The SNP is “distracted and tired”, the deputy leader of UK Labour will say today as comes to Scotland to promote her party’s “new deal” for workers.

Angela Rayner will claim the Nationalists have nothing left to offer but “division and decline” as she and Scottish leader Anas Sarwar visit a business in East Lothian.

Labour has promised a shake-up of UK-wide employment laws if it wins the general election, including a ban on “exploitative zero hour contracts” and “fire and rehire”.

The party has also pledged to repeal Tory anti-strike laws and introduce a genuine living wage and better rights to sick pay, parental leave and protection from unfair dismissal.

The SNP challenged Ms Rayner to explain why her party wants to remove the cap on bankers’ bonuses while leaving the two-child benefit cap in place.


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Last year, Ms Rayner told the UK Labour conference she would personally usher in the employment changes in the first 100 days of a Labour government.

She said: “The road to a Labour government runs through Scotland. The distracted and tired SNP has run out of road and offers Scotland nothing other than more division and decline. 

“The SNP and the Tories want you to think that this is as good as it gets - they are wrong. 

“With a Labour government, Scotland will have its voice heard and workers will get the transformative New Deal for Working People that will deliver for thousands of workers.”

Mr Sarwar added: “Every day more and more Scots are growing tired with the SNP’s politics of division. It is clear for all to see that Scotland is crying out for change and that only Labour can deliver it. 

“The general election will give Scotland the chance to lead the way in booting out the rotten Tory government and maximising Scotland’s influence at the heart of government.” 

East Lothian was won by Kenny MacAskill for the SNP in 2019, but he then defected to Alba and former Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander is hoping to win it back for Labour.

SNP MP David Linden said Ms Rayner had a “brass neck” visiting a seat with 1600 children affected by the two-child benefit cap Labour has so far refused to abolish.

Referring to Labour’s announcement that it will not reinstate the 2008 banker’s bonus cap scrapped by the Tories in 2023, he said: “Voters will rightly ask Labour's Deputy Leader: does her party now prioritise the rich over those less fortunate? 

"Sir Keir Starmer is right when he says his party has changed: they no longer represent the hard working people on these isles.

"Unlike Sir Keir Starmer's Labour party, the SNP will always stand up for Scotland and prioritise support for working families.”