We promised to end austerity. I’m proud to say that now we have

In Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget the Scottish Government will receive an additional £1.5 billion this financial year and £3.4bn next year (Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)

Five months ago, just as the election we so desperately needed was finally called, I wrote to everyone in Midlothian promising change. I said that whilst we won’t be able to deliver everything people want, a Labour Government would have Scotland at its beating heart and do the most for those with the least. That’s a promise kept.

In our Labour Government’s first budget we have delivered the largest funding settlement for Scotland in the history of devolution. Thanks to Labour’s progressive budget, on top of investment of £1.4 billion in local Scottish growth projects, the Scottish Government will receive an additional £1.5bn this financial year and £3.4bn next year – money they can choose to spend on our NHS, schools and public transport.

In our first four months we have also introduced the Employment Rights Bill, ushering in the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation by scrapping exploitative zero hours contracts, ending fire and rehire and delivering a pay rise to 200,000 of the lowest-paid Scots, including over 5 per cent of workers in Midlothian.

This is what responsible, serious government looks like in action; a budget which prioritises investment in our public services and lets families keep more of their own hard-earned cash in their pockets.

As promised, we’re also making sure to target resources at those who really need the help. Labour’s commitment to the triple lock will see over one million Scottish pensioners benefit from £8.6m more in state pension. On top of this 125,000 pensioners in Scotland who are eligible for Pension Credit will benefit from a 4.1 per cent increase in the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee – an additional £465 a year for single pensioners and up to £710 a year more for couples.

And around 1.7m families in Scotland will see their working-age benefits uprated in line with inflation – a £150 gain on average in 2025-26 – with Scottish families also benefiting by an average of over £420 a year from reductions to the maximum level of debt repayments that can be deducted from a household’s Universal Credit payment. We promised to end austerity. I’m very proud to say that now we have.

Kirsty McNeill is MP for Midlothian and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland