriousness, which it says could be used to assess whether people are eligible for state benefits later in life.

SCOTLAND'S ELECTION: THE BASICS

What's happening? On 6 May, people across Scotland will vote to elect 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The party that wins the most seats will form the government. Find out more here.

What powers do they have? MSPs pass laws on aspects of life in Scotland such as health, education and transport - and have some powers over tax and welfare benefits.

Who can vote? Anyone who lives in Scotland, is registered to vote and aged 16 or over on 6 May is eligible. You can register to vote online.

The party was behind pro-life messages projected onto buildings including the Scottish Parliament

The party is "neutral" on the issues of Scottish independence and EU membership, but says it respect the results of the referendums held in 2014 and 2016 respectively.

And it says Covid-19 restrictions should be lifted "swiftly", saying that "people must be trusted to make their own decisions going forward".

The Scottish Family Party ran into controversy earlier in the year after projecting messages on to buildings including the Scottish Parliament and a sexual heath clinic in Edinburgh reading "unborn lives matter".

Other messages were projected in Perth, with Deputy First Minister John Swinney describing them as "juvenile distractions" which "trivialise important issues".

And Mr Lucas - a former physics teacher - was formally investigated by the General Teaching Council for Scotland after criticising the "fatherless" pregnancy of former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson in an online video, in which he said there were "problems associated with same-sex parenthood".

He was accused of using offensive language which would lead parents to conclude he was "intolerant of and prejudiced against same sex parents" - but the GTCS said the allegation was not proved and ruled that he could stay on the register of teachers.

Mr Lucas said afterwards that "the expression of socially conservative views, in line with traditional religious teachings, should never endanger someone's career".

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