Tory victory claim ‘pathetic’

Whatever else you read about the Chancellor’s pronouncements this week, remember this - Scotland’s block grant faces a reduction in real terms of almost £213 million.

Rather than creating a budget for people and prosperity, the UK Government has buried its head in the sand as Brexit begins to bite.

The £3bn set aside to prepare for Brexit will not mitigate the harsh reality of a hard-Tory Brexit. Figures from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research suggest exports in Scotland alone could be cut by more than £5 billion if we lose access to the Single Market.

The UK’s outlook for GDP growth is worse on all counts than previously predicted which should come as deeply concerning news to households worried about jobs, and businesses concerned about their future prosperity - It is imperative that the UK Government opens its eyes to the realities of Brexit.

Our frontline emergency services play a vital role in our society, and it is imperative that they are well funded and treated fairly. They have been forced to pay an annual charge of around £35 million of VAT that they have been unable to claim back - the only police force and the only fire service in the whole of Britain that pays VAT and is not entitled to reclaim it back.

The pathetic attempt by Tories to claim the announcement that this will change – at long last - as some sort of victory for the increased influence of Scottish Tories at Westminster is petty political posturing.

I warmly welcome the decision to end that unfair situation – of course I do, I’ve been calling for it for years – as have my colleagues. Indeed the SNP MPs in Westminser have raised the issue on 140 separate occasions. That’s 140 more than their Tory counterparts. It was a deeply unjust policy, costing emergency services tens of millions every year that could and should be spent on our frontline services.

But if – as they seem to have done - the UK Government recognises that this tax is unfair now, they must recognise that it has always been unfair and they have absolutely no excuse not to reimburse the £140million that has already been charged to Scotland’s emergency services.

The Chancellor accepted that the Universal Credit rollout is failing, but failed to address it. And as he boasts of income inequality being at its lowest in 30 years, poverty and hunger soar under an austerity-obsessed UK Government.

Where was the commitment to the WASPI women? Where was the scrapping of the two-child cap and the punitive rape clause? Where was the commitment to lift the public sector pay cap? Where was the U-turn on the work allowance cuts? Where was the u-turn on the benefits freeze? Where was the u-turn on cuts to disability support?

The most notable feature of this budget is what was not included.