Why Sir Keir Starmer is questioning 'honesty' of SNP over Scotland's £1bn 'financial mess'

The Prime Minister accused the SNP of ‘desperately flailing around’

Sir Keir Starmer has called on the SNP to be "honest" about the "financial mess" the Scottish Government has created in Scotland. 

The Prime Minister accused the nationalists of "desperately flailing around" trying to blame others for their own mistakes. It came as he was asked to provide assurances about the money set to come to Scotland as a result of Labour’s decision to impose VAT on private school fees.

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Keir StarmerKeir Starmer
Keir Starmer | Sean Gallup/Getty Images

It was previously suggested this could raise an extra £150 million for Scotland’s Budget, but SNP education secretary Jenny Gilruth recently said there had been no confirmation of this.

The Scottish Government has accused Sir Keir of continuing the Conservatives’ record on austerity.

Speaking to the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists' Association in Downing Street, Sir Keir said: “This will all be set out in the budget, but obviously we will follow through on the wider commitments for Scotland as you would expect.”

He said the Labour Government was “being honest about the inheritance that we have got”, adding: “We are taking the tough decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions.

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“I think it is time the SNP were honest about the mess that they actually made for themselves. They have been in power for 17 years. They are desperately flailing around trying to blame a government of eight weeks for the mistakes they have made.

“You saw this from the Scottish Fiscal Commission about the responsibility the SNP have for their own finances. So just as we are being honest about our inheritance and honest about the difficult decisions we have had to make, it is time the SNP were honest about the financial mess which is of their own making from the last 17 years.”

Sir Keir said the discovery of a £22 billion black hole in the nation’s finances meant “there is no end to the challenges on the economy”. However, he said he was determined to deliver change.

“In Scotland that change matters more than anywhere, Scotland is central,” he said. “If you look at the economy it is central to what we want to do in terms of the mission to grow the economy - always has been, always will be.”

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He said his government offered a “big message of hope”, despite having to make decisions which “appear gloomy and hard”.

Responding, SNP finance secretary Shona Robison said the Scottish Government had “delivered a balanced budget in every year that we have been in office, and we will continue to do so”.

She said: “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.  

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“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 £22 billion of cuts, Scotland faces the most challenging financial situation in the history of the reconvened Scottish Parliament.”

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