ANAS Sarwar has defended the UK Government's cuts to disability benefits, as Scottish Labour MSPs rebel and urge ministers to reject Keir Starmer's proposals.
Speaking to reports after First Minister's Questions on Thursday, the Scottish Labour leader rejected the notion that spending on welfare was being cut, arguing it was instead rising.
He also was rendered speechless when challenged on the resignation of a former MSP from the party after 35 years over the cuts.
Several Labour MSPs have called out the UK Government's cuts to disability benefits, with one branding it the "wrong decision" and urging MPs to reject the proposals.
When asked if he was opposed to welfare cuts, Sarwar said: "I support the principle of welfare reform, I think it's right that we prioritise work and any changes have to be fair.
"Welfare spending is going to go up across the UK."
When challenged on this and told it was being cut by £5 billion, he said: "No you're wrong actually, because currently welfare spending across the UK is £50bn and the new proposals will mean its projected to be £64bn."
Addressing public concerns, Sarwar said that with any reform, there are going to be "genuine questions".
When asked if he supported potential benefit cuts down south, Sarwar said: "I support being prioritised to get into work, and I think that's what people would expect from a functioning welfare system."
He stressed any reform "had to be fair", and argued there would be "no detrimental impact" to any Scottish Government budget this or next year, as the reforms will come into place in November 2026.
However, the Fraser of Allander Institute has previously noted that a £1bn reduction in PIP spending through reduced caseload would worsen the Scottish Budget by around £115 million.
Meanwhile, Scottish Government Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville warned that the impact of Labour's benefit cuts could be "really quite severe" in Scotland.
Sarwar said: "The projections are spending will go up on welfare, meaning spending will go up on welfare in Scotland too. It's £50bn to £64bn.
"If people are saying we should have exponential rises to welfare year after year, I don't think that's the right approach. Instead what we should have is a fair system."
Charites across the country claims the welfare budget cuts, among other measures, amount to austerity – something that has been rejected by Sarwar but echoed by a senior member of his team at Holyrood.
Carol Mochan, Scottish Labour’s public health spokeswoman, contradicted her boss in a social media post on the welfare cuts by saying: “Austerity has never been a sustainable path to growth. We cannot balance the books on the backs of people who require benefits just to have a passable standard of living.”
Neil Findlay, who represented Labour at Holyrood for a decade until 2021, said in a furious letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he was “betraying Labour's proud history and lay[ing] waste to any claim of moral principle”.
In response to Findlay's resignation, Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon wrote: "Extremely sorry Neil Findlay has left the Labour Party after 35 years of membership. The UK Government is going in the wrong direction on welfare.
"For the sake of my constituents, I urge ministers to stop the cuts to disabled people."
When asked why people are resigning from his party over the cuts, Sarwar said: "Well, you can go and talk to them.
"You can go ask those individuals."
