IT is “critical” that a UK Labour government sticks to a manifesto pledge to hand control over post-Brexit structural funding to devolved governments, Patrick Harvie has said after Scottish Labour’s leader appeared to walk back on the promise.
Harvie, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, told The National that Labour also needed to restore the scale of the EU funds lost to Brexit.
Before Brexit, the EU had given structural funding to the devolved government in Scotland to allocate as they chose – often within ring-fenced areas.
However, the Tory-run UK Government decided it would have sole control over replacement “levelling up” pots such as the Shared Prosperity Fund, sparking claims of rolling back the devolution settlement.
The Labour Party’s General Election manifesto, which was published on Thursday, pledges to “restore decision-making over the allocation of structural funds to the representatives of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland”.
However, on Friday Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he expected the allocation of the funds would be a “partnership”, with the UK Government having some level of control.
Speaking to The National on Monday, Scottish Greens MSP Harvie said: “Brexit was imposed on Scotland against our will. It did a huge amount of harm to our society, to our economy. One example of that was the loss of the structural funds. A huge amount of money invested in Scotland, and under the direct control of the Scottish Government.
“The Tories, they promised that they would replace it, but what they replaced it with was on a fraction of the scale and with a fraction of the degree of control for Scotland.
🗣️'It will simply be yet another signal that they are a Brexit party every bit as much as the Tories' Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie calls on Labour to stick to their manifesto pledge to devolve powers of structural funds to Holyrood ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Amztkrj1OD
— The National (@ScotNational) June 17, 2024
“It's really critical that we put immediate pressure on the incoming UK Labour government to reverse that. They need to restore the structural funds to the scale that they were and give the degree of control that Scotland had.
“If they refuse to do that, if they don't do what it says in their manifesto – which they've opened big question marks on in the last few days – then it will simply be yet another signal that they are a Brexit party every bit as much as the Tories.”
The calls come as Labour also faces pressure to commit to ending the Tories’ two-child cap on benefits.
On Monday, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned that its analysis had concluded that 250,000 more children would be impacted by the policy in 2025, rising to 670,000 more by the end of the next UK parliament.
Asked about the IFS analysis, Harvie said: “It does seem extraordinary that Labour, who are looking to be on course for a thumping great majority across the UK, are still so timid that they won't even say that they'll scrap the two-child limit.
“They should be taking a leaf out of Scotland's book. Scotland, having created the Scottish Child Payment, is being recognised across Europe as having done one of the most impactful things to reduce child poverty.
“But the benefits of that are being wiped out by UK-level changes that are pushing children and families back into poverty.
“If Labour are at all serious about making an opportunity out of the thumping great majority they're about to be given, they need to be radical, they need to be bold, and they need to be willing to say we're not going to stick to Tory spending limits.
“We're going to be investing in the communities that need it and in the action that will be necessary to eliminate child poverty.”
Labour have been asked for comment.
