THE Labour and Tory Parties are engaging in the “same dog-whistle” pro-Brexit politics which have damaged ordinary Scots, the SNP’s Westminster leader has said.
Speaking to The National at his party’s conference in Aberdeen, Ian Blackford drew parallels between the UK’s two largest parties.
“The Tories wanted to get Brexit done, the Labour Party wants to make Brexit happen,” he said.
“In that sense there is very little difference to the policies of either of these parties when it comes to the impact Brexit has had on ordinary lives here in Scotland and the lost opportunities that we’ve had.”
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The SNP MP further hit out at Labour for their stance on immigration, after shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed that the “problem” with the UK’s policy was that the Tories “are not deporting people”.
Blackford told The National: “When we talk about our vision for Scotland and Scotland being open, we recognise that we’ve got a demographic challenge, we recognise that we need to encourage fresh talent to come and live and work in this country, but [Labour] have actually still got the same dog-whistle politics when it comes to migration, just as we have with the Tories.
“So at the end of the day, whether it’s the Labour Party, whether it’s the Tory Party, we will have that debate as to what’s in the best interests of the people of Scotland.”
In the wake of Tory Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng (above) announcing a “mini-Budget” – which included swingeing tax cuts for the rich funded by increased government borrowing – polling has shown Labour would sweep to victory in a General Election.
Various pollsters have found record leads for Keir Starmer’s Labour on a UK-wide basis, but the situation in Scotland appears to have changed little, with the SNP still set to dominate.
Some exceptional seat projections have even suggested that the Scottish party could become the official opposition at Westminster, overtaking a decimated Tory Party.
Scottish Labour have claimed the SNP have been “rattled” by the polling, a claim which Blackford dismissed.
“Do I look and sound rattled?” he asked. “I’m not rattled. We’re not rattled.”
The MP went on: “We will take the fight right across Scotland and we will take head on the Labour Party – but let me say to them that one of the reasons that people are angry in Scotland is because we see the cost of Brexit.
"We see the loss of opportunities that we had, I see it in my own constituency and right up and down Scotland. And it’s the Labour Party that want to enable the Tories’ Brexit.”
In July, Labour leader Keir Starmer ruled out supporting a return to the EU.
He said: "Let me be very clear: with Labour, Britain will not go back into the EU. We will not be joining the single market. We will not be joining a customs union.”
Speaking at conference on Saturday, Blackford had called the Tory and Labour Party a “newly formed Brexit Together coalition”.
SNP president Michael Russell has also dismissed any idea that the SNP are “rattled” by a surge in Labour support in the rest of the UK.
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