HOUSEHOLD savings have collapsed by around 60 per cent since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, Scottish Labour has said.
Analysis by the party shows Scots households had an average of £3,840.41 in the bank nine years ago – but by 2017 that had plummeted to just £1,517.31.
Labour insisted the figures are an indication of a broken economy under the UK Government.
The party’s finance spokesman James Kelly said: “The Tories came to power promising a long-term economic plan – but the impact of a disastrous near decade of austerity has been to shrink savings for families in Scotland.
“The Tories used to try and compare our complex economy to a household budget to justify their crusade to shrink the state – but instead all they managed to do was to shrink household budgets themselves.
“This is as a result of a cost of living crisis fuelled by stagnant wages and personal debt. All the while the incomes of the super wealthy have soared because of tax cuts at the top.”
SNP MSP Tom Arthur MSP insisted “unnecessary Tory cuts have held back our economy, damaged public services, and hammered the incomes of millions of Scots by squeezing family budgets”.
He said: “Whilst Labour and the Tories work hand-in-hand to slash household budgets and force more austerity on the UK, the SNP are helping people with the cost of living – whether that’s through free prescriptions for everyone, increased carers’ allowance, Best Start Grants for parents on low incomes and a range of other measures to give a helping hand.
“We’ve also made income tax fairer – meaning more people are paying less than they would if they lived south of the border, and helped ensure that average council tax bills are £400 a year lower in Scotland.”
A UK Government spokeswoman said Scottish ministers have powers over tax-raising and the allocation of funding between public services.
She said: “At Budget, we reiterated our commitment to the people of Scotland by increasing the Scottish Government’s budget by £950 million. By increasing the National Living Wage from April 2019 the UK Government gave 128,000 workers a pay rise, and the increase in personal allowance has helped millions across the UK keep more of what they earn.”
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