Shona Robison: UK chancellor Rachel Reeves must not ‘repeat mistakes of the past’ in her first Budget

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is being urged to not “repeat the mistakes of the past” when she delivers her first Budget next month.

Holyrood finance secretary Shona Robison issued a plea to the chancellor, who will reveal the first Labour Budget since 2009 on October 30.

Reeves must use that statement to ensure the Scottish Government has the “funding we need” for work to reduce child poverty, tackle climate change and improve public services, Robison demanded.

She raised the issue ahead of a debate in Holyrood setting out what the Scottish Government’s priorities for the UK Budget will be.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s debate, Robison was clear: “The Autumn Budget is a chance for the chancellor to prioritise investment over spending cuts.”

She cited economists, including Professor Mariana Mazzucato; and Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, the principal of Glasgow University; as having warned that “under investment” by the UK Government has resulted in a “vicious circle of stagnation and decline”.

As a result, the finance secretary insisted that a “change in direction is needed” when Reeves sets out her Budget.

Robison said: “I am calling on the UK Government not to repeat the mistakes of the past, providing the funding we need for our core missions of eradicating child poverty, building prosperity, improving our public services and protecting the planet.”

She added: “I stand ready to work with the chancellor to achieve this goal.”

Her comments came after Reeves used her speech to the Labour conference to try to strike a more optimistic tone about the UK’s economy after months of gloomy messages.

However, the speech on Monday followed a bitter row over the chancellor’s decision to means-test winter fuel payments, meaning millions of pensioners across the UK will not receive the payments – which are worth up to £300 – this winter.

Reeves insisted the “Tory legacy” which the Labour Government had inherited would mean “tough decisions”, but she said: “I won’t let that dim our ambition for Britain.”

She also promised that there would be “no return to austerity”, with the chancellor stating: “Conservative austerity was a destructive choice for our public services and for investment and growth too.”

She said she would deliver a “budget to rebuild Britain”, saying it would be “a budget with real ambition, a budget to fix the foundations, a budget to deliver the change that we promised”.