Westminster Threat to Scots Pensions Shows Yes Vote Essential

LABOUR PROPOSING LOWER PENSIONS IN SCOTLAND THAN LONDON
Commenting on Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls’ interview on the BBC Sunday Politics programme in which he could not rule out including pensions in his new regional welfare cap - which would mean different levels in different parts of the UK and Liam Byrne’s interview where he refused to rule out cuts to pensioners TV licences Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP, SNP Works and Pensions spokesperson at Westminster, said:

“This has been a dreadful period for Labour as they abandon their long held commitment to the principle of universality, and propose having lower welfare benefits in Scotland and the regions of England than London. Now Ed Balls quite strikingly refuses to rule out including pensions in his new cap proposals - meaning lower pensions in Scotland than London, despite the fact the Scotland more than pays its way in the UK.

“Nothing better illustrates the need for a Yes vote than this threat from Westminster to pensions in Scotland. The reality is that spending on pensions and welfare takes up a lower share of Scotland’s economy than it does across the whole of the UK, which means that they are more affordable for Scotland.

“Already a majority of people in Scotland believe that welfare and pensions policy, and taxation, should be decided by Holyrood not Westminster - and this Labour-Tory alliance on welfare cuts shows why it is essential.

“Labour have now joined with the Tories in supporting cuts and abandoning the principle of universality – it is no surprise that Alistair Darling got a rousing ovation at a Tory conference this weekend. The only way to safeguard the welfare state in Scotland is to vote Yes next September."

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Westminster Parties "Joined at the Hip" on Welfare Cuts

LABOUR TO KEEP TORY POLICIES THEY PREVIOUSLY SAID WERE “OUT OF TOUCH”
The Scottish National Party has said Labour are uniting with the Tories as it has been revealed that a future Labour government would keep child benefit cuts made by the coalition government.

Despite attacking the move in 2010 as unfair and ‘out of touch with hard-working families’, party leader Ed Miliband reportedly will tomorrow (Thursday) say he supports capping the amount the next government will spend on welfare. The news follows an announcement from Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls earlier this week that the party would cap winter fuel payments for pensioners and parts of the country with lower housing costs could face lower welfare caps, confirming the only way to safeguard the welfare state in Scotland is by voting Yes next September.

Commenting, SNP Work and Pensions spokesperson Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP said:

“We already know that Labour and the Tories are cosy in the No campaign. Alistair Darling is launching an anti-independence event in London tonight with Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander and Tory peer Lord Strathclyde, in support of Westminster deciding economic and welfare policy for Scotland - the same Mr Darling who says the Tory/Lib Dem coalition's policies are causing 'immeasurable damage'. And he is also expected to attend the Tory party conference in Stirling this weekend.

“And now Labour are adopting Tory policies hand-over-fist on austerity and welfare cuts. Continued Westminster government means continued austerity, and cuts and more cuts - a Yes vote next September is the only alternative.

“Just this week the Institute of Fiscal studies announced middle-income families will see their spending power cut by an average of £34 a week, or nearly £1,800 a year due to changes to benefits, with lowest earning families to be hardest hit over the next three years - and with Scotland the worst affected part of the UK.

“Already, a majority of people in Scotland believe that welfare and pensions policy should be decided by Holyrood not Westminster - and Labour converging on Tory ground at Westminster shows why having control in Scotland is essential. The only way to improve Scotland’s economy and protect the welfare state is with a Yes vote for independence next September.”

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Labour Plans More Austerity - and More Cuts - at Westminster

ED BALLS SPEECH MAKES IT CLEAR -- LABOUR ADOPT THE TORY MANTRA CUTS CUTS AND MORE CUTS

Following reports of the speech by Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls in which he said that parts of the country with lower housing costs could face lower welfare caps under a Labour government at Westminster, Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP, SNP Work and Pensions spokesperson, commented:

"This is an extraordinary step for Labour to take - and confirms that the only way to safeguard the welfare state in Scotland is by voting Yes next September. Already, a majority of people in Scotland believe that welfare and pensions policy should be decided by Holyrood not Westminster - and developments like this show why having control in Scotland is essential.

"Scotland has paid more tax per head than the UK average in every one of the last 30 years - and the official figures show that Scotland subsidises the rest of the UK, not the other way round - yet Labour are now talking about having lower welfare payments in Scotland than the south of England. Johann Lamont and the Labour MPs at Westminster she is nominally in charge of have a great deal of explaining to do.

“Ed Balls has now made it clear that if Labour was ever re-elected at Westminster they would adopt the Tory mantra of cuts, cuts and more cuts. His language could not be clearer and his attack on the universality of pensions by cutting winter fuel payments shows us that a Westminster government of whatever hue really does mean sticking with Tory cuts. The only way to escape this Westminster austerity is with a Yes vote in 2014."

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Inequality in the UK - Poorest Suffer While Number of Millionaires Increases by 24%

New figures show the number of millionaire households in the UK has increased by almost a quarter as increasing amounts of wealth are concentrated in the south of England.

Research published by the Boston Consulting Group on global wealth shows the UK has 509,000 millionaire households, compared to 411,000 last year, which is more than any other European country.

The Office for National Statistics have published a report on Regional Distribution of Wealth across the UK which clearly shows a concentration of wealth in the south of England, with Scotland having the lowest percentage share of the wealthiest households.

Commenting, SNP spokesperson for Work and Pensions, Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP said:

“Scotland generates massive wealth - yet the Westminster system means we do not reap the rewards, and instead our most disadvantaged people are facing the brunt of government cuts through unfair measures such as the bedroom tax.

“The Scottish Government’s Fiscal Commission found that, since 1975, income inequality among working age people increased more quickly in the UK than any other OECD country, and that ‘without access to relevant policy levers - particularly taxation and welfare policy - there is little that the Scottish Government can do to address these trends.’

“Scotland brings in wealth through our incredibly successful offshore oil and gas industry, food and drink, engineering, life sciences, the creative sector, renewable energy and tourism - but as a result of economic policies imposed by the UK Government, the majority of wealth is concentrated in the south of England. Increasingly, Westminster’s policies are designed for the millionaires- not the many.

“This means that ordinary people have lower incomes than they should, higher levels of debt and smaller pensions.

“In September 2014, Scotland will have the opportunity to take a different path. With independence, Scotland would become a fairer nation.”

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