Latest editorial
Scottish Labour deputy leader Lesley Laird
PHILIP HAMMOND must give Scotland an extra £70 billion and channel support to island economies and North Sea decommissioning, Labour has said ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget speech today.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Lesley Laird set out a series of demands she said would “boost Scotland’s economy and protect the vital public services we all rely on.”
She said: “The next Labour government will invest a transformational extra £70bn in Scotland over a decade. The Chancellor must match that at the very least or it will be clear for all to see that only Labour can be trusted to deliver for Scotland.
“Labour is committed to ending austerity. It is now time for the Tories to deliver on their promise to the people of Scotland.”
SNP MP David Linden said Mr Hammond must enshrine the “real” living wage in law, and said it was “completely unacceptable that young workers are being discriminated against” through lower legal minimums.
Ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections, ROZ FOYER warns that a bold tax policy is needed to rebuild devastated public services which can serve as the foundation of a strong, fair economy
Under current policy, welfare cuts are just a small downpayment on future austerity, argues MICHAEL BURKE
Having endured 14 years of Tory austerity followed by Starmerite cuts, young voters are desperate for change — but Anas Sarwar’s refusal to differentiate from Westminster means Scottish Labour risks electoral catastrophe, writes LAUREN HARPER