Door still open in budget talks despite Labour abstentions, says Swinney
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has announced his party would abstain in the budget vote.
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Your support makes all the difference.John Swinney’s door remains open for talks on his Government’s budget despite Labour’s plans to abstain in the final vote, the First Minister has said.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar announced on Tuesday that his party would abstain in the final vote on the tax and spending plans expected in late February, effectively guaranteeing it would pass.
Before the announcement, the SNP administration would have had to rely on votes from other parties, with either the Greens or the Lib Dems looking the most likely to back the budget.
But speaking during a debate on the budget’s impact on child poverty – the issue Mr Swinney has identified as his driving mission as First Minister – on Tuesday, he indicated talks with opposition parties would not be concluded.
I am interested in taking as many members of Parliament with me as possible in putting in place a unifying budget that will meet the needs of the people of Scotland
“I take nothing for granted about the budget process, so the discussions which have been constructively engaged in by the Liberal Democrats, by the Greens, by the Labour Party, by Alba and by the Conservatives, will continue to make sure there is a parliamentary majority for the budget,” he said.
“I am interested in taking as many members of Parliament with me as possible in putting in place a unifying budget that will meet the needs of the people of Scotland.”
The First Minister, however, added that he will not “rest easy” until he hears presiding officer Alison Johnstone announce that the budget Bill has passed.
The comments came in response to Lib Dem Willie Rennie, who said his party still has “many more ideas we’d like to include in the budget”.
Mr Swinney’s statement came just hours after Anas Sarwar announced the likelihood his party would not vote for, or against, the plans, but would back them if the Government brings its commitment to mitigate the two-child cap forward to take effect from April 1.
It is, however, unlikely such a move could be made, with ministers planning to use 2025 to plan how to mitigate the controversial UK-wide policy, which would then take effect next year.
Mr Sarwar said: “At this current stage, we will abstain from this budget, because this budget is going to pass anyway.
“It has the votes of another political party, at least one other opposition political party.
“So, we are not going to vote against this budget. We will abstain from this budget.
“But if the Scottish Government wanted us to support the budget, they should have set up a new direction. They didn’t.”
Speaking in the debate on Tuesday, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said his party did not back the “big state approach” of “high taxes, central control, rules and regulations, layers of bureaucracy and spending ever more taxpayers’ money”.
“The trouble is that approach has been tried and it has failed,” he said.
He added: “Holyrood needs to do things differently.
“Instead of focusing on inputs, we need to focus on outcomes.
“Rather than throwing money at problems, we need to better spend what this Parliament takes from taxpayers and we need to take less of it so people can decide what is best for themselves, their families and their communities.”
Labour’s Paul O’Kane said Parliament is responsible for ensuring the child poverty targets are met.
He said: “For many months the First Minister and his front bench have sought to project this budget as though it was their first budget, as though it was a new budget of a new government.
“But, in 2025, we enter 18 years of this SNP government being in power.”
He said the most recent estimates showed there are 30,000 more children living in poverty than when the SNP came to power.
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie said it is legitimate to debate “whether the Government’s actions match the rhetoric”.
He accused Labour leader Anas Sarwar of being “dismissive” of the Scottish Child Payment.