LABOUR have been accused of “breaking another election promise” to voters after it emerged that Rachel Reeves is planning billions of pounds of cuts to welfare spending.
The Chancellor will deliver her Spring statement on March 26, but her financial headroom has reportedly been wiped out since the October Budget, meaning she will have to find more money in order to meet her fiscal rules.
According to the BBC, Reeves plans to save several billion pounds by making austerity cuts to the welfare budget with health-related benefits being targeted.
The SNP have warned that Labour’s plans to “take an axe to public services” by imposing billions of pounds of austerity cuts would be “deeply damaging” for Scotland, adding it would break “yet another election promise”.
Last year in the run up to the General Election, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said that his party would not bring in austerity if they were to gain power during a BBC debate.
The SNP’s Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn said that with the reported billions of pounds of cuts to welfare spending in the pipeline it indicates that neither Keir Starmer nor Sarwar “can be trusted to keep their promises”.
He said: “Labour Party plans to take an axe to public services, and impose billions of pounds of austerity cuts, would be deeply damaging for Scotland and it breaks yet another election promise.
“Voters were promised an end to Westminster cuts but instead the Labour government has stripped the winter fuel payment from Scottish pensioners, blocked WASPI women from getting compensation, and pushed thousands of Scottish children into poverty by continuing punitive welfare cuts like the two-child benefit cap.
“The news that the Labour Party will now slash billions more from our public services is a total betrayal of what voters were told at the election - and it shows that neither Keir Starmer or Anas Sarwar can be trusted to keep their promises.”
Flynn added: “Families in Scotland must not pay the price for the Labour Party's failure on the economy, which is a consequence of their own damaging choices. That includes the political choice to stay out of the EU single market, which is wiping billions from the UK economy and public finances every year.
“In contrast, the SNP will always stand up for Scotland and we will strongly oppose any cuts that have a damaging impact on families and public services in Scotland.”
The reports of the planned cuts by the Chancellor follow the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) indication that Reeves had £9.9bn pounds of headroom back in October.
However, a UK Government insider told the BBC “clearly the world has changed” since the OBR’s statement last year, with worries over slowing economic growth and U.S. tariffs.
Labour and the UK Government have been approached for comment.
