SCOTTISH Labour leader Anas Sarwar has been urged to take a stand against the £6 billion of social security cuts being planned by Rachel Reeves.
It has been reported Labour could experience their biggest rebellion yet in the House of Commons over the proposals for the Spring Statement, but Sarwar has kept silent on the issue.
It is understood Reeves plans to save several billion pounds by making austerity cuts to the welfare budget with health-related benefits being targeted.
Lorna Slater, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, highlighted how Sarwar pledged to voters ahead of the 2024 General Election that there would be "no austerity under Labour" and has called on him to come clean about whether he backs these cuts.
Slater said: “I was standing on the same debate stage as Anas Sarwar when he promised ‘no austerity under Labour.’ Surely this can’t be what he has in mind?
“Anas Sarwar represents some of the most deprived parts of Scotland and some of the people who will suffer the most. Did he know about these cuts or were they also news to him?
“We were told that Scottish Labour MPs would speak up for Scotland. So will they stand by the promises that their leader made to their communities and end austerity?
“Whether it is the assault on social security or the brutal cuts to international aid, it is the people with the least who will be hurt the most by a Labour government that is going even further than the Tories.
“If they opt for inaction and refuse to take a stand then the human consequences will be severe. People will be hurt and in some cases people could die because of these decisions.”
The rumoured cuts to welfare come after Labour announced a cut to the foreign aid budget to fund an increase in defence spending.
The foreign aid budget will be slashed from 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) to 0.3% in 2027 to boost military spending to 2.6% of Gross Domestic Product by 2027.
Bond – a membership organisation for charities working in international development – said it means by 2027, the aid budget will have been slashed by around £12 billion since the initial Tory cut from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%.
Slater said the UK Government should have considered introducing a wealth tax to avoid some of these cuts to welfare and international aid.
She said: “There is more than enough money in the UK to end these cuts and ensure that everyone can live well. But so much of it is in the hands of a small number of wealthy people.
“By introducing a wealth tax Labour could stop these cuts, remove the cruel two child benefit cap and build a fairer and greener society. The fact they are happy to punch down like this instead tells us a lot about their values.”
First Minister John Swinney said he was “troubled” by the reports of cuts to welfare spending, while SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the cuts would be “deeply damaging” for Scotland and that it would break “yet another election promise".
The reports of the planned cuts by the Chancellor follow the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) indication that Reeves had £9.9 billion of headroom back in October.
But new forecasts are set to reveal this has disappeared owing to weaker-than-expected economic growth and a sharp rise in government borrowing costs.
