LABOUR have come under fire after putting out campaign leaflets which blame the Tories for the cost of living crisis in England and Wales – but the SNP in Scotland.
The party has produced three versions of the same campaign leaflet, all of which contain identical figures.
The English and Welsh leaflets claim that “local people are £2620 worse off”. They both label this the “cost of the Conservatives”.
However, the Scottish version, which cites the same figures, says the crisis is the result of “two bad governments”.
What had been labelled a “Tory Tariff” in England and Wales – which also has a devolved government – is a “Tory/SNP Tariff” in Scotland.
In England and Wales, the largest single cost, a claimed £1060, is branded “Tory tax rises”. In Scotland, the word “Tory” has been removed.
An SNP spokesperson said the varying allocations of blame called the Scottish Labour leadership’s credibility into question.
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They told The National: "The Scottish Labour Party haven't held a credible political position since they sided with the Tories in 2014, and this election is no different.
"In contrast, the SNP Scottish Government continues to work tirelessly with the limited powers it has to tackle the Tory-made cost of living crisis – including increasing a range of Holyrood-administered benefits by 6%, increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £25 and mitigating callous Tory policies such as the benefit cap.”
The Welsh leaflet contains pledges that the Labour-run Cardiff administration will help mitigate the impact of the cost of living crisis through school uniform grants, expanding free school meals to all primary school pupils, and handing £150 cash payments to everyone in council tax bands A to D. All of these policies are matched in Scotland.
The SNP spokesperson went on: "Under Westminster control, Scotland has been subjected to decades of Tory austerity and now faces the worst cost of living crisis in modern times. The sooner Anas Sarwar realises that the blame lies squarely at the door of No 10, the more credibility he will have with voters."
In further trouble for Labour, all three versions of the leaflet were found to be presenting figures which did not come “close” to the reality of the cost-of-living crisis.
Fact-checking charity Full Fact analysed the party’s claim that families are “£2620 worse off” and found the “estimate is based on unreliable assumptions, and excludes the impact of wages and benefits”.
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The Guardian reported that Labour had reached the figure by adding together estimates for rising costs from tax (£1060), energy prices (£690), petrol (£300), food (£275) and mortgages (£295).
Full Fact found that the calculation was “not correct” and had used “flawed assumptions”.
The leaflets are not the first time Labour has made the claim, with party leader Keir Starmer claiming on Twitter: “Under the Conservatives, families will be £2620 worse off. You deserve better than this incompetent government.”
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has made the same claim, as well as the UK Labour Party on Facebook and Twitter.
The leaflets are still for sale on Labour’s website at a cost of £15 for 500.
A Labour Party spokesperson said that other independent groups had arrived at similar figures, pointing to Resolution Foundation estimates that the average two-earner couple will see their cost of living rise by £2600, and OBR data showing disposable income will fall by over £2000 per household in real terms.
The spokesperson said this showed "the extent of the Tories’ cost of living crisis", without any link to the SNP.
"The bottom line is that working people are being hammered by this out of touch Conservative Government - and everyone is feeling it," they added.
Scottish Labour were also approached for comment.
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