Nicola Sturgeon promises to put young people at the centre of SNP Manifesto

THE SNP manifesto will focus on opportunities and support for young people, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The party is to publish its proposals on Tuesday after delaying it in the wake of the Manchester bombing.

Visiting the East Dunbartonshire constituency on Saturday, the First Minister promised to put young people at the centre of the manifesto.

She said: “Now more than ever, we need strong SNP voices at Westminster standing up for Scotland’s young people.

“Young people are our future – the most valuable resource that we have – and it’s important that we create the best opportunities for them to get ahead in life and to achieve their potential.

“The Tories think they can get away with passing the burden of deeper cuts and further austerity on to families, which can often hit children the hardest. The SNP will never sit idly by and let them take those opportunities away.”

The SNP’s manifesto will commit to investing in education, the removal of Child Tax Credits clauses, the restoration of housing support for 18 to 21-year-olds across the UK and lowering the voting age to 16 in all elections.

Ms Sturgeon said: “We won’t discriminate against third or subsequent children in families receiving Child Tax Credits and we won’t make women prove they were raped to get the support they’re entitled to.

“We’ll give housing benefit to those who need it, in spite of Tory cuts putting more young people at risk of homelessness.

“In Scotland, we already put our trust in 16 and 17-year-olds to play their part in building a better nation and having their voices heard in our democracy. We will put forward proposals at Westminster to give them that opportunity at all elections.

“On June 8, young people have a huge amount at stake. The SNP will always stand up for them, for their future and for their right to have their voice heard.”

Meanwhile, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie vowed to “stand against the political dividers of our time”, as he hit out at the SNP and the Conservatives.

On a visit to an alpaca farm on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Mr Rennie said: “A majority of people in Scotland want to keep the United Kingdom but the SNP want to divide it. They do not speak for Scotland.

“The SNP should cancel their plans for a divisive referendum on independence.

“And a majority of people in Scotland want to keep the European Union but the Conservatives want to divide that. They do not speak for Scotland.”

He added: “No-one else stands with the majority of Scotland – for the United Kingdom and for the European Union. Liberal Democrats do.

“We are pro-UK, pro-Europe and progressive. And we will stand against the actions of the political dividers of our time.”