John Swinney has warned Labour “Scotland will never forgive you” if the UK Government tries to block the ending of the two-child cap on benefits.
The SNP made a surprise pledge yesterday to mitigate the impact of the hated policy in Scotland – but could not offer a firm commitment on how long it would take, or how much it would cost.
Shona Robison, the Finance Secretary, used her annual Budget statement to claim the Scottish Government would spend the next 12 months preparing to end the two-child cap.
But that depends on cooperation from the UK Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), which holds the relevant data.
The First Minister said today the DWP must “absolutely must not stand in our way”.
“I will do everything absolutely everything in my power to lift children in Scotland out of poverty and end this scourge once and for all,” he wrote in The Times.
“That is what you can expect from a John Swinney government. I will leave no stone unturned and I will take every step I possibly can to support families in Scotland.
“We can’t mitigate every cruel UK government policy. Because whether it is a Tory or a Labour one, we know that they will always sell Scotland short. But people in Scotland can be assured that we will work day and night to do everything we possibly can to support them.
“Ending the two-child cap gets to the heart of what my government is about. I listened to the families across the country who were telling me how much they were struggling and I have taken action to support them.
“I now expect that this measure will see cross-party support when the budget is voted on in parliament in the weeks to come. If the Labour Party tries to play politics and block this measure, the people of Scotland will simply never forgive them.
“So my message to Labour is this: join us in ending the two-child cap and let us speak with one voice in saying that child poverty in Scotland should be a thing of the past.”
Paul O’Kane, the party’s social security spokesman, claimed last night the Finance Secretary’s move had no substance. He said: “Labour will engage constructively but this is a policy without a penny.
“There is no funding allocated to this commitment and no plan within Shona Robison’s Budget to deliver it.”
The two-child cap on benefits was introduced UK-wide by Tory Chancellor George Osborne in 2015.
Keir Starmer faced a backlash from members of his own party when he ruled out Labour scrapping the policy when it took power at Westminster.
The Scottish Government’s move is unlikely to take effect before the next Holyrood election 2026, when the SNP will face a tough race against Labour.
Swinney needs at least two votes from other parties to pass his Government’s spending plans for next year, which will be voted on in the new year.
But the Scottish Greens warned last night that “big changes” would be required before they would back it.
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