The first Labour Budget for over a decade will “herald an era of growth for Scotland”, Ian Murray has insisted – with the Scottish Secretary saying SNP ministers at Holyrood must ensure any additional cash they receive goes towards frontline services.
He was speaking as Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver what will be the first Budget from a Labour Chancellor since 2009 on Wednesday.
While Ms Reeves has made clear the economic situation left by the Conservatives will mean difficult choices, she has said her Budget will “begin to fix the NHS and start to rebuild our economy”.
Her Cabinet colleague Mr Murray has warned: “No-one should be in any doubt about the scale of the challenge the Labour Government inherited when it comes to the public finances.
“The Tories left us a £22 billion black hole, emptying the reserves meant for disasters and emergencies three times over.”
Amid speculation the Chancellor is to change debt rules to spend billions more, Mr Murray added: “This Budget will herald an era of growth for Scotland, after years of damaging austerity from the Tories, made even worse for Scottish public services by the incompetent SNP.”
Holyrood Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced £500 million of savings in September, amid what she described as “enormous and growing pressure on the public finances”, but Mr Murray insisted a “chaotic SNP” had been forced into “emergency in-year cuts”.
Hitting out at the Scottish Government, he said: “While Labour cleans up 14 years of Tory mess, the SNP created a mess of their own making, having wasted £5 billion over their years in office due to their own buy now, pay later policies.
“For three consecutive years services have endured emergency in-year cuts from the chaotic SNP.
“Labour will end this short-term, populist politics and fix the foundations for the long-term. There will be no return to austerity.
“The SNP must ensure any additional funding for public services reaches the front line, bringing down waiting lists in the NHS and raising attainment in our schools – it can’t be used to plug the gaps. Scots rightly expect results.”
Scottish public finance minister Ivan McKee however voiced doubts that there would be an “end to the era of Westminster austerity” under Labour.
Speaking ahead of what he described as “make or break moment” with the Budget, Mr McKee said: “Given the widespread reports of Labour ministers expressing concern at the cuts they are being asked to make in their own departments, it does not seem likely that we are going to see an end to the era of Westminster austerity.”
He continued: “It is welcome that the Chancellor has finally agreed to the SNP’s calls to change the fiscal rules – but this cannot come alongside billions of pounds of cuts in departmental spending.
“It must lead to increased investment in our public services immediately – and not only reversing the cuts to Scotland’s capital funding but significantly enhancing it.
“The UK Government is facing a make or break moment in this Budget – and without the immediate investment in public services that we need to see, it will be clear that this Labour government is committed to the same ruinous path as the previous Tory government.”
