By Liz S

Labour are failing in what they promoted as being their main mission as the new UK government.

Number one focus for them being “Growth” in the UK economy.

On July 11th it was reported that:

“Chancellor Rachel Reeves has called the economy’s recent performance “disappointing” after figures showed it shrank unexpectedly in May”

Also……….

“The economy contracted by 0.1%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, after also shrinking in April”

Ian Murray, Labour’s so called ‘Scottish’ Secretary, declared in 2024 that Labour’s first budget as the new UK government would herald an era of “Growth” for Scotland. Yet his Labour party are the government of the UK State , so why is “Growth” not being achieved by them ,as the UK government, for the UK State ?

In July this year it was reported that “Business confidence in Scotland at highest level in eight months” this was via a Royal Bank of Scotland survey, as in those who are not exactly pro Scotland when it comes to the constitutional question. Also it was stated that “The private sector also saw its strongest rise in activity since November 2024, the bank’s growth tracker found” (in Scotland).

Now Labour may try and take the credit for this but then is it not Labour who often say that “the SNP are failing Scotland’s economy” so that is then Labour conceding that the Scottish government do indeed have an input and so an impact upon the state of the Scottish economy, via their decisions and policies in Scotland as a Scottish government.

So currently the position is Scotland is positive but the same cannot be said for the UK State………

“Scotland’s economy has recently been reported to be outperforming the rest of the UK, including England and Wales , in some key areas. Specifically, Scotland’s economic growth per person has been higher than the UK average since the pandemic, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies” also “KPMG predicts that Scotland’s GDP growth will outpace the UK average in 2026″.

(Scotland’s diverse economy, including strengths in finance, high-tech IT, and pharmaceuticals, is cited as a reason for its positive economic performance).

I mean Labour cannot have it both ways can they………..they as the new UK government are failing the economy in the UK, but they want to take credit for Scotland’s better economic position while simultanously Labour also declare that the SNP are failing Scotland’s economy ???

Indeed in Labour’s 2024 Manifesto they declared that “In our Business Case for Scotland, Scottish Labour has also set out our plans to support the economy in the devolved context. We believe that the Scottish government needs to work better in partnership, planning strategically for our economy and using its convening power to bring workers, organisations and business together to overcome barriers and realise opportunities” .

Also they stated in their Manifesto that “Labour will stop the chaos and support business through a stable policy environment in Scotland and across the UK. At a UK level, Labour will strengthen our economic institutions, and in Scotland we will streamline the cluttered landscape of agencies and strategies, giving investors the certainty they need to fuel growth“.

Well Scotland has achieved “Business confidence” but it seems the at a “UK level” the Labour party as the new UK government have failed to “fuel growth” for their UK State. So Scotland does not need Labour in Scotland to “fuel growth” as it has already achieved this with the SNP in charge as the Scottish government.

Amusingly , or rather infuriatingly , Labour also stated in their Manifesto , with no sense of irony in the context of a centralised UK political position, that in the context of Scotland’s political position based in Holyrood, Edinburgh:

“The country remains too centralised, with the economic potential of too many regions and communities across Scotland ignored”……..

Does this not also contradict Labour’s position for the whole UK where we see a UK “centralised” government that is based in London at a WM “centralised” parliament.

How about now where Labour as the new UK “centralised” government are ignoring Scottish Industry and Scottish jobs and instead they, as the new “centralised” UK Labour government at WM, are instead preferring to prioritise English jobs for what they refer to as being a ‘British’ Industry, as in see the jobs that Labour have saved in Scunthorpe Steelworks and too at the Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire with Labour as the new UK “centralised” government.

The Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire , owned by a private company PRAX, now sees the Labour UK government “providing short-term funding for essential operations and also actively seeking a buyer for the refinery” while in Scotland no such intervention was seen by the same UK Labour government in Grangemouth Oil Refinery , indeed Sarwar pledged that both the jobs and the Refinery would be saved by a new Labour UK government during his 2024 GE campaign on behalf of the UK Labour party.

Also, the same Anas Sarwar , when he was challenged on why did Labour not fulfil their pledge to save Grangemouth Oil Refinery , he then actually kept responding that it was owned by a “private company”, information that he did not emphasise during his GE campaign on behalf of UK Labour last year when he promised Labour would save Grangemouth Refinery.

However he, Sarwar, is now even further embarrassed by the fact that the Oil refinery in Lincolnshire was also owned by a “private company” yet somehow that did not prohibit the Labour UK government from intervening and then aiding the workers there by seeking a resolution to try to save their jobs and the Oil Refinery there………….

(I do not grudge workers jobs being saved in England but I do grudge a Labour UK party saving some jobs in their UK State while not the doing the same for all other jobs within the UK State . I also very much grudge Anas Sarwar having a (list )place as a MSP within Scotland as he defends his UK party choosing to protect and save jobs and industries outwith Scotland more than he does for all of the jobs and Industry here) .

(Wales also let down by the new Labour UK government as Port Talbot steelworks in Wales also not given same priority as Scunthorpe Steelworks aka ‘British’ Steel by the Labour UK government , as Scunthorpe jobs worth saving but Port Talbot jobs not so much, instead they are now lost, as apparently Port Talbot not “British” – enough- “Steel” for the UK aka English Labour party).

So for all of the Labour UK government’s cruel spending cuts to those who are most vulnerable , so then seen as those who were most in need , we then also saw no similar action being taken by Labour against the more wealthy within the UK, so proving that Rachel Reeves and also Keir Starmer plans for “Growth”, as the Labour Chancellor and Labour PM of the new Labour UK government, ain’t working for their UK State.

Surely then this is yet another example of the flawed concept that is the so called ‘trickle down economics” theory…………which seems to be what Labour thinks will work for their UK State, but so far it has miserably #Failed.

Thoughit is not #failing for the wealthy as I recently read online in March 2025 that “The richest 1% of people in the UK are worth £2.8 trillion” .

I also read online that based on this above news re the richest 1% that someone stated “Tell me again why a Labour government needs to cut benefits for the disabled and the poor” ? (via Twitter account of David Osland).

Meanwhile in Scotland things are not as bad as elsewhere within the UK State………until that is one begins to factor in the extremely relentless negative input via yet another UK government and also most of the UK media………..where Labour as yet another terrible UK government and also where we still have an equally terrible UK media, who are both determined to diminish, undermine and suppress all of the positives connected to and so linked to Scotland while it is currently governed by the SNP………in fact that is the only way that they can both , as UK factors , try to diminish confidence in both Scotland and the SNP with the people of Scotland……as well as undermining and suppressing all the things that make a positive case for Scotland being more than able to be successful as a future independent nation……..

We just need to reach others , as in other voters, in Scotland…….we need way way more money for the YES movement to produce material to publicise all of the positives connected to an independent and very much resource rich Scotland in order to finally convince those voters who are still to be convinced……….as in convince them that that Scotland only ever fails while it is still connected to the UK…break that connection and then see the huge difference that will surely be unleashed in Scotland……

Independence is for the taking, the UK has had it’s chance and it has #Failed…..on so so so many levels….time for real positive change and positive reforms and that will only actually ever happen with an independent Scotland.

Liz S