Scottish Labour reach out to Greens in bid for alternative budget

Kezia Dugdale - Scottish Parliament

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has written to Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie in an attempt to persuade his party to back an alternative budget led by Labour.

The SNP need the backing of at least one other party to pass Finance Secretary Derek Mackay’s spending plans and both the Greens and the Liberal Democrats have made their demands clear to him.

Both have publicly expressed frustration at the progress of discussions with Mackay, but the Greens have said negotiations "are the only responsible action".

But with only 23 MSPs, even if Labour gained the support of the Greens and the Liberal Democrats it would not have the numbers to propose such an alternative.

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In her letter to Harvie, Dugdale suggested Labour and the Greens are closer on tax and spend policy, pointing to cuts in funding for local services.

“I believe that together we can build an anti-austerity alternative to the current budget,” she said.

Labour has already said it will propose reasoned amendments to the budget bill, but this letter marks an attempt to form an alternative.

“We are looking to work constructively with other parties to deliver a budget that stops the cuts,” Dugdale wrote.

“You have grown your movement on an anti-austerity platform - I struggle to understand how you could contemplate voting for anything less than the full mitigation of cuts to public services.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Greens said: "Discussions between Green MSPs and Scottish ministers are ongoing and we are focused on how to raise additional funds fairly to protect council services.

“Labour walked away from the budget process some time ago and they know full well only ministers can lodge amendments to the Budget Bill, so negotiation is the only responsible action.”