NICOLA Sturgeon has challenged Douglas Ross to come with her to speak to working-class communities in Scotland to see if it is her or the Tories who are “out of touch”.
The Scottish Tory leader accused the First Minister of being "detached from working-class communities" in his speech at the Conservative party conference.
The Moray MP claimed the Tories are the only party to represent the working classes against the "cosy Holyrood consensus" on issues like free speech and fair justice.
But Sturgeon has now hit back, pointing to the UK Government’s decision to cut Universal Credit and increase tax payments for lower earners.
“I’ve just been re-elected as First Minister with a historically high share of the vote, including in working-class communities across Scotland,” the First Minister told LBC. “So perhaps we should let the facts and reality to speak for themselves."
She continued: “But, you know, the same of these Tories. They are about to take food out of the mouths of children across working-class communities the length and breadth of Scotland, including in Douglas Ross’s own constituency. And they have the nerve to make comments like this.
“Maybe Douglas Ross would like to come with me, and I’ll introduce him to some working-class communities across the country and then he will see who’s in touch with them and who’s horribly out of touch with them because the Tories, like him, are doing so much damage every day right now.”
The FM @NicolaSturgeon invites @Douglas4Moray to come with her and meet working class communities - after he claimed the @theSNP leader was “out of touch” with them.
— Alan Zycinski (@AlanJZycinski) October 4, 2021
She says the @ScotTories leader will then see who it is “that is horribly out of touch”.@LBC | @LBCNews pic.twitter.com/uhGOUYbKwx
READ MORE: Douglas Ross tells Tory conference he has 'no problem' bypassing Holyrood
Sturgeon went on to question whether the Chancellor thinks the public are “daft and can have the wool pulled so easily over their eyes” after he unveiled his new spending plans.
As the Treasury prepares to scrap the £20 per week uplift in Universal Credit, Sunak announced the UK Government will commit more than £500 million in fresh funding to help people back into work.
The First Minister commented: “The cut to Universal Credit which is due to take effect later this week will take £20 a week from the poorest families in the country, leaving some parents unable to feed their children or heat their homes.
“That is a cut worth £6 billion across the UK – £6bn being taken out of the pockets of the lowest income families across the country. And yet the Chancellor stands up and expects some thanks about half a billion pounds.
“It in no way compensates for that morally indefensible cut to Universal Credit that he’s about to preside over.”
Over the weekend, Sturgeon joined the devolved leaders of Northern Ireland and Wales to demand that the Tory government U-turn on its plans to slash benefits.
She warned Conservative ministers that failing to do so would be a “stain on your characters”.
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