The Scottish Conservatives have today written to Anas Sarwar demanding that he break his silence on the scandal surrounding Rachel Reeves’s budget.
There have been calls for the Labour Chancellor to go after it emerged she misled the public and the markets over the true state of the nation’s finances in her unprecedented Downing Street press conference weeks before the budget.
During it, she laid the ground for massive tax hikes with a gloomy prognosis of the public finances – despite her having access to figures from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility showing no tax rises were necessary.
Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Craig Hoy says the £26 billion in tax rises Ms Reeves announced last week were not to balance the books, but to fund “Labour’s latest reckless splurge on benefits”.
He called on the Scottish Labour leader to condemn the “deplorable ruse” by the Chancellor which paved the way for “another brutal rise in household and business bills” to fund the end of the two-child cap and placate rebellious Labour backbenchers.
Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Craig Hoy said: “Anas Sarwar must tell Scottish voters what he thinks about the Labour Chancellor lying to the nation, instead of hiding away and hoping this scandal will pass.
“Rachel Reeves shamefully misled the public and the markets about the state of the nation’s finances in the weeks running up to the budget.
“There was no need to raise taxes to balance the books. Her Downing Street press conference was a deplorable ruse to pave the way for Labour’s latest reckless splurge on benefits.
“The Scottish Labour leader has a duty to explain to Scots why they should be hit with another brutal rise in household and business bills, just so that Reeves and Starmer can play political games.
“Does he condone the Chancellor lying to the country or does he agree that she has forfeited all trust and simply has to go?”