Murray: New data on 'unacceptably hard' Scottish lives demands SNP take responsibility

Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling on the SNP to heed the findings of a major new report that identifies serious cause for concern about the standard of living in Scotland, with the population suffering persistent inequalities and a serious sense of disconnection from democracy.

The latest edition of Carnagie UK’s annual Life in the UK Index reveals that while Scotland’s overall wellbeing score has remained relatively stable, “too many people in Scotland are leading lives that are unacceptably hard”.

Among its findings:

• Disabled people and people living in social housing tend to have lower wellbeing scores across collective, democratic, economic and social wellbeing
• Satisfaction with local job opportunities has fallen significantly since 2023
• Only 17% of people have high trust in the Scottish Government
• Scotland scores particularly poorly on “democratic wellbeing”, which measures whether people believe they have influence over decisions that affect them

Commenting on the report, Liberal Democrat Scotland spokesperson Susan Murray MP said:

“To see an independent study describe people in Scotland living ‘unacceptably hard’ lives is galling. Sadly, it’ll be no surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention.

“The truth is that the SNP have overseen two decades of stagnation and decline in numerous areas of public life, and it’s ordinary people who are suffering the consequences. Small wonder that trust in the Scottish government is desperately low.

“Devolution’s promise is that people should find it easier to hold their elected leaders to account for the results of their decisions. This report reveals what the SNP is accountable for, and the picture it paints is a sorry one.”