Welfare vote a test of ‘moral backbone’ for Scottish Labour
An upcoming vote on social security cuts at Westminster will be a test of Scottish Labour’s moral backbone, says Scottish Green’s social justice spokesperson Maggie Chapman.
Next Tuesday, Westminster is due to vote on the controversial changes to social security, which would see financial support for disabled people slashed in an effort to save £5 billion from the UK Government’s welfare bill.
A number of Labour MPs have now supported an amendment to reject the Bill outright, warning that the proposals lack consultation, ignore any real impact assessment, and will deepen inequality. However, the vast majority of Scottish MPs have not signed up.
The Government’s own impact assessment stated that these proposals could push up to 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into poverty. Recent research from the Trussell Trust states that 300,000 Scots could lose £500 a year in crucial disability support payments if the cuts are voted through.
The Scottish Greens are urging all Scottish Labour MPs and MSPs to clearly oppose the dangerous cuts to social security, and oppose this new wave of austerity inflicted on Scotland.
Commenting, Maggie said:
“It’s clear to anyone who’s looking that the brutal welfare cuts put forward by Labour at Westminster will push disabled folk across the UK into poverty. The Government’s own assessment of the proposals tells us that.
“Supporting these turbo-charged austerity measures - while the evidence of the harms they will cause is so painfully obvious - is completely inexcusable. This is not leadership, it is cowardice and cruelty dressed up as pragmatism.
“Next week’s vote will be a crucial moral test for all Scottish Labour politicians. Will they choose to back a Prime Minister who is once again ploughing ahead with deeply unpopular and harmful cuts to our communities, or will they do the right thing and stand up for their constituents in Scotland?
“There is no excuse for silence here in Holyrood or Westminster. Now is the time to show solidarity and moral leadership - not to hide behind party lines.
“The public deserves better than a Labour Party that promises change but delivers cuts.”