Government poverty adviser says SNP helping rich at expense of poor

The Herald revealed today that the Scottish Government’s own poverty adviser has said SNP policy risks diverting public resources to the well off at the expense of people enduring severe deprivation. Scottish Labour has been saying this for some time.

Scottish Labour Public Services and Wealth Creation Spokesperson Jackie Baillie said:

“The appointment of a poverty adviser was a step Labour welcomed. It is crucial Naomi Eisenstadt’s findings are taken seriously and she is allowed to act independently by the SNP Government.

What Ms Eisenstadt has found is the record of a government that will always put spin before substance when it comes to social justice. We are seeing this with the SNP Government’s budget, which includes brutal cuts to local councils delivering vital services like schools and social care for the elderly and disabled. This will increase poverty in our communities.

With more powers coming to Holyrood Scottish Labour has set out the different, more progressive, decisions we would take on tax compared to the SNP and the Tories. Only Scottish Labour will deliver a real anti-austerity alternative.

These findings suggest that after more than eight years in power and a majority in Parliament, the SNP Government should get serious about tackling poverty instead of congratulating itself.”

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3 thoughts on “Government poverty adviser says SNP helping rich at expense of poor

  1. Another Magnus Gardham Herald partial quote out of context spin on what an SNP advisor said is not a foundation for anything other than another SNP bad spin and will be seen as such by the voters.
    I would have thought that particular message would have sunk in by now.

    Look at the reality.

    The SNP have frozen council tax for 9 years. That benefits EVERYBODY who has to pay it.
    The SNP has adopted Universal benefits as opposed to means testing that benefits EVERYBODY who applies and qualifies.
    The SNP has adopted the NO Tuition Fees approach to higher education. That benefits EVERY potential Scottish student and their families.
    The SNP has removed payment of the bedroom tax from its potential victims in Scotland. That benefits specifically the most vulnerable.

    And Labours approach to these policies?

    Increase council tax on everybody.
    Means test all benefits and welfare ensure many don’t qualify.
    Introduce Tuition fees ensuring everybody ends up paying between 6k to 9k on top of what is already paid via taxation for education.
    Ensure the bedroom tax is paid by those who fit the criteria.

    The SNP approach benefits everybody. labours approach penalises everybody.

    And there lies the key to your demise/recovery. Stop spinning stop lying stop smearing and take a good long hard look at your ignorant stupidity in your denial of being nothing but Red Tories.

    Then maybe just maybe you wont end up being wiped out in Scotland along with your blue and orange Tory comrades.

    Happy New Year when it comes.

    1. Mike, wow talk about missing the point. Yes, council tax cuts mean “everybody” pays less tax. It also then means that the brutal cuts to local services disproportionately hurts the most vunerable in need. Does free university tuition benefit everybody? Well no, it benefits only those who get to university. Overwhelmingly middle class, relatively privileged kids. At the same times brutal cuts to vocational college education has again disproportionately hurt the poorest.

      It is willfully ignorant to judge these items in isolation. Yet nationalists will do so time and again. When it is noted that peter is robbed to pay paul, and the true costs of these “universal” benefits is analysed, well just bleat SNP BAAD, move to a different website and reboot your argument. Childish culture politics.

      1. There was a point?

        Brutal cuts? Labour was selling off our public services to the Private sector while still increasing our local taxes to supposedly continue paying for them so clearly there is no link between increasing local taxation and continuing public service under Labour.

        By introducing tuition fees you want to penalise EVERY student from EVERY background by imposing a massive debt penalty onto them before they’ve even had a chance to gain their first taste of employment.

        There has been no brutal cuts to college education as witnessed by the fact that there are more college places than there are potential Scottish students to fill them.
        Show me a college in Scotland which doesn’t have a full quota of student places available with a full quota of courses.

        “It is willfully ignorant to judge these items in isolation.”

        Your entire first passage did exactly that.

        The cost of removing universal benefits is to create a system of benefit denial. People are literally dying of malnutrition because of the so called method of “Means testing” employed by the so called UK welfare minister and here you are supporting the idea.

        Its this level of deliberate blind ignorance in support of Neo Conservative values which is has ended Labour in Scotland and that isn’t due to childish culture politics that’s due to people understanding deliberately targeted pain and suffering under the guise of “Austerity” when they see it.

        I see MPs are crying to Osborne because he wants to cut party funding. Seems the idea of sharing “Austerity” doesn’t appeal to those who support the idea of imposing the measure.

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