£56m Increase in Cost to Scottish Government
The SNP has revealed that the Scottish Government is spending £56 million more mitigating Westminster policies under Labour than it did under the Conservatives – proving Labour has betrayed Scots on their promise of “no austerity”.
In response to a question at Holyrood from SNP MSP Jackie Dunbar on child poverty, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice Shirley-Anne Somerville stated, “We plan to spend £210 million mitigating regressive Labour government policies – an increase of £56 million since the Conservatives were in power” .
The £210 million figure includes over £99 million mitigating the bedroom tax and benefit cap, the £41 million Scottish Welfare Fund, and £70 million above block grant funding for the Scottish Winter Fuel Payment.
Since coming to power, the SNP Scottish Government has now spent a total of £1.2 billion mitigating Westminster policies.
Latest opinion polls reveal support for Labour in Scotland has plummeted with the majority of Scots unhappy with the UK Labour government.
The SNP Government is making progress on scrapping the two-child cap to help tackle child poverty.
— The SNP (@theSNP) January 16, 2025
Meanwhile, Labour’s Scottish Secretary is just making things up. pic.twitter.com/IAoZ3lAPdS
It is a damning indictment of the Westminster system that, whether the Tories or Labour in power, the Scottish Government is having to dedicate increasing resources to mitigating harmful UK-wide policies.
GRAEME
This money could be so much better directed to addressing poverty on a more fundamental, root-cause level.
Labour’s so-called ‘change’ has only been to see things get even worse.
The Scottish electorate is growing increasingly fed up with Labour’s broken promises for the UK and Scottish Labour’s empty ones for Scotland – only the SNP is standing up for their interests.
