Jo Swinson MP has hit back after an attack from local MSP David Whitton, accusing him of “cynical opportunism”.
Mr Whitton wrote to Jo last week asking her to vote against the 2.5% VAT rise announced in the Chancellor’s emergency Budget in June. The change will raise £13 billion toward tackling the £155 billion annual shortfall in the Nation’s finances.
Jo has written an open letter in response to David Whitton, setting out the urgent need to tackle the deficit and asking where the £44 billion of cuts that Labour promised before the election would have fallen.
In his response, David Whitton said he could not answer this question.
Commenting, Jo Swinson said:
“Labour’s rage over this issue is little more than cynical opportunism. Mr Whitton tells us that Labour reject the VAT increase as part of their deficit reduction plan, but the truth is they don’t have any kind of plan at all. We now know from Lord Mandelson’s memoirs that Labour’s own Shadow Chancellor Alistair Darling believes that raising VAT is necessary to tackle the deficit.
“Any tax rise is unwelcome, but taxation has to take some of the burden as we start tackling Labour’s deficit. We know that Labour’s last budget committed them to £44 billion of spending cuts of which have not been accounted for. Before Labour can credibly criticise the coalition’s deficit reduction plans, they need to come clean on Labour’s own plans for cuts. Despite being a Labour finance spokesperson, when I asked Mr Whitton to explain where this £44 billion would have come from, he refused.”
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