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Meeting of the Parliament 09 February 2011

09 Feb 2011 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Budget (Scotland) (No 5) Bill: Stage 3

Kerr, Andy Lab East Kilbride Watch on SPTV

From my eight years in government, I recall that the SNP lodged only one amendment to the budget. I also recall that in the negotiations around the SNP Government’s first budget, we put forward 20 amendments, one of which—on police—was rejected by the SNP, which then went round by the back door and did a deal with their friends on the Tory benches. That is how the SNP acts in government. I thank the member very much for his intervention.

The basic requirements for our economy to thrive are infrastructure, the ability to move goods, services and people and our connection to the outside world. Even as we were having our conversations with the cabinet secretary, BMI announced the withdrawal of vital routes from Glasgow to Heathrow—and what did we hear from the Government? Absolutely nothing. That is the problem with this Government.

The SNP is implementing the Tory cuts, with the heaviest blows falling on areas such as higher education, enterprise and others vital to economic recovery, driving growth and creating jobs. The fact that the party in government today has been saved by the coalition parties tells us everything we need to know about its approach. The difference between it and us is that we have a vision for jobs, which we will set out—[Laughter.] If that vision is so bad that it makes members laugh, why is the cabinet secretary trying to deliver half of our own commitments? The SNP Government is copying our own vision. However, although it knows that we are right, it will not allocate sufficient resources to deliver the full impact of those measures.

It is our duty to say that this is not good enough for Scotland. Scotland deserves better and in 12 weeks’ time the people of Scotland will have a choice of a better Government—one that will deliver full measures to deal with unemployment and jobs. Labour has stood and will always stand by the working people of Scotland and their right to work and to wages that allow them to provide for families, and contribute to their communities and which allow the country as a whole to prosper. The cabinet secretary has chosen his priorities, and the country will soon be able to make its own choice.

The budget is a test of values; it is a test of who we are and what we stand for. For the past four years, the SNP has shown who it stands with—the Tories. It has no credible plan for growth and we cannot support it.

Our pledge is that if we win the election a Labour Government in Scotland will improve the budget and put our people and their jobs first. Among the many measures that we could undertake, we will create 10,000 future jobs fund opportunities, which will be advertised in our first 100 days in government. That is what we stand for; those are our values; and we will take them into government if we are elected by the Scottish people.

14:59

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Meeting of the Parliament 09 February 2011

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