Scots ‘betrayed’ by UK Government that has failed to deliver change – SNP
The SNP said Labour’s record showed it makes ‘no difference’ to people in Scotland which party is in power in Westminster.
Scots feel “betrayed and let down” by a UK Labour Government that has failed to deliver promised change, the SNP has said.
Depute leader Keith Brown accused Labour of carrying on from where the Conservatives left off after 14 years in power – despite, he said, Sir Keir Starmer “repeatedly” promising voters change during the general election campaign.
Mr Brown pointed to what he described as a “litany of failure” during Labour’s first six months in office, including the decision to scrap the universal winter fuel payment and the failure to abolish “cruel Tory policies” such as the two-child benefit cap.
He also criticised the Government’s refusal to “even address the disaster which is Brexit”.
Mr Brown said Labour’s record since winning the election in July showed it makes “no difference” to people in Scotland which party is in power in Westminster.
“Keir Starmer repeatedly promised voters ‘change’ whilst his Scottish leader Anas Sarwar vowed that there ‘would be no austerity under Labour’,” he said.
“After less than six months in power, voters across Scotland rightly feel betrayed and let down once again.
“Whether it’s the decision to scrap the winter fuel payment, failure to abolish cruel Tory policies such as the two-child benefit cap or their refusal to even address the disaster which is Brexit – it is clearer than ever that it makes no difference to people in Scotland which party is in power at Westminster.
“These are policies that the SNP is having to mitigate, where possible, and in doing so are lifting thousands of children out of poverty – something that Labour inexplicably refuse to do.”
Mr Brown said there had been a “a decade of broken promises” since the 2014 independence referendum, when he said the Better Together campaign had claimed remaining in the UK would enable Scotland to stay in the EU and that it would make Scots “better off”.
He added: “We may have seen a change in the occupant of Number 10 in 2024, but this year has seen none of the real change we were promised.
“The reality is that whichever party is in charge at Westminster, they will never have the interests of Scotland at its heart.
“Only the SNP will put Scotland’s interests first and offer meaningful change for Scotland’s economy, households and businesses.
“Ultimately, only the full powers of independence will allow us to escape the Westminster status quo.”
Scottish Labour MSP Michael Marra said: “After 14 years of Tory misery, it is downright insulting for the SNP to pretend this change in government doesn’t matter.
“The Labour Government has ended the era of Tory austerity and delivered the largest budget settlement for Scotland in the history of devolution, boosting funding by £5.2 billion and enabling record investment in our NHS.
“Work is under way to deliver the greatest transfer of money and power to workers in a generation with Labour’s plan to Make Work Pay and deliver cheaper, cleaner energy with a publicly-owned GB Energy company based here in Scotland.
“Labour is already cleaning up the Tories’ mess and changing lives for the better – and this is only the beginning.
“The SNP is resorting to cynical and desperate attacks on Labour because its tired and out of touch Government has nothing else to offer the people of Scotland.”
