Wednesday 14 January 2015

Whiteford Slams North East Labour MPs for Backing Tory Cuts

Two North-east Labour MPs vote with Conservatives for further austerity

It has been revealed 28 Scottish Labour MPs voted with the UK Government last night for £75 billion of cuts and tax rises.

Those voting with the Conservative Government for further austerity included two North-east Labour MPs, Anne Begg and Frank Doran.

Commenting, MP for Banff & Buchan and SNP Westminster Spokesperson for Work & Pensions, Eilidh Whiteford, said:

“Labour have shown their true colours in siding with the Tories, and it shows even more clearly that only by voting SNP can Westminster's obsession with imposing austerity cuts be changed.

“The Conservatives are committed to continued austerity which will hit Scottish public services- and they have now been backed by Scottish Labour.

“The consequences of austerity are all too plain to see in my own constituency and across the North-east, so it is particularly disappointing to see two Labour MSPs for the North-east side with the Conservatives. It will be ordinary, hard-working people in their constituencies who will continue to suffer and those people should not be paying the price for the mess that the Tories and Labour got us into in the first place.

“The SNP in government has a strong record on protecting our public services and supporting public sector workers – including the recent additional funding announced for NHS Grampian. But the impact of Westminster’s austerity agenda is continuing to be felt – and with more cuts being passed down the line , the strain on our vital public services will only increase.”