From PFI debt to Brexit: the price of Labour policies
Across Scotland, councils are still paying the cost of a Labour government – 15 years after they were last in office.
From toxic PFI deals to supporting a damaging Brexit, Scottish Labour offers no solutions beyond their spin and soundbites.
Here’s what you need to know.
Scottish Labour’s PFI disaster is still costing Scotland £30 billion
Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) – where public sector bodies pay private corporations to build and manage new facilities – are a shocking indictment of the terrible decisions made by the last Labour government.
Only last year, councils across Scotland spent £461 million on the upkeep of PFI contracts – almost 10% of the entire council education budgets.
Labour’s legacy of financial mismanagement means that councils have to keep paying these charges for years to come – money that could be spent on strengthening our public services instead.
❌ Labour’s record on PFI contracts is nothing but a con trick – even the Scottish Labour leader says so.
🏴 Under the SNP, we’ve ended the use Tory/Labour PFIs to fund schools and hospitals, and we are committed to a publicly-run, publicly-delivered NHS. #FMQs pic.twitter.com/DkmIcrxGDE
— The SNP (@theSNP) January 30, 2020
Labour is now fully signed up to a damaging, costly Brexit
Labour has teamed up with the Tories to continue imposing Brexit in Scotland, and Keir Starmer confirmed that a future UK Labour government would not seek to rejoin the EU.
The OBR has estimated that an average UK household pays £3,600 for the economic damage of Brexit over 15 years – with the impact of Brexit being double that of the pandemic.
🥀 Labour are red
🌳 Tories are blue
🇬🇧 As long as they rule
🇪🇺 We’re locked out the EU✍️ Pledge your support for Scottish independence at https://t.co/LZLgRffbA0 pic.twitter.com/KZpL0Rqgpl
— Yes (@YesScot) February 14, 2022
While families are already struggling with rising energy bills, rising food prices and Tory welfare cuts, Brexit – now fully supported by Labour – only makes the cost of living crisis worse.
Scotland strongly opposes Brexit – but Labour backs it anyway
As Westminster voted to drag Scotland out of the EU, Scottish Labour’s only MP – Ian Murray – sided with the Tories to impose a damaging Brexit on his Edinburgh constituents.
That’s despite Edinburgh being the most pro-EU city in the UK, with 74.4% voting Remain.
Polls consistently show the overwhelming majority of Scots (75%) think Brexit has gone badly, but in a shoddy attempt to win back votes in England, Keir Starmer has completely abandoned Scotland.
🏴 Brian Cox: “We voted 62% to stay in Europe and we were ignored.”
🤦♀️ Labour’s Keir Starmer: “Respect and listening to Scotland has to be an essential part of this.”
🥀 Also Starmer: “Make Brexit work, don’t just say ‘get it done’, make it work.” pic.twitter.com/70kxgo1X1T
— The SNP (@theSNP) November 8, 2021
The SNP, not Labour, is the party that delivers progress
Rather than just talking about it, the SNP is delivering progress through ambitious policies in government – and we place no limit on our ambitions for Scotland.
Here are just some things we’ve already delivered:
- Free prescriptions
- Free personal care
- Free tuition
- The Baby Box
- Free bus travel for under-22s
- Expanded free childcare
- Free NHS dental care for under-26s
- The “game-changing” Scottish Child Payment
Despite being in government in Wales, Labour has not taken all the steps it could to mitigate the worst impacts of Tory policies, such as the bedroom tax – which is fully mitigated in Scotland.
Our 2022 manifesto is full of ambitious policies for a fairer, better future. Click here to find out more.
#VoteSNP for real action on the Tory cost-of-living crisis, and to build a better future.
🏘️ 110,000 more affordable homes
🚸 Wraparound childcare system
🤝 National Care Service
⛽️ Tackle fuel poverty
🍎 Free school meals for all in P1-P7
👉🏼 And more: https://t.co/dvmTayAEcD pic.twitter.com/dvuMOniggY— The SNP (@theSNP) April 22, 2022
On May 5, vote SNP for real action on the cost of living crisis
On May 5, a vote for the SNP is a vote to elect hard-working local councillors who will prioritise tackling the Tory cost of living crisis.
Every vote will count – here’s 5 ways you can help us win these crucial elections.
📣 @NicolaSturgeon at #STUC125: “No society that values fairness and basic decency should passively accept the poverty and the misery that this crisis is causing.”
🗳️ On May 5, #VoteSNP for real action on the Tory cost of living crisis, and send the Tories a message. pic.twitter.com/FJS1aZlLEs
— The SNP (@theSNP) April 26, 2022