Labour leader Kezia in pledge over education

LABOUR will invest in education to ensure the future prosperity of Scotland, Kezia Dugdale has pledged.

The Scottish Labour leader was campaigning in Rutherglen highlighting what she said was an SNP cut over the last five years.

Ms Dugdale said the SNP’s future budget plans would mean a 16.2 per cent cut in education spending by 2020.

The leader said education investment would be at the heart of her party’s plans for government.

She said: “The most important economic investment any government can make is in education. The job prospects of our children and grandchildren, and our nation’s future prosperity, depend on them having skills.

“No party that cuts the budget for nurseries, schools, colleges and universities can be taken seriously on investing in the future of our people or our economy. That’s why Scottish Labour is challenging every party to protect the education budget and spell out how they would pay for it.”

Ms Dugdale said the SNP has cut budgets for education in its two terms in government and argued it plans to cut even further.

She added: “The SNP Government has cut the budget for education and skills by 10 percent since 2007 and is going into this election with spending plans that would see more reductions to the education budget over the next parliament.”

Labour claimed there are 4000 fewer teachers in Scotland’s schools and 152,000 fewer college places available as a result of budget cuts.

She urged other parties to support her plan for increasing income tax by 1 per cent to invest in public services and protect against Westminster cuts.

Ms Dugdale wants action to raise standards and close the attainment gap stating school leavers from richer backgrounds in Scotland are twice as likely to go on to higher education than those from poorer backgrounds.

She added: “Faced with choosing between cuts that harm the future prosperity of our country or using the powers of the Scottish Parliament, Labour will use the powers to stop the cuts.”