The Scottish National Party has called on Labour to use a House of Commons debate to challenge the Tories on austerity.
Labour will have the opportunity to choose debate topics for each of the five themed Queen’s Speech debates over the next week.
The Tory’s commitment to further welfare cuts comes as new statistics published last week show that around a third of the UK population experienced poverty in at least one year between 2010 and 2013 – higher than the EU average of 25 per cent.
During the General Election campaign, the SNP promoted an end to austerity with modest increases in public spending.
Commenting, SNP Westminster Social Justice spokesperson Dr Eilidh Whiteford said:
“Labour need to show some backbone and use the Queen's Speech to challenge the Tories on their austerity measures.
“We are already well aware of what to expect from the Tory government in this Queen’s speech, with the continuation of the relentless assault on the poor and a further £12bn in cuts to social security – and the SNP will lead the fight against these cuts every step of the way.
“The UK Government’s continued commitment to the savage welfare cuts that are inflicting such hardship on so many people underlines why they can’t be allowed to take decisions on social security on Scotland’s behalf any more. The Scottish Parliament needs full powers over employment and social security to allow us to support and empower people – and SNP MPs will fight to have these powers delivered to Scotland.
“With Labour all over the place and each of their leadership candidates seemingly getting ready to race even further to the right, the SNP is the only real opposition to unfair Tory cuts in the House of Commons – and people in Scotland can be assured that we will stand up for Scotland in Westminster."