John Swinney accused of hitting 'independence panic button' over child poverty
Labour has accused John Swinney of hitting "the independence panic button" after the First Minister claimed only ending the Union would finally eradicate child poverty in Scotland.
Michael Marra, the party's finance spokesman, said the SNP leader was "once again shamelessly attempting to shift the blame from his own government's failures".
Writing in his regular column for the Record, Swinney said today: "We are seeing progress in Scotland. Child poverty here is falling, it is much lower than south of the border and we are predicted to be the only part of the UK where it will continue to fall.
"That is what happens when we take some of the decisions on child poverty in Scotland – and I think it perfectly makes the case for us taking all the decisions here rather than leaving too many in the hands of Westminster governments who choose to make the situation worse.
"I am determined that we will end child poverty in Scotland. But to do that we need real change – and the only change that will work for Scotland is independence."
It comes after Gordon Brown claimed child poverty in his former Fife constituency is getting "worse everyday" as he urged the UK Government to finally end the two-child cap on benefits.
The former prime minister is calling on Rachel Reeves to slap targeted tax hikes on highly profitable parts of the gambling industry - such as online casinos and slot machines - in order to find the money required to scrap the hated two-child cap on benefits.
The SNP Government has already announced it will mitigate the impact of the Tory-imposed policy in Scotland, with the first payments to affected families due to be made in March next year.
Official figures published in March found relative child poverty in 2023-24 reduced from 26 per cent to 22 per cent in Scotland, while absolute child poverty fell from 23 per cent to 17 per cent.
Marra said: "John Swinney is once again shamelessly attempting to shift the blame from his own government's failures by hitting the independence panic button. He is desperate to push a false narrative that only independence can address the issues facing Scots daily, despite having the powers at Holyrood already to do so.
"There is no mission more important than tackling child poverty and it is nothing short of a national scandal that no progress has been made.
"Fighting structural poverty means addressing the issues that cause and maintain inequality – from workplace practices, to education, to housing – but the SNP are failing on them all.
"Only a Scottish Labour government will use all the powers at Scotland's disposal to end poverty and deliver the new direction that we need.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer under growing pressure to introduce wealth tax
Political Correspondent Sir Keir Starmer is facing increased pressure to introduce a wealth tax to address a significant shortfall in public finances. New polling indicates that 91 per cent of Labour members support taxing the rich more, with 84 per cent also favouring an end to the two-child benefit cap. Senior Labour figures, including Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and former shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds, have previously advocated for wealth taxes. The survey also highlights widespread concern among Labour members regarding party discipline, with 74 per cent believing challenging controversial legislation such as welfare cuts should not result in suspension. Critics within the party, including former MPs, say that the leadership is out of touch with its membership and must alter its approach to avoid losing support. Tax the rich more to fill black hole in public finances, Labour members tell Starmer
The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
Homeless charity issues urgent warning to government
Thousands of households are still being subjected to no-fault evictions, despite Labour 's manifesto pledge to abolish Section 21 notices immediately upon election. Ministry of Justice figures reveal 11,400 households received no-fault evictions by bailiffs in the year to June, marking an eight per cent rise on the previous year. Housing charity Shelter has condemned the ongoing evictions as "unconscionable" and warned that nearly 1,000 households could be evicted monthly until the ban is implemented. The government 's Renters' Rights Bill, which aims to abolish Section 21 notices and introduce new tenant protections, is in its final stages and is anticipated to pass by the end of the year or early 2026. The bill will also provide a 12-month protected period for tenants, increase notice requirements for landlords, and offer protection against 'backdoor eviction ' via excessive rent increases.
Telegraph
33 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Net zero delusion has broken Britain's energy system
Britain is today less energy secure than ever before. UK energy production has declined by 67pc over the past two decades. That means we have gone from a position of being a net exporter of energy, creating jobs and tax in this country to importing around half of our energy. British bill-payers are creating jobs and tax revenue in other countries instead. Last year marked a record low for UK energy production – despite there being decades worth of oil and gas left in the country and the Government dishing out billions in subsidies to wind and solar developers. How has this been allowed to happen? The answer is simple: policies from Labour and Conservative governments have been driven by the ideological pursuit of net zero to the detriment of energy security and ordinary taxpayers. Policies like the Energy Profits Levy, also known as the windfall tax, have driven investors away from Britain and towards friendlier environments in the US, Brazil and Norway. Government policy over several decades has deterred the industry from investing in this country and so has widened the gap between our energy demand and production. Our natural gas import dependency is 50pc and by 2030 it is forecast to be 70pc or more. UK oil production has declined by 42pc and our gas production is down by 21pc since 2019. Things are getting far worse. The bureaucrats in Whitehall have decided that it is preferable to shut down domestic production and rely on foreign imports, assuming that this will inspire other countries to take stronger action on climate. Would it make sense as a country for us to get rid of the British Army in the hope of inspiring world peace? Of course not. It simply makes no sense not to utilise what we have in this country. The rest of the world isn't listening to UK politicians' moralistic crowing about decarbonisation either. From 1990 to 2024, the UK's emissions declined by 50pc, while globally emissions have increased by more than 60pc. We are now in a bizarre position where we shut down UK oil and gas fields and then import billions of pounds worth of liquefied shale gas from the US. Britain's oil and gas industry has been the beating heart of our national security for decades. You don't need to look far to find case studies demonstrating the perilous position that Ed Miliband and the Tories have put this vital sector in. Harbour Energy has cut jobs, Apache has said it will quit the North Sea by 2030 and Chevron has headed for the door as well. A recent High Court judgment exemplifies the issue this country faces – where the policy and legal environment work against the UK's national interest. The Gryphon is a floating production vessel in the North Sea which processes 1pc to 2pc of UK oil production and up to 1pc of UK gas production. The vessel was certified for safe production until the end of 2027, and the five fields which feed it have around nine million barrels of oil and gas remaining. The value of this oil and gas is around $300m (£221m), which if produced would have delivered £150m in tax to HMRC. The vessel employs hundreds of people and is a key part of our energy security. The French-owned operator, TotalEnergies, with the blessing of the oil and gas regulator, decided that they wanted to decommission the vessel – despite there being millions of barrels of oil reserves around the site. Nobel Upstream, one of the field's joint venture partners, took the regulator to court. As of this week, a judge in the High Court concluded that the volume of oil and gas remaining was 'relatively modest' and that the regulator reflected the 'materiality of net zero' in its decision making. These fields will now be shut off permanently, leaving tax revenue and opportunities for workers stranded under the sea. How many other fields which could generate £150m in tax and secure 200 jobs are now at risk from High Court decisions. I hope that Nobel Upstream appeals this illogical High Court decision, but Reform UK's response would be very simple: if oil or gas would be economically viable to extract, it will be extracted. Reform UK has already met with British oil and gas firms to tell them to get applications ready for a Reform UK victory at the next general election. We will grant these applications on an urgent basis.
