THE Labour Government Budget “will end the era of austerity”, Anas Sarwar has claimed – on the same day as the Prime Minister warned that the UK must “embrace the harsh light of fiscal reality”.
In a column for the Daily Record, the Scottish Labour pledged that the UK Government would “mark the end of austerity — a despicable Tory policy that decimated public services and targeted the most vulnerable while giving those that caused economic chaos a free pass”.
He further said that the “Chancellor will have to raise revenues, but any tax rises must fall on those with the broadest shoulders”.
“This Budget will be a turning point and nothing like the Budgets of recent times,” Sarwar wrote.
“In 2010, George Osborne delivered an Austerity Budget that ripped the heart out of local communities and punished working families. In 2022, Kwasi Kwarteng’s reckless ‘Mini-Budget’ sent markets into a panic and Scots’ mortgages and bills rocketing …
“This week, Rachel Reeves will make history as the first female Chancellor to deliver a Budget. She knows that fixing the foundations of our economy means facing up to the £22 billion black hole that the Tories tried to hide head on, or it will pose risks for years to come.”
However, the comments come as Keir Starmer is set to deliver a speech in which he will warn: “We have to be realistic about where we are as a country. This is not 1997, when the economy was decent but public services were on their knees.
“And it’s not 2010, where public services were strong, but the public finances were weak. These are unprecedented circumstances.”
Reeves’s Budget is also expected to include a series of tax hikes, including an increase to employer national insurance by at least one percentage point and an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds introduced under the Tories.
The Chancellor is also planning to change her “fiscal rules” to allow an extra £50bn of borrowing for capital investment by the end of the current parliament. Capital projects are separate from the day-to-day revenue spending to keep departments running.
Responding to the news from the UK Government, Professor Richard Murphy said the planned cuts amounted to austerity.
The economist wrote on social media: “‘Reeves will cut the day-to-day spending budgets for departments including the Ministry of Justice, the transport department and the housing department.’ “Austerity, then. More crime, more carbon and fewer houses won’t work for anyone.”
He added: “A momentous budget? That looks pretty unlikely. Reeves has promised a great Labour Budget event. A damp squib of incoherence seems to be a lot more likely.”
Former SNP MP John Nicolson contrasted quotes from Sarwar and Starmer.
He wrote on Twitter/X: “Pre-election Sarwar promise: ‘Read my lips. No austerity under a Labour Government.’
“Post-election Starmer: ‘Embrace the harsh light of fiscal reality’ with billions of pounds’ worth of spending cuts.
“Ever feel you've been duped Scotland?”
The Labour Government Budget will be laid out by the Chancellor on Wednesday, October 30.
