The SNP has warned that a Labour government in Edinburgh would pose a “threat to Scottish jobs”. The party’s economy spokesman, Dave Doogan, pointed to rising unemployment since Labour took power at Westminster in 2024 as a potential risk north of the border if Anas Sarwar wins the May election.
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, collated by the House of Commons Library, the UK unemployment rate rose from 4.2 per cent in the three months before the last general election to 5.1 per cent in the three months to October 2025. The number of people out of work increased by 352,000 over that period. In Scotland, the unemployment rate stood at 3.8 per cent, up 0.2 percentage points from the same period in 2024.
Mr Doogan said: “The UK jobs market has significantly weakened under the Labour Government, and the UK now faces a growing unemployment crisis as a result of damaging Labour Party policies like the national insurance tax hike and the thousands of Scottish jobs Keir Starmer is destroying in Scotland’s energy sector with his tax on Scotland’s energy.” He added: “The blame for this UK jobs crisis lies squarely with the Labour Government – and all the evidence suggests it will get worse, not better.”
A UK Government spokesperson responded: “There are over 350,000 more people in work this year, with the rate of inactivity at its joint lowest in over five years. To address the unemployment challenge this Government inherited, we are investing £1.5 billion to deliver 50,000 apprenticeships and 350,000 new workplace opportunities for young people.”
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “After nearly two decades in power, the biggest threat to jobs in Scotland is an SNP government that has run out of ideas. Labour is investing an additional £10.3 billion for Scotland, but the SNP’s obsession with waste and incompetence means Scots are paying more and getting less.”
