Scotland’s public services, including the NHS, are threatened by Tory mismanagement of the economy, now that the UK has officially entered into a recession, SNP MSP Kaukab Stewart has said.
Ms Stewart has also criticised reports that UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is planning a round of cuts to public spending at the next UK Budget. This comes as a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies has revealed “further cuts are for most public services are built into current plans” within the UK government.
Commenting, Kaukab Stewart MSP said:
“Prime Minister Rishi Sunak put growing the UK economy front and centre of his plan for government and he has failed. This recession is a result of 14 years of mismanagement of fiscal and economic policy from the Tories.
“From taking us out of the EU, to Liz Truss’ mini-budget fiasco, the Tories have engaged in economic vandalism, and Scotland’s public services are seriously threatened as a result.
“Despite having some devolved powers over the economy, the majority of economic levers still reside in Westminster. Make no mistake, when the UK economy plunges into recession, it drags Scotland’s down with it.
“The Tories appear set to implement another round of public spending cuts, which would hammer already stretched public services, like our NHS. And Keir Starmer’s Labour Party have abandoned offering any real alternative to this Tory pain.
“Only at the General Election does Scotland have a chance to take a different path. A vote for the SNP is a vote for Scotland to become an independent country – enough is enough with this Westminster mess.”
