Labour MSPs must take a stand on child poverty U-turn
Scottish Labour MSPs must defy their party’s support for the Tories’ cruel two-child benefit cap and ‘rape clause’, according to Scottish Greens finance spokesperson Ross Greer.
This comes as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has told the Scotsman that he backed Keir Starmer’s announcement that if he is Prime Minister he will keep the cruel cap in place. Sarwar then appeared to row back from this in an interview with the Daily Record.
Mr Greer said:
“The two child cap and rape clause are vile examples of just how cruel this Tory government can be to the most vulnerable children and families. It's sadly no surprise that Keir Starmer has decided to U-turn and support this wicked Conservative policy, but the burden is now on every Scottish Labour MSP to say whether or not they agree with their leader.
“Anas Sarwar is all over the place on this. If he is really backing the U-turn then it is beyond shameful, but if he’s not then he needs to stand up to Starmer clearly and without caveats, rather than saying one thing to one journalist and something else to another.
“There is no reason for Scottish Labour MSPs to go along with this cruelty. They rightly joined the Greens and others to condemn this utterly callous policy from day one. Are they going to abandon their principles just because their Westminster leadership says so?
“Anas Sarwar and his colleagues must publicly reject their party’s embrace of cruel Tory policies and instead join us in standing up for children living in poverty.
“With Greens in government here in Scotland we have already delivered a groundbreaking Scottish Child Payment of £25 per week for the most vulnerable families, free bus travel for everyone under 22, a freeze on rents and come October we will remove peak-time rail fares.
“These are the exact kinds of changes that Scottish Labour should be urging their leadership to make, rather than the brutal Tory-lite policies and pathetic cowardice we have seen from Keir Starmer.”
