FORMER prime minister Gordon Brown has been called out for his “morally indefensible hypocrisy” on social security and the Union.
Writing for the Guardian this week, the ex-Labour chief expressed concerns over the state of the UK’s welfare system.
It comes as 800,000 people across the UK are set to be pushed into poverty by the £20-a-week Universal Credit cut next month. Nearly half a million Scots receive the payment, and three-quarters of them will be unable to cope with the £1040-a-year cut, according to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
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The leaders of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and recently urged Westminster to scrap the planned cut, but were ignored.
Brown, a cheerleader for Unionism and the founder of anti-independence think tank Our Scottish Future, wrote in his article: “Poor people in Britain can no longer rely on social security for the minimum they need to prevent their descent into extreme poverty. Their lifeline is now charity.”
Gordon MacDonald (above), the SNP chief whip at Holyrood, was critical of Brown’s shared beliefs in the welfare system and the Union.
He commented: “Gordon Brown has finally recognised that Westminster control is an unremitting disaster for so many Scottish families, that the welfare system administered by Westminster has been so systematically dismantled that the poorest Scots have been left to rely on charity.
“Meanwhile, as the acclaimed great defender of Westminster control, Brown also champions the campaign that has allowed Tories like Boris Johnson to continue to inflict these catastrophic policies on Scotland. He has called on the Scottish Government to do more yet admits that it is Westminster policies which have pushed thousands of families into poverty.”
MacDonald said arguing that Westminster policies have failed so many while continuing to stand up for its “corrosive influence” is “morally indefensible hypocrisy”.
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“This level of intellectual dishonesty should serve as a wake-up call for those remaining voters who believe Brown has Scotland’s best interests at heart. He doesn’t.
“The only way to protect Scotland is by becoming an independent country – a choice the people of Scotland will be given in a post-pandemic referendum.”
Speaking to Sky this morning, business minister Paul Scully claimed taxes would need to go up in order to prevent the £20-a-week Universal Credit cut.
“You have to find £6 billion from somewhere,” he told the channel.
Last night, former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and peer criticised the Tory government decision to go ahead with the benefit cut – set to be the largest overnight cut to welfare in modern history.
She told Robert Peston’s ITV programme: “To be honest with you, I don’t agree with it, I didn’t vote for it. I know there’s plenty of people within the Tory party that are deeply uncomfortable with it. It’s one of those ones where I hope the Treasury could think again.”
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