ACS is reminding retailers of resources that we've created to highlight the key manifesto pledges made by the main parties in Wales and Scotland.
The 'Manifestos at A Glance' infographics are an easy to follow resource summarising the pledges of the main parties in Wales and Scotland on the following areas of policy:
- Crime
- Employment
- High Streets and Business Rates
- Environment / DRS
- Public Health
In Scotland, some of the manifesto commitments highlighted in the document include:
- The Scottish National Party have pledged to introduce a new vape display ban that would see vapes treated in the same way as tobacco products. The party have also pledged to introduce a statutory price ceiling on a basket of 20-50 essential food items at large supermarkets only.
- On business rates, Scottish Labour have pledged to replace business rates with a new 'local business levy', while the Scottish Liberal Democrats would work toward a new system with a land value element. The Scottish Conservatives have pledged that any business with a rateable value of less than £20,000 would pay no business rates. Reform have pledged to reverse the 2026 rates revaluation.
- On the environment, Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have pledged to introduce an additional charge on single use coffee cups, while the Scottish Green Party would seek to extend the scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.
Download the Scotland Manifestos at a Glance document here
In Wales, some of the manifesto commitments highlighted in the document include:
- On business rates, the Conservative manifesto pledges to scrap rates altogether for small firms, pubs and post offices. Other parties have pledged to review and reform the rates system, with the Green Party suggesting that business rates could be replaced with a land value based tax system.
- On crime, the Green Party have pledged to reduce the prison population and introduce more community-based alternatives to custody, while the Liberal Democrats will seek to work with Police and Crime Commissioners to halt the use of facial recognition technology to identify offenders.
- One of the major questions that the next Government in Wales will need to answer is how they're going to manage the proposed Deposit Return Scheme after the current Welsh Government declined to appoint a scheme administrator before the election. The Conservative and Reform manifestos seek full alignment between the Welsh scheme and the scheme being introduced in the rest of the UK. Labour speak of a 'UK-leading bottle return scheme' but do not set out detail of what that would entail, while Plaid Cymru pledge to introduce a DRS that includes glass 'when practically feasible'. There are no mentions of the deposit return scheme in the Liberal Democrat or Green Party manifestos.
