The SNP has demanded Labour own their damaging political decision to continue Tory austerity, following a raft of announcements from the UK government that spell havoc for Scotland.
Following a week that saw Labour’s own Cabinet members in Wales acknowledge the damage of the UK government’s decision to scrap the Winter Fuel Payment, households also heard that the energy price cap would be rising by 10% – a hammer blow to household budgets and a clean break of a key Labour election promise.
The SNP warned of the impact on vital public services, as reports suggest Keir Starmer is set to warn that “things will get worse before they get better” and Rachel Reeves is preparing to hike taxes and cut spending in the upcoming UK Budget.
While the Labour UK government has full powers at its disposal, Scotland’s SNP government must balance its budget with limited resources – with a continuation of Tory austerity under Labour meaning touch choices ahead.
SNP Depute Leader Keith Brown said:
“Following another disastrous week of UK government announcements for households across Scotland, the Labour Party’s political decision to continue Tory austerity is one they have to own.
“The new Labour government at Westminster has the levers to end austerity – but they’re choosing not to.
“Instead of improving the lives of people across the country, it now seems Keir Starmer is about to admit things are actually going to get worse for them – it’s a complete betrayal of what Labour promised during the election.
“Sir Keir Starmer has led his government on a crash-course to accelerating hardship across Scotland and the whole UK.
“Broken promise after broken promise spells even tougher times ahead for households – and it’s all happening on Labour’s watch.
“Against the backdrop of Westminster austerity, resulting in immensely challenging financial pressure for the Scottish Government, the SNP will always prioritise protecting our public services.
“But make no mistake, decisions at Westminster mean touch choices ahead.
“Will Anas Sarwar wake up to this and lobby his Westminster bosses to find another way, or will he sit in silence while Scotland suffers under Labour austerity?”
