October 29, 2018 Blog

Chancellor must use his Budget to end austerity

October 29, 2018.

The Chancellor must use his Budget to end the painful austerity cuts imposed by his party on communities across the country.

For almost a decade the Tories’ attacks on welfare, public services and public sector pay has damaged the most vulnerable people in Scotland.

Earlier this month, the Prime Minister told her party’s conference that austerity was over.

If Philip Hammond fails to do so then Theresa May’s promise will be exposed as nothing more than a cruel lie to thousands of families suffering the consequences of her party’s assault on welfare and public services.

Scottish Labour has laid out five key policy choices Hammond must make to keep his government’s promise:

  1. Stop the roll out of Universal Credit immediately and implement Labour’s 10 emergency measures to alleviate the suffering of those already on it.
  2.  Match Labour’s promise to give an additional £70 billion of funding for Scotland over a decade.
  3. Support an Islands Deal to give those communities similar economic support that City Deals will provide.
  4. Give more support for North Sea decommissioning and the transition to renewable energy in Scotland.
  5. Ban charges for using cash machines to stop private companies from profiteering from bank branch closures rubber-stamped by his government.

If implemented, these policies would boost Scotland’s economy and protect the vital public services we all rely on.

The next Labour government will invest a transformational extra £70 billion in Scotland over a decade.  The Chancellor must match that at the very least or it will be clear for all to see that only Labour can be trusted to deliver for Scotland.

Labour is committed to ending austerity, it is now time for the Tories to deliver on their promise to the people of Scotland.