SNP CHALLENGE WESTMINSTER PARTIES OVER DISABILITY BENEFIT CUTS PROGRESSIVE POLITICS VERSUS CUTS “CLEAR DIVIDING LINE OF DEBATE”
Rolling out Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) to replace Disability Living Allowance will see over 100,000 working age disabled people in Scotland lose some or all of their benefit by 2018 – representing a cut of £300 million a year, with a loss of at least £1,120 a year per person who loses out. Some 47,000 disabled people in Scotland are expected to lose up to £2,964 a year as a consequence of changes in eligibility to the mobility component
DEPUTE LEADER TAKES SNP MESSAGE TO PEOPLE OF KIRKCALDY
“Westminster’s obsession with austerity is holding back Scotland’s economy and damaging communities across the country – pushing 100,000 more children in Scotland into poverty and seeing a 400 per cent increase in people forced to rely on foodbanks. Austerity is failing on every level and people are crying out for a real alternative”
SNP WARN LABOUR WILL NOT END AUSTERITY ON ITS OWN AS SENIOR POLITICIAN THREATENS TO VOTE AGAINST LABOUR CUTS
“While John McDonnell rightly wants to see an end to austerity, there is no escaping the fact that Labour will not deliver this if left to their own devices – that is why it is vital that Scotland elects a strong team of SNP MPs to achieve change”
POLL SHOWS MAJORITY WANT WESTMINSTER ACTION TO SUPPORT RENEWABLES
“There is no doubt that we have made strong progress in Scotland in growing our renewables sector, but this has come in the fact of a Westminster Government that has been determined to pursue horrendously expensive nuclear energy at the expense of supporting renewable energy”
CAMERON MUST RULE OUT DEAL WITH DISGRACED UKIP, A PARTY THAT IS ROTTEN TO THE CORE
Mr Yousaf has said the Conservative Party must refuse the offer of a post-election deal with UKIP – something Chancellor George Osborne did not do when asked. Yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph reports the terms of a post-election deal that UKIP are prepared to offer the Tories.
SNP CALL FOR CROSS-PARTY SUPPORT ON PLAN TO HELP LOW EARNERS
As pointed out by the First Minister today, a £600 increase to the work allowance would boost the income of a worker who received universal credit by £390 – while a similar increase in the personal allowance would only increase income by £42.
FARMERS BACK CRAWFORD’S ‘MADE IN SCOTLAND’ DAIRY PRODUCE PLAN
Bruce Crawford MSP CALLS FOR CHANGES TO DAIRY INDUSTRY LABELLING
GAPS IN POLICY PLANS SHOWS LABOUR STILL PURSUING CUTS COMMISSION AGENDA
Meanwhile Labour’s most senior councillor, COSLA president David O’Neill, this week launched an attack on universal services, claiming that “those who propose it are behind the times”.
TREASURY HAS “SERIOUS QUESTIONS TO ANSWER” ON RBS LEAK LINK
Following the leak, former First Minister Alex Salmond wrote to Sir Jeremy Heywood, head of the UK Civil Service, to demand an inquiry.
Commenting on today’s reports, SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson said:
“These revelations leave the Treasury with serious questions to answer about its conduct during the referendum. The people of Scotland deserve the truth on this matter.
NATIONAL GRID FIGURES DEMOLISH CASE FOR TRANSMISSION CHARGES
“Supporters of the current transmission charging regime – introduced by Labour – often attempt to justify it by claiming it is to encourage power suppliers to generate close to population centres, and London in particular.
“But these figures make an absolute mockery of that claim. While Longannet is forced to pay a heavy price for the electricity it contributes to the grid, an identical station in rural Cornwall would be receiving a subsidy.
West Dumfries Branch of the SNP 