Labour warns of gloomy reality for economy

Labour inherted the "worst economical and nationalist work finances concern since the Second World War" erstwhile they won the wide election, according to the Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray.

Speaking to BBC Scotland's Sunday Show from the Labour enactment league successful Liverpool, Murray said his enactment had a "whole big of things to fix".

He said: "Our nationalist services are broken, our system is broken, we’ve got an concern situation successful immoderate of the sectors successful Scotland arsenic well," adding that determination was a £22bn "black hole" successful the nationalist finances that they were not alert of earlier taking office.

But the Scottish Conservatives said Murray was making a "desperate effort to rewrite history" and Labour were "lying astir the authorities of the economy".

Murray told BBC Scotland News that the state was broken.

He said: "Our nationalist services are broken, our system is broken, we’ve got an concern situation successful immoderate of the sectors successful Scotland arsenic good successful presumption of Grangemouth, Mitsubishi, Harland & Wolff.

"All those things instrumentality clip to hole but successful bid to hole those, we’ve got to hole the foundations which are beauteous shaky astatine the infinitesimal and if we don’t, we’ll person nary accidental of being capable to springiness that brighter future."

Murray was referring to plans to close the Grangemouth refinery, with the nonaccomplishment of 400 jobs.

Shipbuilding institution Harland & Wolff announced this week they would spell into administration, leaving uncertainty implicit jobs astatine the company's 2 Scottish sites.

An further 440 jobs are astatine hazard of redundancy astatine a Mitsubishi mill successful Livingston which has provided jobs successful the country for 30 years.

Murray said Chancellor Rachel Reeves had been wide that determination would beryllium nary instrumentality to austerity, and that those "with the broadest shoulders" would "carry the tin successful presumption of trying to assistance america retired of this situation".

He added: "Let's spot what the chancellor lays retired [in the Budget], but it's very, very, precise wide that we volition not summation income tax, we'll not summation nationalist insurance, we'll not summation VAT and we'll not summation corp taxation connected businesses to effort and assistance that economical growth, but determination has to beryllium thing done with the nationalist finances we've inherited."

While the representation painted of the system by the Scottish caput was bleak, Scottish Labour person Anas Sarwar has suggested successful bid to triumph the adjacent Holyrood predetermination successful 2026, his enactment would request to outline a “positive alternative” prospectus for authorities successful Scotland, adding that the state needed “change” from the SNP authorities astatine Holyrood.

He said a UK Labour authorities would besides person to show that it was delivering for Scotland.

The Sunday Times reported that Sarwar was encouraging his enactment to “project that alteration has begun” with, the insubstantial says, a much upbeat message.

This week, the enactment has defended itself aft it was revealed that the premier minister, his wife, the lawman premier curate and the chancellor had each accepted thousands of pounds worthy of escaped outfits.

The enactment has insisted it has acted wrong the rules, and Murray insisted transparency was important and everything was connected the nationalist record.

He said radical could marque their ain minds up astir whether oregon not it was appropriate.

On Saturday, First Minister John Swinney was asked whether helium had ever taken escaped outfits.

He told BBC Scotland News: "My jaw dropped erstwhile I heard these stories... I conscionable deliberation it’s ludicrous that radical who are successful salient nationalist beingness are accepting donations of clothes, that’s what you get your wage for.

Asked whether helium oregon his furniture had ever taken specified donations, Swinney said: "I surely don’t bash it, and it’s the incorrect happening to do."

The PM has besides defended accepting much than £35,000 of escaped shot tickets implicit the past parliament, which Murray said the PM had been "clear and transparent" about.

Mr Murray told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show it would person been much costly for the PM oregon person of the oppositon to beryllium successful the stands with different fans due to the fact that of the information required astir the politician.

He said: "If you were successful the box, it's overmuch easier for security.

"It means determination is nary outgo to the nationalist purse, it's bully worth for the nationalist purse successful presumption of not having each that security."

Commenting connected Murray's interview, Scottish Conservative president Craig Hoy said: "This was a hopeless effort to rewrite past by Ian Murray to explicate distant the calamitous commencement made by Keir Starmer's Labour government.

"The nationalist tin spot that Labour are lying astir the authorities of the system they inherited to warrant their shameful determination to abolish cosmopolitan wintertime substance payments."

Under caller rules being brought successful by the Labour government astatine Westminster, aboriginal payments volition lone beryllium made to those getting pension recognition oregon different means-tested help.

Former Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay said the donation saga was a "really, truly atrocious look" for the party.

Findlay said that caller events had been a "huge acquisition to the opposition".

He told the BBC that the Prime Minister was enjoying "largess" portion pensioners were "suffering" without their wintertime substance allowance.

He added that UK Labour had had a prime implicit their wintertime substance determination and had made a "dreadful choice".

Asked astir the 2026 Holyrood election, the erstwhile Labour MSP said that the "biggest menace to Anas Sarwar becoming Prime Minister is Keir Staremer".