BY next week we’ll have the clearest picture yet of the UK Labour Government, its priorities and the road it’s taking us down. 

With its first Budget in 15 years, we’ll see if the change many voters had hoped for will now be delivered - or whether it’s just more of the same Tory austerity.

Sir Keir Starmer and his Chancellor Rachel Reeves have spent their first 100 days in office warning of “tough choices” and making vague promises of “jam tomorrow”.

(Image: PA)

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For what it’s worth, I fully understand the grim impacts of Tory ideology and political mismanagement. I see it every day in the streets of Govan which I represent and in communities like Easterhouse and Drumchapel.

And given the £1billion Equal Pay bill Glasgow Labour saddled the city with, the SNP is all too familiar with the mess political predecessors can leave behind.

A key difference of course is that Labour has all the levers available to a Government of one of the world’s most advanced economies. It has a multitude of choices in how it manages debt, promotes growth and invests.

But in choosing to stick to the fiscal rules of its Tory predecessor, Labour’s “tough choices” simply amount to inflicting cuts upon working class communities.

Just this week for example, the Glasgow Times revealed that almost 60,000 city pensioners will lose out from the scandalous decision to scrap the universal Winter Fuel Allowance for older people. That’s nearly three-quarters of all Glaswegian pensioners.

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And all the indications are that come Wednesday, Reeves and Starmer will be delivering further austerity in spades.

According to the latest forecasts, Labour’s budget will include tax rises and spending cuts to the value of £40Billion. Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney hit the nail on the head when he warned that never before have our public finances faced such grave challenges and urging Labour to change course.

In continuing with their false economies, Starmer and Reeves seem intent on pushing the UK further behind other developed nations who spend more on public services and, as a result, are more socially and economically equal.

And given the scale of the anticipated cuts, the frontline services which everyone relies upon, including those delivered by Glasgow City Council, will be put in a perilous state.

Research by the trade union Unison states that UK Councils face a financial black hole of more than £4.3bn for the coming year, way beyond previous estimates.

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And while many in Labour are content to peddle the line that Metro Mayors are the solution to our challenges, the fact is half of English councils are predicted to go bust over the lifetime of the current parliament without major funding changes. Many in Scotland will be also pushed to breaking point.

Furthermore, the potential increase to National Insurance that employers pay will have disastrous consequences for Glasgow unless it’s fully funded by the UK Government. Even a 2% rise translates as a cut to our budgets of more than £25Million.

Next week, the SNP will bring a motion to Council calling on the UK Government to turn the page on the destructive cuts and austerity of the past and for a commitment from Rachel Reeves to properly fund local authorities across these islands.

It will make clear our solidarity with Local Government across the UK in calling for an increase in council funding to protect vital services and the communities we serve. 

Glasgow Labour will face its own choice: either stand up for fair funding of public services across the UK. Or, like their party colleagues in Westminster, fall slavishly into line with Reeves and Starmer to the detriment of this city and its people.