Labour 'won't pick fights with the SNP' in government amid 'partnership' vow

Rachel Reeves has vowed to pursue a “partnership approach” to working with the SNP in Scotland if Labour wins power.

The shadow chancellor said the potential of the UK economy would only be realised if “every nation and region” plays their part. It came as she addressed staff at the Royal Bank of Scotland complex at Gogarburn, Edinburgh, on Tuesday during her first trip north of the border of the general election campaign.

Ms Reeves, a former Bank of England economist, stressed the need for stability, investment and reform. More than 100 Edinburgh-based staff were given the opportunity to quiz her and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

Rachel Reeves and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar hold a Q&A with staff at RBS in Edinburgh. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Questioned about how Labour would work with the SNP government in Scotland, Mr Sarwar said there had been too many “manufactured fights” in the past. He said: “We won’t try and pick fights. We will try and work in Scotland’s interest.”

Asked about this by The Scotsman later, Ms Reeves said: “We want a partnership approach. We’re only going to realise the potential of the whole UK economy if people in all parts of the UK, every nation and region, are given the opportunity to participate and play their part.

"So we would work with the Government here and hope in the future that a Labour government in Westminster would be able to work with a Labour government here in Scotland.”

Ms Reeves added: “If people in Scotland want change, and they want Scotland to be part of that change, the more Scottish Labour MPs we have working with a Labour government in Westminster, the more I think we can deliver for Scotland.”

Asked how this partnership approach would work, and if she would seek to meet with SNP finance secretary Kate Forbes, Ms Reeves said: “Of course we would work in partnership. Of course we would want to work in partnership, but also looking forward to the Scottish Parliament elections shortly afterwards.”

Ms Reeves meanwhile said Mr Sarwar did not change Labour’s fiscal policy during Monday night’s TV election debate, and declared there would be “no return to austerity under a Labour government”.

The SNP accused Mr Sarwar of “blowing apart” Labour’s fiscal plan during an exchange with John Swinney at the STV debate, where they discussed Labour’s proposals for taxation, spending and borrowing.

Ms Reeves said this was not the case. Speaking to journalists after the RBS event, she said: “Our fiscal rules are clear and Anas set them out last night.

“Labour would bring down debt as a share of our economy. We would balance day-to-day spending through tax receipts and, subject to that, we’d be able to borrow to invest in things that improve our country’s growth and productivity.

“What John Swinney needs to explain is why he’s opposed to an extension of the windfall tax that will enable that investment in infrastructure here in Scotland.”

Ms Reeves, who is running in Leeds West, was also asked how quickly she would set out her first Budget if she becomes chancellor in a Labour government after the election.

She said there were “proper procedures to go through”, including a ten-week process with the Office of Budget Responsibility. “I will do the budget properly in my own time, but of course I’m raring to get going,” she said.

The shadow chancellor said there would be “no return to austerity under a Labour government” while taxes would not be increased for working people during the next Parliament.

Asked if she would ever be open to further borrowing powers for the Scottish Government, she said her focus was on “growing the economy” and lowering taxes for working people, rather than “looking for new ways to borrow or new ways to tax, which is the approach of the SNP”.

Earlier, the SNP challenged Ms Reeves to “come clean and admit where the austerity axe will fall under the Labour Party’s damaging plan to impose billions of pounds of cuts to public services”.

SNP economy spokesman and candidate for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-Shire Drew Hendry, said: “People in Scotland want an end to 14 years of Tory cuts – but the Labour Party is doubling down and will impose at least £18 billion of cuts under its plans, which will mean less money for Scotland’s NHS and schools

“With Anas Sarwar contradicting Reeves, it’s clear the Labour Party is not being honest about the devastating cuts they will make.”

Analysis: Event was a reminder of how far Labour has come

Staff lined the balconies at the swanky Royal Bank of Scotland campus at Gogarburn to watch Rachel Reeves and Anas Sarwar speak. It was a visual reminder of just how far Labour has come.

The party has been waging a charm offensive on the business community and financial sector.

Introducing the event, Judith Cruickshank, regional managing director of commercial mid-market at RBS, joked Mr Sarwar was “the only person I know who spends more time talking to Scottish businesses than I do”.

Mr Sarwar said delivering economic growth was Labour’s number one priority. “What I, Rachel and Keir [Starmer] recognise is that you can only deliver social change if it’s backed a strong, growing economy,” he said.

To state the obvious, an event like this would not have happened under Jeremy Corbyn or former Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard. But then, things have moved on in more ways than one.

After all, it was under the last Labour government that RBS had to be bailed out by the taxpayer to save the UK financial system from collapse.