By Ian Murray

They didn’t know where to look. The much reduced SNP group in Westminster, now squashed up at the back of the opposition benches after losing their status as the third largest party in Commons, sat in shock as Rachel Reeves dismantled their entire political strategy. 

The first Labour budget in over 14 years was always going to be a historic event, but few predicted just how significant it would be for Scotland.

The biggest budget settlement for the Scottish Government in the history of devolution. The nail in the coffin of the SNP excuse, that things would be better if only Westminster gave them more money. Well now they have it, there can be no more excuses. The nationalists have nowhere to hide and no one else to blame for the shocking state of Scotland’s public services. 

But as anyone who has managed a family budget or ran a small business knows, more money alone doesn’t fix a problem, it’s about spending it well and making sensible financial decisions. Time after time, the SNP have shown they are just not up to the job. The billions in extra funding cannot simply be used to fill a black hole of the SNP’s making, it needs to make it to the front line, bringing down waiting times in the NHS, improving attainment in our schools and fixing our public services.

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But of course, the block grant is only one part of the story for Scotland. Labour’s budget delivers a pay rise for 200,000 Scots and supports motorists with a freeze on fuel duty. The triple lock means an increase in the state pension by £470 next year, on top of £900 this year for a million Scottish pensioners.

The number one mission for this government and the Scotland Office is economic growth. This budget is going to jump start growth in Scotland, it prioritises investment over decline and very clearly shows the era of austerity is over. 

The Tories loved to talk about levelling-up and announce eye-catching local growth projects, but too often there was never any real money set aside to fund them. They preyed upon people’s desire to see their local area get ahead and left a pile of unfunded promises in their wake.

Labour will do things differently, we know there are tough choices to make, but if we say we’ll fund something, then we’ll do it. That is why I was delighted to write to Scottish councils with the news that Labour’s budget confirms £1.4bn of local growth projects for Scotland.

Over 10 years, the UK Government will use growth deals, town plans, green freeports, investment zones, and other transport and regeneration projects to directly invest in Scotland and boost growth. 

But our plan for Scottish growth extends well beyond Scotland’s shores. Since taking office four months ago, a key priority for the Scotland Office has been Brand Scotland. From shipbuilding and science, salmon and Scotch, culture and financial services, we’re the best in the world, and by selling Scotland to the world we can unlock jobs and investment.

For too long, Scotland was served by two governments who only seemed interested in selling different visions of Scotland to the Scots. The Tories and the SNP are two sides of the same coin, focussed inwards on the constitution, when they could have been looking to the rest of the world, championing Scotland and making the most of our incredible, unique brand. 

Last week, the Chancellor confirmed the first tranche of funding to make our Brand Scotland project happen. Under my leadership, the Scotland Office will fund trade missions, promote Scottish goods and services around the world, and help Scottish businesses export for the first time.

I have set a target of five trade missions in the next two years and as Scottish Secretary, I’ll be leading from the front. We hit the ground running this week in Norway, where I’ll meet political and business leaders to strengthen the close ties between our two nations. Scotland and Norway have a hugely important relationship, rooted in a shared history but focussed on some of the biggest issues facing our future. 

Like Scotland, Norway has been a significant player in conventional oil and gas, while also having a big green energy industry. I’ll be holding talks with Equinor, a major supplier of energy to UK households and the operators of Hywind, the world's first floating offshore wind farm, off the coast of Aberdeen.

Securing investment in projects such as Hywind is crucial to Scotland’s green future and our plan to ensure that oil and gas workers can use their skills to benefit from the energy transition. 

Our trip to Norway will also help cement relations with one of the UK’s most important strategic defence allies. I recently had the privilege of travelling with the Norwegian ambassador to HMS Prince of Wales, one the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers, which partnered with Norway and other NATO allies in Operation Strike Warrior, the biggest maritime training exercise in Europe, making the most of harsh conditions off the west coast of Scotland.

This week in Oslo I will sit down with the Norwegian Government and meet management at Kongsberg, a world leading defence contractor. Konsberg is part owned by the Norwegian Government and supports 3,500 jobs in the UK, including in Aberdeen and Dunfermline. In a competitive sector, these sort of relationships are crucial to ensuring continued investment in the Scottish workforce.

Just a few weeks after getting back from Norway, we will take Brand Scotland even further afield, with a major trade mission to Southeast Asia. The region is a key growth market for Scotch whisky and I’ll be working in partnership with the industry to unlock new routes to export Scotland’s national drink.

Of course it isn’t just our products we want to export, there are huge opportunities for Scotland’s world-leading higher education sector. Most Scots would know that Heriot-Watt University is based on the outskirts of Edinburgh, but most probably wouldn’t know about their campus just outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It’s a great example of our universities educating students way beyond Scotland and I’ll be using my trip to help many more expand in one of the world’s most dynamic and fastest growing regions. 
Brand Scotland won’t be about photo shoots and grandstanding, which have often been the hallmarks of the SNP’s trips abroad. Instead, we’ll be rolling up our sleeves, travelling with small businesses as well as our biggest brands, and really doing the work to sell our products and services, while bringing back major foreign investment into Scotland.

By backing this project, Rachel Reeves has backed Scotland. With a budget which delivers more money for Scotland than ever before and sets the conditions for turbo-charged growth, the Chancellor has given us the chance to fix our public services, create new jobs, and help our businesses succeed.

The Labour UK Government is doing its part, by raising wages and pensions, directly investing in local projects and by selling Brand Scotland to the world. The SNP Scottish Government must also do theirs, by fixing the mess they have made of our public services. The Scottish people will be watching closely.

Ian Murray is Secretary of State for Scotland