SNP and Tories condemned over job creation

Just one in 25 new jobs created in the UK since the Conservatives came to power are in Scotland, figures show.

Analysis of UK jobs figures carried out by Labour shows there were 2,870,764 positions created over the period 2010 to 2016.

A total of 4.02% of these were in Scotland, with 115,317 jobs created north of the border.

In contrast there were 872,888 posts created in London - 30.41% of the overall total - while 496,898 (17.31%) of the new jobs were in the South East.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said the figures "show that seven years of failure under the Conservatives is holding most of this country back".

She added: "Boasts about job creation will ring hollow when there are few jobs being created across most of the country and even then too many are poorly paid and insecure."

Scottish Labour economy spokeswoman Jackie Baillie condemned both the Tories and the SNP over the statistics, saying: "These figures expose the myth that (former PM) David Cameron's long-term economic plan worked for everyone across the UK, but they should also be a source of embarrassment for the SNP Government in Edinburgh.

"The SNP Government has more power over economic development than any previous Scottish Government, but its record on jobs creation simply has not been good enough. That's because the nationalists have simply passed on Tory cuts rather than invest in our economy for growth.

"There is an elephant in the room here - the SNP's obsession with a second independence referendum is choking off growth and job creation.

"The SNP Government should be using the powers of the Scottish Parliament to stimulate our economy and create jobs.

"That means front-loading infrastructure spending with a focus on house-building, using the more than £10 billion public procurement budget more strategically, and investing in education so our young people have the skills to compete for the jobs of the future."