EVERY time there is a criticism in the chamber aimed at the Government and its treatment of people, the response is always the same – “We are fixing the economy so needs must”. While of course it is true that our economy was hit hard by the worldwide crash of 2008, I refuse to accept that the only way to repair it is on the backs of the worst off in society. Why our Government continues to try and patch up the holes in our economy by taking from those who have the least to give is mind-boggling. George Osborne’s smug grin may give the allure of confidence, and may even convince some people that he and his party are fixing the economy, however, when you begin to scrutinise you see the opposite is true.

The Chancellor is failing significantly. It is not just me and my colleagues in the SNP who think so; in an interview on Radio 4’s Today programme, John Humphreys accurately pointed out that the Chancellor has failed to meet two out of three of his own targets. Last year he admitted he would not hit his self-imposed welfare cap, and secondly, he has now failed to meet his target of debt declining as a proportion of GDP. Austerity is failing to provide the economic growth that George Osborne needs to balance the books, with the economy coming in £18 billion smaller than expected in 2015. Indeed, the Chancellor promised to bring public sector net borrowing down to £20bn by this year, and it has in fact grown to £70bn.

He’s not fixing the economy at all. So what is he doing?

Instead of investing in our economy and our people, the Chancellor chooses to cut Income Tax for the richest 10 per cent of the country, while slashing Personal Independence Payment for the disabled. In fact, the single greatest revenue-raising measure over the next five years will be cutting PIP. It is the same cruel tactics we have seen time and time again with this Government – balance the books on the backs of those most in need while giving the richest in society a free ride.

It leaves me dumbfounded that the Chancellor mentioned “putting the next generation first”, around 18 times during his speech, when in fact he is crippling the next generation’s chances and ability to get the education they need to become huge assets to our economy. The Government refuses to reinstate the post-study work visa, forces student nurses to take out loans to gain their qualification, slashed education grants forcing the poorest students to take out loans, removed entitlement to housing benefit for those aged 18 to 21, and imposed tuition fees of up to £9,000. I cannot see how this is “putting the next generation first”, it seems to me, rather, that he is crippling those worst off in the next generation and condemning them to years of paying down debts that they should never have had to accumulate in the first place. Myself and the SNP have said it numerous times: education should be based on your ability to learn and not your ability to pay.

Then there are sneaky cuts in Scotland’s budget. The Chancellor, just months after trying to fleece Scotland of £7bn in the Fiscal Framework deal, is now imposing a real-terms cut of £1.5bn to Scotland’s budget. Much like his claim that his budget is “putting the next generation first” turning out to be a farce, as is his claim that this budget is “pro-devolution”. There is nothing “pro-devolution” about cutting Scotland’s budget and then suggesting we should use our new powers to effectively tax our citizens twice.

This decade of austerity has been a choice by our Government. The Government chooses to punish the poorest for the mistakes of the richest. The Government chooses to impose draconian taxes like the bedroom tax, while choosing to ring-fence defence spending. The Government chooses to cut benefits for the disabled, while choosing to spend £167bn on replacing trident. The Government chooses to send bombs to kill civilians in Syria, while choosing to cut student grants and housing benefit.

The SNP set out an alternative to austerity, endorsed by the OECD’s Economic Outlook, which chooses to invest in our public services, and chooses to invest in education, and chooses to invest in innovation. Those choices would actually bring down the debt and borrowing – and not on the back of the poorest in our society. That is what a sensible and compassionate Government should choose to do.