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Scotsman
14 hours ago
- Business
- Scotsman
The signs from Labour are more welfare cuts in Spending Review
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (centre), Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (right) and Ed Miliband, Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary (left), during a visit to St Fergus Gas Terminal, a clean power facility in AberdeenshirePicture: Jeff J Mitchell/PA Wire This week's UK Spending Review presents a stark choice: a continuation of Westminster austerity or a long-overdue shift toward investment in people, services and the economy. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... So far, signs from the Labour Government suggest more of the same cuts that have already failed families for over a decade. As always, it is the most vulnerable in our society who will pay the price. With household bills high and public services already stretched, now is the time for serious, compassionate action. Yet Labour has refused to rule out real-terms cuts to affordable housing, police recruitment, and local government funding. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At the same time, the UK Government is pressing ahead with damaging welfare reforms – including proposed cuts to disability benefits, the continuation of the two-child benefit cap, and delays to anti-poverty action like the long-promised child poverty taskforce. All of this risks worsening the cost-of-living crisis and driving already struggling families into deeper hardship, especially in communities already hit hardest by past austerity measures. The SNP has laid out a clear and achievable alternative. The Chancellor must fully reverse planned welfare cuts, protect public services and unlock investment in clean energy and economic growth. In particular, Labour must finally deliver full and immediate funding for Scotland's Acorn carbon capture project – a vital climate initiative that has faced years of Westminster delay. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The UK Government must also fully cover the cost of its increase to employer National Insurance, which threatens to drain frontline budgets in areas like health, social care and education. Scotland is already delivering targeted, effective support – and the evidence speaks for itself. According to new House of Commons Library research, nearly two million families across the UK would be lifted out of poverty if Labour adopted SNP policies: a UK-wide rollout of the Scottish Child Payment, scrapping the two-child cap, and ending the bedroom tax. Under the SNP, Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is falling. The Scottish Child Payment alone delivers £27.15 per eligible child per week – a direct boost to family incomes that is helping to turn the tide on child poverty across our communities. By contrast, the UK Government's own impact assessment shows that proposed cuts to disability benefits could push a further 250,000 people – including 50,000 children – into poverty. Families affected stand to lose £4500 a year on average. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And despite repeated calls from campaigners, Labour MPs have failed to back even basic reforms, like abolishing the two-child limit, voting against it in the House of Commons just last year – a decision that remains indefensible in the face of rising need. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has made clear that, without new revenue, the UK Government's current fiscal rules mean public spending will fall in real terms across most departments. That includes justice, local government and housing – all critical areas already under severe strain. If the Chancellor refuses to invest and clings to outdated austerity thinking, the consequences will be felt in every community across the UK for years to come. In Scotland, the SNP is focused on lifting people out of poverty and building a fairer, greener, more resilient economy. But we cannot shield families indefinitely from the consequences of Westminster choices. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Labour must use this Spending Review to deliver the funding and flexibility Scotland needs – not double down on the failed cuts that brought us here in the first place. MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary
South Wales Argus
29-05-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Welsh Government pressure on Chancellor to tackle poverty
First Minister Eluned Morgan MS, Jane Hutt MS, and Mark Drakeford MS, are pushing for changes to social security policy, particularly advocating for the end of the two-child benefit rule. The calls come as the UK Spending Review nears its conclusion, with the Ministerial Group's work becoming increasingly crucial. The government warns that, without action, child poverty is set to rise by 100,000 children annually throughout the UK parliamentary term. The Welsh Government is also working with the Patriotic Millionaires, a group proposing alternative ways to raise significant funds to combat poverty without increasing taxes on working families. Successive Welsh Governments have implemented various measures to alleviate poverty, which they claim leave more money in the pockets of Welsh citizens. These measures include an inclusive childcare scheme for three and four-year-olds, help with school-related costs, expanding the Flying Start programme for children in disadvantaged areas, and a student support scheme. The Welsh Government says it has used its devolved powers to oversee the rollout of free school meals for all primary school children, increases to the Education Maintenance Allowance, and the Claim What's Yours initiative in a bid to tackle child poverty. The Welsh Benefits Charter, which has been adopted by 22 local authorities to increase the uptake of Welsh benefits, is another tool the government is using in the fight against child poverty. The Welsh Government continues to utilise its devolved powers to address child poverty and is calling on the Chancellor to consider various revenue-raising options to ensure funds are directed towards improving children's lives. The government remains committed to supporting children and families, especially those in disadvantaged areas, as the UK Spending Review draws to a close.
