Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar will accuse the SNP government of being “knackered, desperate and incompetent”, claiming it has squandered opportunities created by record levels of Holyrood funding. He is expected to make the remarks during his keynote address to the UK Labour conference in Liverpool, less than eight months before next May’s Scottish Parliament elections.
Mr Sarwar will argue that while a Labour government at Westminster has “ended austerity once and for all” and delivered significant funding for public services, Scots are not seeing the benefits. He will cite an additional £5.2 billion made available to the Scottish Government since the general election, while insisting that the SNP has failed to translate this into improved outcomes.
According to the Labour leader, the consequences of this alleged mismanagement are evident in everyday life. He will highlight cuts to police numbers, rising violent crime, declining educational standards, increasing homelessness among children, and Scots emigrating to find work as doctors, teachers and nurses. “Scots are working hard, paying their taxes, but they are getting worse and worse services in return,” he is expected to tell delegates.
++ Beverley Callard and Mo Farah to star on I’m A Celebrity All Stars
However, the SNP has strongly rejected Mr Sarwar’s claims. Pete Wishart, the party’s Westminster deputy leader, accused Scottish Labour of trying to deflect from what he described as “the constant scandals, sleaze and chaos engulfing Keir Starmer’s crisis-hit party”. He pointed to SNP policies such as free tuition, free school meals, the Scottish Child Payment and the Baby Box as evidence the government is delivering support for families. Mr Wishart argued that, in contrast, the Labour Party has presided over economic decline and worsening living standards across the UK.
