IRVINE’S MP has defended his decision to back further austerity cuts for Scotland - while his Westminster colleague rebelled against her party.

In a House of Commons vote last Tuesday, January 13, MPs agreed to approve the Charter for Budget Responsibility put forward by Chancellor George Osborne.

Central Ayrshire MP Brian Donohoe was one of those to offer his support to a further £30bn of austerity cuts along with 28 other Scottish Labour MPs.

However, his parliamentary colleague Katy Clark refused to toe the party line and voted against the Conservative-backed cuts.

But Mr Donohoe insists this was not a vote for austerity but instead a balancing on the current budget not the overall budget.

However, Ms Clark takes a different view believing that plans to balance the books in three years are “simply unrealistic”.

The North Ayrshire and Arran MP joined the SNP, the Green Party and Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru in opposition to the cuts.

But Mr Donohoe dismissed the suggestion that the vote was for austerity as “Tory and SNP spin”.

The Labour MP said: “Despite the SNP claim that we have voted for an “austerity” budget, this is not the case.

“Tuesday’s vote was actually on balancing the current budget not the overall budget. In other words day-to-day spending excluding capital investment.

“This is the same measure of the deficit the Labour Party has been committed to targeting for the last three years.

“For all the Tory and SNP spin, the Charter is consistent with Labour’s long held position to get the current budget into surplus and the national debt falling as soon as possible in the next Parliament.

“The Tories have failed to balance the books as promised and have borrowed over £200bn more than they planned. That is due to them failing to tackle the cost of living crisis which has arisen due to their unfair cuts.

“Tory plans in the Autumn Statement – which were not part of the recent vote – will mean even deeper spending cuts and their £7bn of unfunded tax promises could only be paid for by continued cuts or another VAT rise.

“Labour will take a fairer and more balanced approach to tackling the deficit. The SNP have opposed every one of Labour’s progressive policies and have no credible plan for the economy.

“They have under spent their budget by £444m – money which could have been spent alleviating the worst of the Tory excesses and now they want to scrap the Barnett Formula, which would cost Scotland billions of pounds.” Ms Clark, an outspoken critic of the UK Government’s austerity measures, argued that the Government’s policies have caused major hardship leading to a huge increase in foodbank usage.

And she believes that investment in jobs should come first rather than austerity.

She said: “Whilst it is very attractive to say we will balance the books as soon as possible these plans to balance the books in three years are simply unrealistic and can only be met with massive cuts in public spending and/or huge tax increases.

“Given the current state of the country’s finances no Government will achieve this and even with Labour’s policies to increase the minimum wage and invest in housing and infrastructure it won’t be achieved and is the wrong goal to set. We need to invest for jobs and growth and to improve living standards and address the cost of living crisis - those are the targets we should set ourselves.

“If David Cameron and George Osborne have their way we will see public spending taken back down to levels not seen since the 1930s. Some Departments will see their budgets cut by over 40 per cent. The austerity policies pursued by this Government over the past five years have caused major hardship, food bank use has rocketed while living standards have plummeted.

“If the Conservatives have their way after the next election the consequences will be truly frightening.

“Far from delivering an economic recovery more austerity will put the limited growth we have seen in recent years at risk.

“We need to reject austerity economics and invest for jobs and growth. We need to increase the tax take by putting people back to work and dealing with tax avoidance. And we need to make decent jobs on at least a living wage available to people so they don’t have to rely on welfare benefits.”