SECRET TREASURY DOCUMENTS BLOW GAFF ON LABOUR CUTS

SECRET TREASURY DOCUMENTS BLOW GAFF ON LABOUR CUTS

SNP Treasury spokesperson Stewart Hosie MP has seized on leaked Treasury documents which reveal secret UK Government plans to slash spending by nearly 10 per cent.

The internal papers are dated the day before the last Budget in April, and predict that departmental spending will fall every year from next year until 2014.

Mr Hosie said:

“These papers blow the gaff on Labour plans to slash public spending, and suggest the Prime Minister has not been honest with the public or parliament.

“It is incredible that all the time Gordon Brown was making promises about investment and denials about cuts to Scotland’s budget, Downing Street was secretly drawing up plans to make real terms cuts which would pull the rug from under recovery.

“Gordon Brown has been left completely exposed by this leak, and he must own up to Labour’s secret cuts plan.

“Imposing cuts to public investment while the economy is struggling to re-establish growth is exactly the wrong policy prescription and can only have the effect of putting recovery at risk. In Scotland, Labour’s £500 million cuts could destroy 9,000 jobs and hit frontline services.

“The SNP Scottish Government will set out its budget this week and is working harder than ever to ensure that we invest in our priorities and stimulate a strong recovery but the UK Government’s cuts agenda pose an undeniable threat.

“Labour are presiding over the first real terms fall in Scotland’s public spending since the dark days of the Tories’ spending plans in the 1990s, which will be hugely damaging to jobs and services.

“The UK Government’s catastrophic financial failure underlines the need for Scotland to have responsibility to run our own affairs – with the ability to take the decisions needed to reflate our economy, contribute to recovery, and overcome the Downing Street downturn.”