Ian Murray denies Labour creating 'climate of gloom' in bid to fix 'broken' UK economy
Ian Murray has denied Labour has created a "culture of gloom" since it took power by repeatedly talking down the state of the UK economy.
The Scottish Secretary insisted his party's message reflected the "reality" of the public finances and why the UK Government needed time to fix the country's "shaky foundations".
But the Edinburgh South MP agreed with an assessment from Anas Sarwar that Scots would need to see evidence of change from the UK Government if they were to vote the SNP out of power in 2026.
The next Holyrood election is viewed by Labour as a must-win - but Sarwar has warned Keir Starmer that he must first "project that change has begun" with a more upbeat message.
It comes after recent polling showed Labour support in Scotland has dropped sharply since it won the general election in July.
Speaking in the first day of the UK Labour conference in Liverpool, Murray said: "I think Anas Sarwar is actually correct. And the whole of the Labour party this week are in the same position.
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"We have laid out how difficult the economic inheritance has been. We knew it was going to be difficult. That's been topped off by a £22 billion blackhole that we subsequently discovered. And that is gloomy.
"There is a whole host of things to fix. We know the country is broken. Our public services are broken, our economy is broken. We have an industrial crisis in some sectors in Scotland as well, with the likes of Grangemouth, Mitsibushi and Harland & Wolff.
"All these things take time to fix. But in order to fix those, we have to fix the foundations, which are pretty shaky at the moment. If we don't we'll have no chance of a brighter future."
Asked whether Labour should change its negative messaging, Murray added: "It's not a climate of gloom, it's a reality. We have inherited the worst set of economic circumstances in peace time as an incoming Labour Government."
Pressed on who was to blame for the massive pressure on public spending, the Labour MP insisted SNP ministers at Holyrood should not pass the buck.
"The Scottish Fiscal Commission, which is a Scottish Government body, has been pretty clear that most of the spending blackholes that have been caused the public finances have been because of decisions made by the Scottish Government," he added.
"These decisions that happen in Scotland. We have done as a party is we have got rid of one bad government at UK level in terms of the Tories. We have a second bad government to get rid of in Scotland in 2026, and we have to show that, actually, government can work for the people of Scotland. That's what we're determined to do.
"Yes, of course, we have to show change between now and 2026. But until we fix the foundations, we can't make that change.
"Everyone will know, if you have damp in your house and you paint over it, it will look nice for a few months, but it will come back and come back worse, and you will
"If we fix those foundations now, we can create that house for the future that everyone can enjoy."
Murray was speaking ahead of his speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool on Monday.
He is expected to tell party members the Scotland Office has four priorities to help Starmer's mission for national renewal.
"We will drive forward growth by promoting Brand Scotland," Murray will say. "From shipbuilding, science and salmon to scotch, culture and services, we're the best in the world, and by selling Scotland to the world, we will unlock jobs and investment.
"Gordon Brown once spoke of prudence with a purpose. And all of that work to grow our economy, to go green, and promote our brand has a purpose too - to tackle the scrouge of poverty."
Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, said: "The Labour Party has only been in office for three months but it is already plummeting in the polls as a result of breaking so many promises to voters.
"Keir Starmer has shown he is completely out of touch with people in Scotland by imposing billions of pounds of austerity cuts on pensioners, low income families and public services, while milking the system for all its worth to get £100,000 of designer clothes and freebies for himself.
"It's shockingly bad judgement and shows the Labour government is continuing the worst excesses of Tory cuts, sleaze and cronyism while failing to deliver the change it promised voters in Scotland."
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