Skip to main content
Hammond 'must give Scotland an extra £70 billion,' says Scottish Labour's Lesley Laird
Scottish Labour deputy leader Lesley Laird

PHILIP HAMMOND must give Scotland an extra £70 billion and channel support to island economies and North Sea decommissioning, Labour has said ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget speech today.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Lesley Laird set out a series of demands she said would “boost Scotland’s economy and protect the vital public services we all rely on.”

She said: “The next Labour government will invest a transformational extra £70bn in Scotland over a decade. The Chancellor must match that at the very least or it will be clear for all to see that only Labour can be trusted to deliver for Scotland.

“Labour is committed to ending austerity. It is now time for the Tories to deliver on their promise to the people of Scotland.”

SNP MP David Linden said Mr Hammond must enshrine the “real” living wage in law, and said it was “completely unacceptable that young workers are being discriminated against” through lower legal minimums.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Similar stories
Coins in a Saltire purse
Features / 7 May 2026
7 May 2026

Years of underfunding are eroding Scotland’s local services and deepening inequality in communities, says VINCE MILLS

CRUNCH TIME: (Left to right) Wales Green Party Leader Anthony Slaughter, Reform UK’s Dan Thomas, Welsh Labour Leader and First Minister Eluned Morgan and Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth
Features / 7 May 2026
7 May 2026

The election offers a critical chance to shape the future of pay, care and community provision in Wales, says Unison’s JESS TURNER

Chancellor of Exchequer Rachel Reeves with Prudence one of the stills which was named after a Gordon Brown speech as Chancellor during a visit to the Sipsmith Distillery in Chiswick West London, October 9, 2025
Scotland / 24 October 2025
24 October 2025
CRINGING SERVILITY: Sir Keir Starmer picks up UK US trade deal papers dropped by Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16 2025
Features / 5 July 2025
5 July 2025

Under current policy, welfare cuts are just a small downpayment on future austerity, argues MICHAEL BURKE