SNP ministers have not been ‘honest’ about their mishandling of taxpayers’ money, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
In a stinging attack, the Prime Minister contrasted Labour’s frank assessment of the public finances with the SNP’s denial that it was at fault.
He said: ‘They’ve been in power for 17 years. They’re desperately flailing around, trying to blame a government of eight weeks for mistakes that they’ve made.’
Last week, SNP finance secretary Shona Robison announced an emergency £500million cuts package to balance her budget for 2024/25.
She also said she was willing to drain the last £660million from the one-off ScotWind renewable energy fund if necessary.
It was the third emergency scheme to balance the books in as many years.
She blamed ‘Westminster austerity’ for the cuts, which included a U-turn on a universal devolved winter fuel payment and ditching universal free meals for primary pupils.
The Prime Minister is in no doubt who’s to blame for Holyrood’s budget crisis
Sir Keir Starmer says SNP ‘s 17 years in power has little to show
However the Scottish Fiscal Commission, the independent watchdog on Holyrood’s budget, said much of the responsibility lay with the SNP Government itself.
It cited SNP ministers agreeing to public sector pay rises almost double the 3 per cent they planned for, a £210 million council tax freeze, and spending £1.1billion more on generous devolved benefits that Holyrood receives from the Treasury to cover them.
Speaking to the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists Association in Downing Street, Sir Keir said: ‘We are being honest about the inheritance that we’ve got.
‘We’re not walking past the mess that the Tories have left for us – particularly the £22billion, which I can tell you, on top of everything else, is very, very challenging, because we knew it would be challenging.
‘Therefore we’re taking the tough decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions.
‘I think it’s time the SNP were honest about the mess that they actually made for themselves.
‘They’ve been in power for 17 years. They’re desperately flailing around, trying to blame a government of eight weeks for mistakes that they’ve made.
‘You saw this from the Scottish Fiscal Commission, about the responsibility the SNP have for their own finances.
‘So just as we’re being honest about our inheritance and honest about the difficult decisions we’ve made, it’s time the SNP were honest about the financial mess, which is of their own making over the last 17 years.’
Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently accused the SNP of being as ‘guilty’ as the last Conservative government of squandering public money.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: ‘The SNP Government has delivered a balanced budget in every year that we have been in office, and we will continue to do so.
‘I am proud to serve in a government which is investing to lift children in Scotland out of poverty, and is ensuring our police, our nurses and our teachers are the best-paid in the UK.
‘Westminster austerity is unsustainable and is having a huge impact on public services and living standards – once upon a time Labour agreed with the SNP on this fact.
‘For months, Labour refused to be honest with voters that their spending plans would lead to billions of pounds of cuts to public services – despite repeated warnings from the SNP.
‘Now, following the Chancellor’s announcement of £22billion of cuts, Scotland faces the most challenging financial situation in the history of the reconvened Scottish Parliament.’