One year on from taking office, Keir Starmer’s Labour government is facing sharp criticism from the SNP, who say the promises of change have been replaced by a series of damaging U-turns, broken pledges and economic missteps.
The SNP says voters who hoped for a fresh direction have instead been met with familiar austerity, rising poverty, and a government that is falling further out of step with the Scottish public.
SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn MP said the public’s growing frustration is clear.
He pointed to Labour’s record-low personal approval ratings and one of the steepest drops in opinion polling for any governing party since the 1990s.
“Keir Starmer’s first year in office speaks for itself,” said Flynn.
“A litany of broken promises, scandals, and failures on the economy has drained optimism from a public who were so desperate for change.”
Flynn said families and small businesses are being hammered by tax hikes and soaring costs while being told that things are improving.
“People were promised a new direction, but they got more of the same,” he said.
The SNP highlighted a string of what it called betrayals, including cuts to Winter Fuel Payments and disability support, the rise in child poverty, and the failure to honour key pre-election pledges.
Among them is the ongoing row over WASPI women, with Starmer accused of going back on a personal promise to deliver compensation to those affected by State Pension age changes.
Energy bills, food prices and living costs have all continued to rise, with energy bills still £152 higher than they were when Labour came to office, despite the party’s pledge to cut them by £300.
The SNP also criticised Labour’s decision to raise National Insurance after promising not to, and pointed to rising unemployment and falling vacancies across the country.
SNP Depute Leader Keith Brown said Scottish Labour MPs have repeatedly voted in ways that go against the public mood in Scotland.
“They backed cuts to Winter Fuel Payments and welfare, voted for tax hikes, and have refused to speak out on major issues like Palestine and Brexit,” said Brown.
He also pointed to the party’s failure to save Grangemouth refinery and its refusal to scrap the two-child cap, the bedroom tax or benefit cap.
The SNP says the situation has left many Scots feeling misled, with a recent Ipsos poll showing the party leads Labour by 25 percent when it comes to standing up for Scotland’s interests.
“People in Scotland are deeply disappointed,” said Brown.
“They voted for change, but what they got was change for the worse.”
He said the next Scottish Parliament election will offer a clear choice.
“One year on, the only party standing up for Scotland is the SNP.”
“And we’ll be making that case every day until May next year.”
