Opinion: Rachael Hamilton MSP

Behind all the talk about Brexit, and the SNP civil war with Sturgeon and Salmond, there is still much work to be done to get the Scottish budget over the line on time. As you may know, the SNP do not have a majority at Holyrood and therefore require the support of another party to get their budget passed.

In previous years, the support has come from the Scottish Greens who hold the balance of power. Their regionally-elected members have six seats with just 150,000 votes making them very powerful on such a small percentage of the vote. It looks like this year the same will happen again. The usual charade of the Greens holding out until the last second has already begun and will no doubt lead to more damaging policies for Scotland.

I must say, I do agree with one thing that Patrick Harvie and his fellow Greens advocate. They, like every other party in Holyrood apart from the SNP, want better funding for our local councils. This is much needed especially here in the Borders where we are being forced to make difficult choices every year. Audit Scotland report that since 2010/11 resource funding to councils from the Scottish Government has fallen by 9.6 per cent.

However, the way the Greens go about it will lead to very damaging taxes on our hardworking families. They want a property tax that will see many household budgets under pressure if they get their way. They also want to introduce a damaging tourist tax. In the Borders, like many other rural areas, we are hoping to increase the amount of tourists coming here, not punishing them for coming.

If the SNP want my support they will need to commit to bringing the Large Business Supplement in line with businesses just over the border, a cut in Air Passenger Duty, more support for our High Streets and a clear commitment to take a second independence referendum off the table.

It is only by helping the economy grow that Scotland and its public services will flourish. Holding it back through taxation is definitely not the way.