ANAS Sarwar has confirmed Scottish Labour will abstain on a vote on the Scottish Budget in an interview with the BBC.
It means the SNP should have the numbers to pass the Budget when it goes to a Holyrood vote before the end of February.
Sarwar further said that his party would only vote for the Budget if the Scottish Government “stopped pretending that this Budget lifts the two-child benefit cap”.
“As it currently stands, the two-child benefit cap is not lifted this year.
"If they do, we will support the Budget because we support lifting the two-child benefit cap,” he told Good Morning Scotland.
The SNP have said that they will work with the UK Government, who have the data needed, in order to scrap the benefit cap for Scots from 2025/2026.
Asked why he wouldn't vote for the Budget if it supported Scottish Labour policies like lifting the two-child cap, Sarwar said: "This Budget does not contain giving rates relief to businesses that they should have done, this Budget does not include a proper catch-up plan to clear the NHS backlogs, it does not contain a new direction for an NHS fit for purpose."
It comes after we told on Monday how the First Minister urged MSPs to back the spending plans, warning that a failure to do so could feed "the forces of anti-politics and populism".
With John Swinney leading a minority government, he initially needed the support of a party other than Alba, who have just one MSP in Ash Regan (below).
Sway over UK Labour
Sarwar also continually refused to answer a question on how much he influence he has over the UK Government during an interview with the BBC.
The Scottish Labour leader was grilled on a series of decisions made by the UK Government which his MSPs have spoken out against – including keeping the two-child benefit cap, cutting the universal Winter Fuel Payment, and refusing to pay out compensation for Waspi women.
Asked how much consultation he had with Keir Starmer on cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment or the decision to keep the two-child cap, Sarwar said: “On each of those, I made my view clear on the Winter Fuel Payment, it’s why a Scottish Labour government will reinstate the Winter Fuel Payment, not the approach the SNP’s taking where they still believe somehow that £14,000 is a good measure of what higher payment looks like.”
In the Budget announcement at the start of December, Shona Robison (below) confirmed the Scottish Government will abolish the two-child benefit cap for families in Scotland.
Swinney’s government has also said it will introduce a universal Winter Fuel Payment to Scottish pensioners from next winter after saying it originally had no choice but to follow the UK Government’s decision in making cuts.
Asked for a second time how much consultation he had with Starmer before these decisions were made, Sarwar continued to dodge the question.
He told host Laura Maxwell: “Specifically on the two-child benefit cap, we were really clear that we won’t be able to fix every problem straight away.
“The SNP pretended they didn’t have the power to do it in Scotland. Now they’re being clear they do…”
Sarwar then once again refused to give specifics to Maxwell on how much consultation was had on these decisions.
He said he speaks with the Prime Minister “regularly” as well as the Chancellor, although continued to be grilled on where his “sway” lies with the UK Government.
Asked about the decision not to pay Waspi women any compensation, he said he had made his feelings clear but that people were “delighted we got rid of a rotten Tory government”.
