SPENDING REVIEW: HARVIE CONDEMNS CUMULATIVE CUTS
Patrick Harvie MSP, the Scottish Greens' finance and economy spokesperson, today described George Osborne's spending review as cumulative cuts heaping misery on Scotland.
The UK Chancellor talked of "projecting influence" by increasing military spending to £40bn, hailed cuts to HMRC, resulting in the loss of 2,000 Scottish jobs, announced plans to cap housing benefit, and pledged backing for new nuclear and fracking.
Patrick Harvie, Scottish Green MSP for Glasgow, said:
"The Chancellor's apparent u-turn on tax credit cuts is a mere pretence, and vast numbers of people will still lose out, either now or under Universal Credit instead. The cumulative effect of cuts upon cuts will do untold harm to the least well off in our society. Whether it's HMRC job losses or the undermining of our renewables industry, this is a Tory government heaping misery on Scotland and the rest of the UK.
"Osborne again brushed aside concerns about inequality when we know the richest have benefited most from the austerity agenda, which the LibDems helped establish and which Labour failed to properly oppose.
"While the exact details of the impact on Scotland are worked out, it is clear that funding for our vital public services will continue to fall, with Holyrood still expected to compensate for Westminster's wrongheaded economic policy. With implementation of the powers in the current Scotland Bill still some years away, and the fiscal framework widely reported to be a mess, it is more important than ever that Holyrood unites to protect our communities."