Scotland will not forget if Sarwar backs immoral cuts
Scotland will not forget if Scottish Labour backs brutal social security cuts that will fall on some of the most marginalised people, says Scottish Green Co-leader Lorna Slater.
Ms Slater’s warning comes as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has told the BBC that he backs the approach that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are taking to social security, with reports suggesting there will be over £6 billion worth of cuts.
Ms Slater said:
“Anas Sarwar has gone from promising Scotland that there would be no austerity under Labour to saying that he supports billions of pounds worth of cuts delivered by a Labour Prime Minister.
“These cuts are not inevitable. They are a political choice by a Prime Minister that is going even further than the Tories. Every MP or MSP who backs them is knowingly plunging their most marginalised constituents into poverty.
“It is a shameful betrayal of everything that people thought they were getting when Labour promised change.
“This is a time for Anas Sarwar and his colleagues to take a stand, not for them to roll over while Keir Starmer piles misery on the communities they are supposed to represent. Scotland will not forget it if Scottish Labour betrays them like this.
“By introducing wealth taxes and asking the billionaires to pay their fair share, Labour could stop these cuts, remove the cruel two child benefit cap and lift people out of poverty. The fact they are choosing to do this instead tells everything we need to know about their values.
“If we are to build a fairer and better society it will come from supporting people and building a humane system that offers long-term stability, not by punishing and humiliating them.”