Both north and south of the border, governments continue to struggle to reconcile the demands of the public in wanting tangible action during a cost-of-living crisis with the slow, incremental progress that politicians invariably serve up. For example, the Prime Minister’s measures on reducing VAT on electricity bills, pledges to end rough sleeping and rhetoric, if for now light on action, to end the broken neo-liberal economic model that has plagued the UK for decades have been welcome.

In Scotland, the First Minister has also been clear on the need to provide urgent support for families with the rollout of breakfast clubs, the Scottish Child Payment being uprated in the last budget and the upcoming, if delayed and perhaps troubled, initiative to cap food prices.

These are all valuable policies in what is, perhaps, a longer route to fairness, but while both politicians are reluctant to improve the public finances through taxing bank profits and introducing proportionate property and wealth taxes, the change people want to see is still far off in the distance. What unites both political leaders is another cap – the £2 bus cap.

There is nothing wrong with the policy of itself. In fact, it’s good. Buses and public transport more generally should be cheaper and more accessible. It should serve the communities of Scotland and remove barriers to work and leisure. The environmental positives are unarguable. Transport emissions make up around a quarter of the Scottish total. But moving people from cars to public transport cannot be all stick and no carrot. The offer needs to be better so that people will use it.

The Isle........

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