SNP Work and Pensions spokesperson, John Mason MP, has slammed Labour’s legacy in Glasgow as a study by the Work Foundation revealed the number of people out of work and claiming Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) in Glasgow was higher than anywhere else in Scotland. The research suggested Glasgow had been worst affected because the city had never recovered fully from “previous recessions before this one set in”.

Mr Mason, the SNP MP for Glasgow East, said: "These are grim findings from the Work Foundation, and underline Labour’s wretched legacy in Glasgow.

"The Work Foundation study shows that Glasgow has been hard hit by the current recession because the city never fully recovered from previous downturns.

"That is a damning indictment of Labour’s record over the past twenty years – in contrast to the real economic action taken by the Scottish Government over the past two years.

"At a time like this people want politicians to work together, that is why the SNP Government sought a joint cabinet meeting in the city this week to focus on economic recovery . It is regrettable to say the least that Labour’s rhetoric about the importance of joint-working is not matched by action.

"John Park’s ludicrous attack does not stand up as anything other than a desperate attempt to distract attention away from Labour’s Downing Street difficulties."

Note:

The Work Foundation noted that the increase in the number of people claiming the benefit in Glasgow is the third highest in the UK, with only Birmingham and Leeds experiencing larger rises. Naomi Clayton, a senior researcher at the Foundation, said it was "Places in the eye of the storm as job losses mount are the UK's core cities and areas associated with traditional manufacturing - places which in many cases had yet to recover fully from previous recessions before this one set in. In terms of absolute numbers of new people signing on for JSA, it is the core cities of the North and Midlands that are worst hit."