DUGDALE MUST EXPLAIN LABOUR PLANS TO CUT SCOTTISH FUNDING

DUGDALE MUST EXPLAIN LABOUR PLANS TO CUT SCOTTISH FUNDING

VOTING LABOUR MEANS “DOUBLE WHAMMY” OF TAX RISES AND SPENDING CUTS FOR SCOTLAND

Kezia Dugdale must outline how much a Labour government will cut Scotland's budget after the Welsh First Minister confirmed Labour’s plans to slash funding for Scotland’s public services.

Both the UK and Welsh Labour election manifestos contain an identical paragraph which talks about changing the formula used to allocate public expenditure across the UK: “We need long-term reform of how the UK allocates public expenditure to ensure that it reflects the needs of different parts of our country and that no nation or region of the UK is unfairly disadvantaged.”

On BBC Wales yesterday, Welsh Labour Leader Carwyn Jones confirmed what this means "it says in the manifesto that there will be a new funding formula based on need. That means having a new formula to replace Barnett.”

However, this manifesto paragraph is omitted from the Scottish Labour manifesto, which makes no commitment to maintaining the Barnett formula. Labour’s Scottish manifesto commits to hiking the basic rate of income tax.

Commenting, Patricia said: “Kezia Dugdale is covering up Labour’s plans to slash Scotland’s budget. By Labour’s own admission, the Barnett formula is worth £4 billion in funding for Scotland’s public services, so Kezia Dugdale must explain how much this will be cut under Labour’s plan. Of course Labour in Scotland has a track record in failing to stand up against Westminster cuts to Scotland’s budget. During the fiscal framework negotiations, it was the SNP who refused to let the Tories introduce a new formula which would have cut £7 billion from public spending in Scotland. Labour backed the Tories."

“With Kezia Dugdale also proposing to hike the basic rate of income tax, voting Labour now means both tax rises and spending cuts for Scotland – a double whammy for working families. Both Labour and the Tories will cut Scotland's budget and any Labour or Tory MPs elected in Scotland will simply rubber-stamp the cuts that their Westminster bosses propose. Only SNP MPs can be trusted to stand up for Scotland. A vote for Labour or the Tories is too big a risk to take. Now more than ever, it is vital that we elect strong SNP voices standing up for Scotland at Westminster – opposing any cuts from Labour or Tories to our public services.”