Scotland is vulnerable under Westminster control.
The SNP has slammed Labour for failing to commit to reversing the Tories’ planned Universal Credit cuts if they were in government – and said this shows Scotland is vulnerable under any Westminster government.
In an interview with the Mirror, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said Labour would replace Universal Credit with another system but stopped short of saying the party would reverse Tory cuts to the benefit.
The SNP’s Welfare spokesperson, David Linden MP (pictured), who is leading a campaign to stop the cuts to Universal Credit, has said that Labour has failed to stand up for low-income families in Scotland and across the UK by failing to promise to reverse the cut that would see the incomes of six million slashed by over £1000 per year.
The Glasgow MP also criticised the plans to replace the system – saying that doing so would be another unnecessary and confusing hit to claimants when it has already been made clear that the flaws, such as the advance payment loans and the five-week wait, could be easily fixed if the political will was there.
Commenting, David Linden MP, said:
“Labour’s plans and failure to commit to reversing any Tory cuts to Universal Credit proves that Scotland is vulnerable under Westminster control – regardless of what party is in government.
“Neither the Tories nor Labour can be trusted to stand up for low-income families in Scotland bearing in mind Labour were the architects of austerity, imposing cuts that ran deeper than anything we saw in the Thatcher years, and we are still reeling from a decade of Tory austerity cuts.
“It is crucial that Scotland has a say on its future with a referendum for recovery – independence is the only way we can protect people in Scotland from further austerity cuts.”
