Ian Blackford tells the SNP conference homes, pensions, and incomes are not safe under Westminster control.
Image source, Getty ImagesLiz Truss is a “symptom of the dysfunction at Westminster”, the SNP’s deputy leader has told his party’s conference in Aberdeen.
Keith Brown took aim at Westminster in his speech at the first in-person SNP conference since before the pandemic.
He also speculated on whether Conservative MPs would “force out” the prime minister soon.
He said of Liz Truss: “She has delivered more chaos and confusion than even the most pessimistic prediction.”
Watched by SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, he went on: “In less than a month, she has tanked the economy; risked the pensions of millions; scrapped the cap on bankers’ bonuses; announced and then U-turned on income tax cuts for the wealthy; created a debt crisis; and showed the world she is singularly unfit for the job.
“The chaos she has created is no surprise.
“She has been a Tory government minister for a decade, serving under Cameron, May and Johnson. From austerity to Brexit, she’s been complicit in inflicting the worst Tory policies on the people of this country.
“It is a sobering thought that when the history of 2022 is written, it will record that Boris Johnson was not even the worst prime minister this year.”
Image source, Jeff J Mitchell
Mr Brown added: “What is clear is that Liz Truss is a symptom of the dysfunction at Westminster – not the cause.
“The very fact that she and her policy agenda was deemed acceptable to enter Downing Street in the first place speaks volumes.”
The deputy leader made a call for members to be united and to campaign for independence with kindness.
He said the way the SNP conducts the campaign is an advert for the Scotland that he wants to see.
Mr Brown also said the Westminster system was beyond repair, claiming Labour were the handmaidens of more Tory rule.
He condemned Labour, describing leader Sir Keir Starmer as “just another Tony Blair” and accusing the party of being “as Trumpian as the Tories in their denial of Scottish democracy”.
‘Deeply damaging Brexit’
He told delegates: “It is an incontrovertible fact that the SNP has a cast-iron mandate to hold an independence referendum.
“But Labour always side with the Tories to protect Westminster control – no matter how high a price the people of Scotland pay. Labour supports the deeply damaging Brexit that Scotland did not vote for.
“I repeat, Labour supports Brexit, and stands against any Scottish aspiration for our country to re-join the European family of nations.
“And never forget, never forgive, that in 2014 it was Labour who championed the No campaign message that only a No vote would deliver economic stability.
“It seems absurd now, but that’s what Labour promised. They can’t be trusted with our future.”
Mr Brown announced plans for the party to enter into the “broadcasting arena”.
“We will soon launch a new broadcast platform, with the first episode of this new show covering the debate over Scotland’s future,” he told the conference,” he said.
The show appeared to be a podcast named Scotland’s Voices, with a one-minute clip including people from Glasgow reacting to the Prime Minister posted on podcast streaming platforms.
Westminster leader Ian Blackford is due to speak on Saturday afternoon, with Nicola Sturgeon’s keynote speech to come on Monday.