Starmer child poverty U-Turn shows why Scotland needs full welfare powers
Keir Starmer's disgraceful U-turn on the two-child cap and 'rape clause' underlines why Scotland needs greater power over social security, say the Scottish Greens.
The party's finance spokesperson, Ross Greer MSP, has called for Labour MSPs to support the call for more social security and taxation powers to be moved from Westminster to Holyrood.
Mr Greer said:
"Keir Starmer is showing himself to be a slippery con man of the highest order.
"He made plenty of progressive and radical promises when he wanted Labour members to elect him leader, only to spend every day since abandoning those pledges and supporting cruel Tory policies which have done so much damage to the most vulnerable children.
"What could be worse than knowingly plunging even more families into poverty? Yet that is exactly what he has committed the Labour Party to do.
"We have used the limited levers available to the Scottish Government to lift 90,000 children out of poverty, but we could do much more if powers over more of the social security system sat here, rather than with the cruel elites at Westminster.
"With Scottish Greens in government we have raised social security payments in line with inflation, while the new Scottish Child Payment is supporting vulnerable families all over the country. That is in sharp contrast to the punishing cuts and sanctions introduced by successive UK governments.
“Keir Starmer’s Labour wants to double down on the cruelty and chaos of the Tories. Whoever wins the next General Election, real change will only come if power is taken away from Westminster and put in the hands of Scotland’s Parliament. We would certainly abolish the two child cap and rape clause without delay.
"This is an urgent test for every Labour MSP. Will they stand with us to protect the most vulnerable by calling for these powers to be devolved to Scotland?”