UK Budget Fails to Deliver for Scotland
As the dust settles on Labour’s UK Budget it is increasingly clear that once again Scotland has been failed Scotland.
For households already struggling with the cost of living, there is nothing here that will make a meaningful difference. Families are being left to pay the price for Westminster chaos.
We needed serious action on public services, support for jobs and industry, and relief on energy bills. Instead, we got a jumbled, last-minute mess: energy bills £340 higher than promised, an unfair new EV tax hitting rural drivers hardest, and the Energy Profits Levy continuing to threaten jobs in Scotland’s oil, gas, and whisky sectors. The tiny increase in funding for Scotland won’t even cover half the cost of the UK’s employer national insurance hike.
Even positive moves, like scrapping the two-child cap, are long overdue and fail to address the bigger picture. Month after month of leaks, incompetence, and half-measures show why Scotland cannot rely on Westminster. Only independence can give Scotland control over our economy, our public services, and our households.
Labours budget is bad news for Scotland:-
- Continuing the Energy Profits Levy, which is leading to thousands of job losses in the North East.
- Raising alcohol duty by inflation, which will negatively impact Scotland’s Whisky industry.
- Continuing with the hike on employers National Insurance, which is forecast to cost the Scottish Government at least £2 billion over the next five years.
- A new per-mile tax on Electric Vehicles which will disproportionately affect drivers in rural Scotland.
- UK energy bills £340 higher after budget changes than the Prime Minister promised before the election.
Opinion polls show a majority of the public believe the UK will be worse off thanks to the budget.
It’s time for a fresh start. Labour’s budget proves once again that Scotland needs to take its own decisions for a fairer, stronger future.
