We may be over a year away from the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections but it is worth reflecting that the SNP is projected to remain the largest party by far at Holyrood – almost twenty years since that first became true.

Meanwhile, it seems UK Labour has taken the decision to sacrifice the Scottish Parliament by rushing through unpopular and inhumane policies attacking pensioners, disabled people, and workers – leading to projections of its worst ever post-devolution result.

While no-one in the SNP – especially those of us aiming to stand for election in 2026 – will be taking a single vote for granted, it is worth looking at what has brought us to a point where another five years of SNP government seems likely; almost unheard of for a party in power for so long.

For recent examples of why the SNP is seen as a safe pair of hands when it comes to Scotland’s future, you don’t have to look much further that Labour’s UK government welfare reforms.

Labour’s own impact analysis shows that 250,000 folk, including 50,000 children, will be pushed into poverty under the social security reforms outlined in their Pathways to Work green paper.

Meanwhile the Resolution Foundation has warned that lower income households are set to become £500 a year poorer following the UK Government’s Spring Statement.

Analysis by the Department of Work and Pensions shows that 3.2 million families across the UK will see a financial loss as a result of Labour’s cuts, with an average loss of £1720 per year.

Labour’s welfare reforms also mean 800,000 folk are blocked from receiving disability benefits, costing them an estimated £4500 a year.

All of this flies in the face of targets to reduce child poverty in the UK, and the SNP in government has consistently called on UK governments – the Tories and now Labour – to end the damaging two-child cap. We are backed in these calls by many other voices, including the Resolution Foundation, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), and even the UN.

That is why, despite the uncertainties of renewed Labour austerity, in the coming financial year the Scottish Government will develop the systems needed to mitigate the two-child cap in Scotland, with estimates that this will result in 20,000 fewer children in relative poverty in 2026-27.

Of course John Swinney has already prioritised his mission to eradicate child poverty, with the CPAG reporting that Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is expected to fall in the coming years.

This is thanks in no small part to the unique Scottish Child Payment, which has seen over £1 billion paid out to families in Scotland since it was launched in 2021, including £2,359,906, benefiting over 760 children in Orkney.

When the London School of Economics is telling the UK Government it could lift 700,000 children out of poverty overnight if it were to match Scotland’s investment in social security, you can see which country is prioritising supporting its most vulnerable.

This is a regular column by SNP MSP Emma Roddick. All Highlands and Islands MSPs have been offered the same space in The Orkney News to share their personal views.