No Labour alliance with SNP in fight against austerity, says Corbyn

Labour will not look for an alliance with the SNP because they are not “reliable allies” in the fight against austerity, Jeremy Corbyn has said ahead of tonight’s leadership hustings in Glasgow.

A number of high-profile Corbynites, including Shadow Scotland Secretary Dave Anderson and Shadow Defence Secretary Clive Lewis, have floated the idea of working with the Scottish Nationalists recently – although Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale reacted angrily to the suggestions.

Now Corbyn has also come close to ruling out the possibility of forming an electoral pact or coalition with the SNP – pointing out that the two parties “have different goals”.

While he accepts that many former Labour supporters in Scotland have gone to the Nicola Sturgeon’s party, Corbyn says left wing voters are not “being served properly” by the SNP, who are failing to “combat austerity” using their powers in the Holyrood.

In an article for the Daily Record today, Corbyn writes: “We’re not looking for an alliance with the SNP.”

“I will welcome support for all or any of our policies from any other political groups or parties. I’ve always been willing to work with others where I can because that’s how change happens,” he says. “But I’m well aware that Labour and the SNP come from different traditions and have different goals.”

In the most high-profile attack on the party since he became Labour leader, Corbyn lays into the SNP’s belief that “low business taxes are the route to prosperity”, saying: “I don’t see a party that welcomed George Osborne’s corporation tax cuts, relentlessly attacked local government and is committed to a benefit cap as reliable allies for a radical Labour Government.

“There are many people who have voted for, or even joined, the SNP who want to see many of the changes we want to implement. I don’t think these people are always being served properly by the SNP.

“The Scottish Parliament has had many opportunities to combat austerity and make a difference but the SNP have failed to take them.”

Rhea Wolfson, a Scottish Labour activist recently elected to Labour’s NEC, said this week that Corbyn’s leadership gives the party the best chance of revival in Scotland. Writing for the Independent, she said:

“Corbyn’s policies – public ownership of services, massive investment in infrastructure and improved trade union rights – are popular across the UK, but they are even more popular in Scotland. And most importantly, his socialism is authentic. During last year’s leadership election, a third of SNP voters said that his leadership makes them more likely to vote Labour again.”