Labour 'the real austerity alternative' Jermy Corbyn tells Scottish voters
Jeremy Corbyn will tell Scots they have the "power to break from austerity'' by using new tax powers coming to Holyrood.
Jeremy Corbyn will tell Scots they have the "power to break from austerity'' by using new tax powers coming to Holyrood.
The UK Labour leader will travel north to campaign in the run up to May's Scottish Parliament elections, joining with Kezia Dugdale the capital.
Both Ms Dugdale, the party's Scottish leader, and Mr Corbyn will argue that only Labour can end austerity.
The party plans to put 1p on the basic rate of income tax and to restore the top rate of 50p for the highest earners - measures the SNP has already rejected for 2017-18, the first year Holyrood has powers over income tax.
Campaigning in the Portobello area of Edinburgh Mr Corbyn will say: "All over the world people are rallying against austerity. In Scotland you have the opportunity, you have the power to break from austerity using the new powers you have. That isn't in doubt.
"The question is whether the Scottish Parliament has enough voices who are willing to use those powers to make that change.''
He will add: "Under Kezia Dugdale Labour has set out a bold plan to use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to stop the cuts. With Labour austerity can end.
"As things stand the income tax plans set out by the SNP for those powers wouldn't provide a single extra penny for schools or hospitals, for investing in the future of the economy.
"The anger people feel at the top 1%, from the financial crash caused by bankers, from the revelations of the Panama papers, from growing inequality, is the big issue of our age.
"The SNP have no response to that. It is incredible that the SNP won't ask the richest to pay more. To have gone from arguing last year for taxing the top 1% to accepting Tory arguments against it is a betrayal of everything Nicola Sturgeon promised she stood for at the general election last year.
"The real anti-austerity alternative in this election is Labour. Every vote for Labour, every Labour MSP elected, will make sure that the Scottish Parliament will use the powers to stop cuts and invest in the future.''
Ms Dugdale will tell voters: "There are billions of pounds of cuts coming to Scotland, but only if we decide that we want to take the same decisions as Tories. If we want to take a different path, we can.
"That is the choice we are faced with - will we use the new powers or will we keep cutting into our nation's future prosperity? Labour's choice is to use the powers to invest in the future, to break from austerity.
"So here's how we would do things differently. We'd set the rate of income tax a penny higher than George Osborne and we would ask the richest 1% to pay their fair share. That would enable us to stop the cuts, to end austerity.''
While Labour campaign in the capital Nicola Sturgeon will be speaking to young voters as she visits a youth centre in Glasgow, with the First Minister being joined on the campaign trail by the UK's youngest MP, Mhairi Black.
With the Scottish Conservatives vying to overtake Labour and become the second largest party at Holyrood, Ruth Davidson will make a speech in Edinburgh setting out her plans for a strong opposition.
Meanwhile Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie will meet voters in Cupar in Fife, claiming his party is "back to its best again''
Speaking ahead of the Lib Dem action morning, Mr Rennie said his party had "run a positive, uplifting, optimistic campaign based on a bold package of progressive policies to make Scotland the best again''.
He added: "As a result, our party is back to its best again too. A penny on income tax for education, exceeding our climate change targets, giving mental health the support it needs and guaranteeing our civil liberties are great liberal policies for a great liberal campaign.''