SCOTTISH Labour's leader in Glasgow has called for the UK Government to scrap plans to cut disability benefits, defying the stance of party chief Anas Sarwar.
Sarwar has spent the last fortnight defending swingeing cuts by the Department of Work and Pensions but long-serving councillor George Redmond has derided the proposals as “Tory” in nature, claiming they would damage his party's bid to win the Holyrood election.
Redmond told the Daily Record: "This is Glasgow. We are a socialist city to our bones. We are here to look after each other.
"I would be failing in my duty if I wasn’t speaking up for the ordinary people of Glasgow and not saying something.”
Ministers have announced a tightening of the criteria for Personal Independence Payments (PIP), a benefit that helps people with the extra costs of being disabled whether or not they are in work.
The Universal Credit health element for new claimants will also be almost halved from April 2026. It will decrease from £97 a week in 2024/25 to £50 a week in 2026/27, remaining at that level until 2029/30.
For existing claimants, the health element will be frozen at the current rate of £97 a week until 2029/30.
Young people under 22 will also no longer be able to claim the incapacity top-up to Universal Credit if proposals go ahead.
Redmond said he agreed with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham that the cuts were the “wrong” choice.
“That’s the same position as me,” he said.
"This cannot be the only option. It’s not a position I can support.
"It’s a step too far.”
“If the options that were presented to you were limited, then you ask for other ones.
"I am so frustrated by the whole thing.
"It is definitely not going to help our chances next year."
He said a better solution would have been to tax the super rich, not take money from people with disabilities.
The UK Government's impact assessment of the cuts showed 250,000 more people would be pushed into relative poverty, 50,000 of which will be children.
The Scottish Government has accused Labour ministers of balancing their budget "on the backs of the poorest in society" and said the announcement would leave it with a funding shortfall.
But Sarwar has defended the cuts saying the impact assessment only considered the benefits changes, not a "package of measures" announced by the UK Government which he claims could help tackle poverty.
The Fraser of Allander Institute has reported the welfare reforms would lead to a £200m cut in Treasury funding for Scotland in 2028/29, and a £425m cut in 2029/30.
Just one Scottish Labour MP, Brian Leishman, has spoken out against the cuts, warning they are "awful cuts that will impact disabled people" and confirming he will vote against them.
In contrast, dozens of Labour MPs have spoken out in England and Wales including Debbie Abrahams, who warned "there are alternative, more compassionate ways to balance the books rather than on the back of sick and disabled people", and Diane Abbott who said she did not get involved in politics "to make the poorest even poorer".
