Sir Keir Starmer says SNP ‘in denial’ over its failure to handle the general public purse

SNP ministers haven’t been ‘trustworthy’ about their mishandling of taxpayers’ cash, Sir Keir Starmer has mentioned.

In a stinging assault, the Prime Minister contrasted Labour’s frank evaluation of the general public funds with the SNP’s denial that it was at fault.

He mentioned: ‘They’ve been in energy for 17 years. They’re desperately flailing round, attempting guilty a authorities of eight weeks for errors that they’ve made.’

Final week, SNP finance secretary Shona Robison introduced an emergency £500million cuts bundle to steadiness her price range for 2024/25.

She additionally mentioned she was keen to empty the final £660million from the one-off ScotWind renewable vitality fund if vital.

It was the third emergency scheme to steadiness the books in as a few years.

She blamed ‘Westminster austerity’ for the cuts, which included a U-turn on a common devolved winter gasoline cost and ditching common free meals for main pupils.

Nonetheless the Scottish Fiscal Fee, the unbiased watchdog on Holyrood’s price range, mentioned a lot of the duty lay with the SNP Authorities itself.

It cited SNP ministers agreeing to public sector pay rises nearly double the three per cent they deliberate for, a £210 million council tax freeze, and spending £1.1billion extra on beneficiant devolved advantages that Holyrood receives from the Treasury to cowl them.

Chatting with the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists Affiliation in Downing Avenue, Sir Keir mentioned: ‘We’re being trustworthy concerning the inheritance that we’ve acquired.

‘We’re not strolling previous the mess that the Tories have left for us – notably the £22billion, which I can inform you, on prime of every little thing else, may be very, very difficult, as a result of we knew it could be difficult.

‘Due to this fact we’re taking the powerful selections and taking duty for these selections.

‘I believe it’s time the SNP had been trustworthy concerning the mess that they really made for themselves.

‘They’ve been in energy for 17 years. They’re desperately flailing round, attempting guilty a authorities of eight weeks for errors that they’ve made.

‘You noticed this from the Scottish Fiscal Fee, concerning the duty the SNP have for their very own funds.

‘So simply as we’re being trustworthy about our inheritance and trustworthy concerning the troublesome selections we’ve made, it’s time the SNP had been trustworthy concerning the monetary mess, which is of their very own making during the last 17 years.’

Chancellor Rachel Reeves lately accused the SNP of being as ‘responsible’ because the final Conservative authorities of squandering public cash.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison mentioned: ‘The SNP Authorities has delivered a balanced price range in yearly that we have now been in workplace, and we’ll proceed to take action.

‘I’m proud to serve in a authorities which is investing to elevate youngsters in Scotland out of poverty, and is making certain our police, our nurses and our academics are the best-paid within the UK.

‘Westminster austerity is unsustainable and is having a huge effect on public providers and residing requirements – as soon as upon a time Labour agreed with the SNP on this truth.

‘For months, Labour refused to be trustworthy with voters that their spending plans would result in billions of kilos of cuts to public providers – regardless of repeated warnings from the SNP.

‘Now, following the Chancellor’s announcement of £22billion of cuts, Scotland faces probably the most difficult monetary state of affairs within the historical past of the reconvened Scottish Parliament.’