The truth about Scotland’s budget – and Labour’s plan to slash it

by the SNP
Posted on
3 months ago
3 min read

Labour is publicly laying the groundwork for another brutal round of austerity, the scale of which hasn’t been seen in the UK for more than a decade.

With Westminster’s finances in tatters, Labour is poised to embrace the Thatcherite economics of the Conservatives – and backtrack on their election pledges.

Labour’s crippling spending cuts have a marked effect on Scotland’s budget – the money available to the Scottish Government to spend on public services, social security and infrastructure investment.

Labour in Scotland are already desperate to blame any cuts on Scotland’s government in Holyrood – misleading working people who will suffer under austerity measurers imposed by Labour in Westminster.

Here’s all you need to know.

Why do Westminster cuts affect Scotland?

Fourteen years of Westminster failure has left the UK with lower living standards, stagnant wages and public services at breaking point.

The Scottish Government has invested significant resources into stemming the tide of that misery and stopping it from impacting families in Scotland.

Despite Labour’s two child limit affecting 1 in every 9 children nationally – that’s 1.6 million children – the SNP has defied the constraints of devolution to deliver game-changing policies like the Scottish Child Payment – a benefit that is unique to Scotland and is lifting an estimated 100,000 children out of poverty.

Since its introduction just three years ago, it has been increased from £10 to £26.70. That’s an increase of well over 150%.

We’ve also introduced progressive measures including the Best Start Grant and Baby Box, and spent millions of pounds mitigating punitive Westminster policies like the Bedroom Tax.

But it is impossible to mitigate everything, and Westminster’s painful economics have impacted even on areas devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

Due to the complexities of the Barnett Formula, the means by which Scotland receives a proportion of its budget from London, cuts to health spending impact the funding available here in Scotland.

And the Scottish Parliament lacks the borrowing powers and fiscal levers to reverse these terrible decisions.

Notably – Labour have refused to even discuss changing the system, meaning they are responsible for the increasingly tough decision we have to face.

Key economists condemn Labour’s plans

Even the former chief economist to the bank of England has condemned Labour’s plans for another round of crushing austerity.

This kind of economic policy always targets the poorest communities – and when there are cuts to public services, infrastructure spending and welfare payments, it’s always working people who suffer.

By investing in new infrastructure, a government is much more likely to create new jobs, bring more money into an area’s local economy and better connect it with elsewhere to boost business and trade.

This makes Labour’s fascination for the Tories’ fiscal rules and spending plans all the more incomprehensible.

Labour’s cuts are a political choice

Labour is unwilling to own its actions in office – and is instead blaming the state of the nation’s finances on the Tories, the SNP or global events.

The truth is that Labour knew the extent of the challenge, and the £20 billion black hole it would have to plug.

But on the campaign trail, the party consistently dodged scrutiny, made contradictory statements and misled voters.

It now seems convenient to blame the SNP Scottish Government – which has made Scotland a fundamentally fairer and more equal country since taking office in 2007 – for the choices being passed to Scotland by their government in Westminster.

It is an insult to the intelligence of Scottish voters and another glaring sign that the truth doesn’t matter to Labour.

It’s perhaps telling that communities in Scotland – which have consistently supported the SNP in recent years – will be the targets of these punishing cuts.

Labour must take ownership of its austerity and put an end to the insult to Scotland’s voters.