Now it’s up to the SNP to deliver
Labour need to push them every step of the way
AT EVERY turn since that iconic front page of the Daily Record, the SNP told us the Vow wasn’t being delivered, promises were being broken and Scotland wasn’t getting the powers it was supposed to.
Yesterday, I voted to establish a Scottish social security system. The Vow delivered. Now it’s the Government’s turn.
What I learned from the process of setting up this system however, is that the Government will find excuses to not use the powers, and that Labour need to push them every step of the way.
Labour pressure forced a ban on the private sector from the system & the winter fuel allowance for pensioners is protected.
With millions of pounds of tax credits going unclaimed every year, Labour delivered a legal duty to ensure everyone gets what they are entitled to. Last month, Richard Leonard made the case for universal credit payments to be automatically split so they go to each partner in a relationship.
This will help women living with domestic abuse. After voting against this proposal earlier in the process, the SNP finally saw sense yesterday and backed my amendment to deliver split payments.
But there is further to go. The SNP joined with the Tories to vote down a bid from Labour to top up child benefit by £5 a week, a move that would lift 30,000 kids out of poverty. At a time when food bank use has hit a record high, that is the kind of radical change we need.
Now that it’s been delivered, Labour will fight every day to ensure Scotland’s social security system works for the many.
MARK GRIFFIN LABOUR MSP