Sir keir starmer has sold austerity anas down the river — scottish national party

The boss of Labour’s branch office in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, must be feeling pretty embarrassed right now. It’s little surprise then that he was even testier than usual in parliament last

week. Having taken every opportunity to grab the spotlight during the general election campaign, he was the voice of Labour in Scotland. He said loudly and often that there would be no

austerity under a Labour government in Westminster, and that Labour would cut your energy bills. Today, as Scottish Labour MPs in the Commons voted to strip pensioners of their vital winter

fuel payment while energy costs are set to rise 10%, it’s clear Labour misled Scottish voters time and time again. Anas Sarwar was even unable to give a straight answer as to whether or not

he faced up to Rachel Reeves on the fuel payment cut. With the mask slipping and his authority rapidly draining away, he must be feeling pretty betrayed by Sir Keir Starmer. IT’S LABOUR’S

AUSTERITY NOW “Read my lips,” Anas Sarwar promised during one televised election debate. “No austerity under Labour.” Since that fateful statement – which will likely haunt Anas Sarwar for

the next five years of slashed spending, tax hikes and screeching u-turns – Sir Keir has embarked on a brutal programme of austerity. He has confirmed that Labour will not abolish the rape

clause, which forces women to prove they were raped to claim tax credits. He has rejected calls to scrap the bedroom tax – which taxes the most vulnerable families in (often inadequate)

social housing, simply for having spare bedrooms. He has refused to listen to think tanks, charities and impoverished families on the two-child cap – a benefits measure that has been found

to directly keep thousands of children in poverty. And now, as Labour votes to withdraw the winter fuel payment for pensioners, it must be becoming clear to even Anas Sarwar that his boss

has taken him for a ride. > “Read my lips – Labour austerity is as damaging as Tory > austerity when it comes to public service cuts.” >  > Labour hypocrisy on austerity 

destroyed by Scotland’s Finance > Secretary @ShonaRobison pic.twitter.com/PsDLBZNO8k >  > — Fraser MacDonald (@fr4ser) September 3, 2024 WHAT SCOTLAND? LABOUR MPS SERVE SIR KEIR

STARMER NOW Even Anas Sarwar’s own MPs don’t listen to him. From the two- child cap to the winter fuel payment, he might get the chance to lay out his thinking – often after a lot of

dithering and dodging the issues. But it must be dawning on even Anas that his MPs belong to Sir Keir Starmer now. He might have misled the public to get them elected and humiliated himself

on the airwaves, but his MPs will vote as a block. Not to stand up for Scottish communities – or even to toe the line that Anas sets for Labour’s Scottish branch office. They’ll vote as a

block to protect Sir Keir Starmer, selling out the activists, staff members and voters who wrongly thought they’d be a strong voice for Scotland. > “Labour MPs must remember they were 

elected to serve Scotland, not > Starmer. >  > “If they fail this test, thousands of Scottish families will pay > the price as the Labour government slashes the incomes of 

pensioners > and guts Scotland’s budget.” @KirstySNP https://t.co/aJcXE7QeOi >  > — Tom French (@tomfrench85) September 10, 2024 THE SNP WILL _ALWAYS_ STAND UP FOR YOU AND YOUR

FAMILY No political party gets everything right all of the time. But Anas Sarwar and Labour either foolishly or deliberately misled Scottish voters to elect 37 Labour MPs – all of whom will

fail to stand up for Scotland and serve Sir Keir instead. Scotland’s MPs should be fierce advocates for their communities and defenders when need be. Of course politicians need to be

flexible – but Labour’s own research suggests that Sir Keir’s austerity policies will put pensioners in harm’s way this winter. Labour MPs were vocal when similar research was just as

damning about the austerity of Cameron, Osborne and the Tories. Will they be brave enough to find their voice when it’s their own party’s policies putting people as risk? Judging from today,

it looks like they’ll offer nothing but stony silence. > Tomorrow I’ll vote against Labour’s grim plans to scrap the > Winter Fuel Payment for millions of pensioners. >  > I 

sincerely hope that, before we go through the voting lobbies, the > Labour party considers its own research and abandons their plans. > pic.twitter.com/HQ6V3Ueb4D >  > — Graham 

Leadbitter MP (@GrahamSNP) September 9, 2024 Those 37 MPs could have been relentless fighters for Scotland. Where they fail, the SNP will deliver. We will continue to hold their feet to the

fire, keep Starmer accountable, and speak up for Scotland. Always.