The UK Government's austerity agenda was one of the underlying reasons for the vote to leave the EU, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will suggest in a major speech on Monday.
Ms Sturgeon will use her address in Sheffield to set out her own alternative economic policy and urge the Chancellor to back inclusive growth and invest in public services.
The speech comes as a court ruling on triggering Brexit talks threatens to derail the UK Government's plans, and as Philip Hammond prepares to deliver his Autumn Statement later this month.
Read more: Row as SNP blames opposition for collapse of £10bn China deal
Mr Hammond has already abandoned his predecessor George Osborne's plan to eliminate the deficit and achieve a surplus by 2020, and has indicated he will prioritise investment in infrastructure and housing through borrowing.
Speaking to an audience of 1,200 at the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute, Ms Sturgeon will say that the vote for Brexit was also a vote against austerity.
The First Minister, who has called for the UK to retain its membership of the single market, is expected to say: "We need to demonstrate that being open to free trade and free movement isn't just good for the economy as a whole.
"It benefits individuals and communities too. It creates, rather than curtails new opportunities for everyone. And it can lead to a society which is more prosperous, more inclusive, and more cohesive."
She is expected to add: "Austerity has already caused huge social harm and brought no economic benefit - it has failed, categorically and comprehensively, on its own terms.
Read more: Row as SNP blames opposition for collapse of £10bn China deal
"We know that people on low incomes were more likely to vote to leave the European Union, as were areas with low employment rates. UK economic policy has just not given enough people, enough grounds for hope.
"While the UK Government may have abandoned its original debt reduction target, the pain for working people is set still continue - the Resolution Foundation estimates working families on low incomes will be worse off in the years ahead as a direct result of both austerity and Brexit.
"So the Chancellor of the Exchequer needs to change course in his Autumn Statement in a fortnight to invest in the economy and support public services, offering hope for the future rather than playing on the fears of the present."
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale accused the First Minister of handing down the Tories' austerity cuts to local communities in Scotland.
Ms Dugdale said: "Nicola Sturgeon is accepting Tory austerity and passing it on to local communities across the country, and I think we can do much much better than that.
"The point of the Scottish Parliament was always about making different choices from Tory governments. We have the tax powers, we can make different choices - there's nothing inevitable about cuts.
"When Nicola Sturgeon chooses not use those powers she's choosing to cut local services by half a billion pounds and the Labour Party won't stand for that."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel