KEIR Starmer has told the SNP to be “honest about the financial mess” the party created after 17 years of power in Scotland – but the party hit back, saying that "Westminster austerity is unsustainable”.
It comes after Labour MPs voted to scrap the universal Winter Fuel Payment with Scottish ministers citing a loss of £160 million of funding through the decision.
The SNP's leader in Westminster Stephen Flynn said he had been left "furious" by the decision.
MPs voted 348 to 228 to axe the payment from most pensioners, rejecting a Tory bid for the controversial policy to be blocked.https://t.co/jFIAWL1TuI pic.twitter.com/9vZ4tmPc1G
— STV News (@STVNews) September 10, 2024
The Scottish Government previously said it had been left with “no choice” but to end universal fuel payments that were due to come in north of the Border because of the plans to end the universal Winter Fuel Payment in England and Wales.
Rachel Reeves announced the move to fill what she called a £22 billion “black hole” in the country’s finances.
The Prime Minister hit out at the Scottish Government as he spoke to Scottish lobby journalists at Downing Street.
He insisted while his Labour Government is “not walking past the mess the Tories have left for us,” SNP ministers are failing to be honest about Scotland’s financial situation.
Scottish Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth (below) has said however the UK Government is causing “uncertainty” for ministers at Holyrood – saying she does not know for example if she will get the £150 million cash promised to Scotland as a result of Labour ending the VAT exemption for private schools.
Starmer insisted the UK Government will “follow through on wider commitments for Scotland as you would expect”.
But he attacked the SNP Government at Holyrood over its financial record, saying: “We are being honest about the inheritance that we have got, we are not walking past the mess that the Tories have left for us.
“We are taking the tough decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions.”
The Scottish Government has accused Starmer of continuing the Conservatives’ record on austerity – but the Prime Minister said: “I think it is time the SNP were honest about the mess that they actually made for themselves.
“They have been in power for 17 years, they are desperately flailing around trying to blame a Government of eight weeks for the mistakes they have made.
“You saw this from the Scottish Fiscal Commission about the responsibility the SNP have for their own finances.
“So just as we are being honest about our inheritance and honest about the difficult decisions we have had to make, it is time the SNP were honest about the financial mess which is of their own making from the last 17 years.”
Scotland’s Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: “The SNP Government has delivered a balanced budget in every year that we have been in office, and we will continue to do so.
“I am proud to serve in a government which is investing to lift children in Scotland out of poverty, and is ensuring our police, our nurses and our teachers are the best-paid in the UK.
“Westminster austerity is unsustainable and is having a huge impact on public services and living standards – once upon a time Labour agreed with the SNP on this fact.
“For months, Labour refused to be honest with voters that their spending plans would lead to billions of pounds of cuts to public services – despite repeated warnings from the SNP.
“Now, following the Chancellor’s announcement of £22bn of cuts, Scotland faces the most challenging financial situation in the history of the reconvened Scottish Parliament.”
Starmer claimed his government offers a "big message of hope," despite having had to make decisions which appear "gloomy and hard".
The Prime Minister also previously suspended a number of MPs after they voted for an SNP motion to scrap the two-child cap.
He insisted: “There is massive hope in this, what we want to do, the change we want to bring about is massive.
“It is to make sure the economy is not only growing but growing across the whole of the United Kingdom, including in Scotland, which will be measured in living standards rising, people feeling better off in a material way.”
However he added: “What I don’t want is the false hope, pretending things will be better but not doing the hard yards.”
