LABOUR'S “continuation of austerity” at Westminster is pushing voters towards Reform and the far right, John Swinney has said.
In a heated clash at First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) on Wednesday, the SNP leader hit back at Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s claims that it was the Scottish Government which was making voters disillusioned with politics.
Sarwar raised the anti-far-right summit convened by Swinney in Glasgow on Tuesday, saying: “As I feared, what was missing was any reflection on SNP Government failure and how that drives people to divisive politics.
“So why does John Swinney not recognise that to tackle division and polarisation, we need a Scottish Government that actually delivers for the people?”
He later added: “The gulf between the SNP Government's rhetoric and the reality faced by people across our country could not be starker.
“So can John Swinney see that he and his party's failures have made them the architects of divisive politics in Scotland?”
Responding, the First Minister argued that Labour’s “continuation of austerity” had driven people across the UK towards the far right.
Subsamples from a YouGov poll published on Wednesday suggested that Reform UK support is slightly lower in Scotland than in England or Wales.
Swinney told Sarwar: “Let's take a moment to see how the last change of government process went in the United Kingdom.
“Last summer, the Labour Government was elected on a commitment to end austerity, to deliver change. And what have the Labour Government done?
“The Labour government have delivered a continuation of austerity.
“I cannot believe the Labour Party is comfortable with the fact that their United Kingdom Government is going to deliver welfare reforms that will increase poverty levels in the United Kingdom.
“Now, I invite Parliament to think about that point for just one moment: a Labour Government is coming into office and poverty is going to rise.
“That demonstrates there is no point in the Labour Party because Labour deliver poverty and austerity to the people of Scotland, when this SNP government is reducing child poverty in this country. I'll take that to the country and be proud of our records.”
This week, a group of leading charities warned the Prime Minister that if his Labour Party do not change course on child poverty, they will see the highest levels ever recorded by the end of the current Westminster parliament.
Figures released last month showed that Scotland had seen child poverty rates fall, as they climbed elsewhere in the UK.
