Swinney discovers price controls just in time for election season

Spectator Australia · John Ferry · Friday 17 April 2026

Swinney discovers price controls just in time for election season

Scottish First Minister John Swinney has unveiled a food price control policy as the centrepiece of his party's Holyrood election manifesto, reaching for headline-grabbing interventionism ahead of the vote.

A First Minister who can't keep the lights on in Dundee reckons he'll set the price of bread in Inverness. Menzies at least had the decency to ration things during a war — Swinney's rationing credibility during a manifesto launch.

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