SCOTTISH Labour have refused to criticise fresh praise for Margaret Thatcher from their UK colleagues.
The SNP urged Anas Sarwar’s party to outline their position on controversial remarks from top Labour MP Darren Jones, who on Tuesday hailed Thatcher as overseeing a “decade of national renewal”.
But when approached by The National for a response, Scottish Labour ruled out responding to Jones’s comments, with a party spokesperson saying: “Anas’s previous comments on Thatcher’s legacy still stand and are pretty clear.”
SNP chief whip Owen Thompson, who represents the former mining towns of Midlothian, slammed Jones’s comments as a “betrayal of the values Labour is supposed to champion”.
He called on Scottish Labour to say whether they backed the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury.
Thompson told The National: “I am outraged by Darren Jones's remarks.
“It's beyond comprehension how a Labour shadow chief secretary to the Treasury could utter words of praise for Margaret Thatcher – a toxic figure whose policies left deep scars on communities across our nation.
“Labour’s true colours are starting to emerge as they make a craven bid for power at any cost.
READ MORE: Top Labour MP praises Margaret Thatcher for overseeing 'national renewal'
“Scottish Labour and Anas Sarwar need to make clear whether they back his stance applauding Thatcher’s hideous legacy or do they revile her as do so many Scots?
“Thatcher's legacy is one of division, suffering and destruction for countless individuals especially in Scottish mining communities that are now shadows of their former selves.”
Thomson (above) has long campaigned for justice for mining communities in his constituency, including calling for miners convicted during 1984-85 to be given official pardons.
He added: “I am battling to right the wrongs of the Thatcher years with a bill to pardon miners south of the border for their wrongful arrest during the strikes of the 1980s.
“The Scottish Government has already implemented a pardon bill designed to recognise the profound and lasting damage inflicted by Thatcher's government. This awful Thatcher adoration is an affront to the very principles Labour stands for.
READ MORE: Labour 'turning into Thatcher tribute act' after top MP praises ex-Tory PM
“How can we talk about renewal when we know the cost of Thatcher's policies was borne by those least able to afford it?
“Where was the renewal for families torn apart by unemployment, for communities decimated by the closure of industries or for the very fabric of our society, ripped apart by rampant individualism over collective welfare?”
Thomson said Jones’s comments were not “just a poor choice of words” but a “a betrayal of the values Labour is supposed to champion”.
He added: “It's a slap in the face to everyone who fought against the kind of divisions Thatcherism entrenched.
“He should beg forgiveness from those whose lives were irrevocably ruined by the policies he now praises.”
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