Jim McGovern calls on UK and Scottish Governments to act on unemployment
14 December 2011
Jim McGovern, MP for Dundee West, has called on the UK and Scottish governments to act on rising unemployment in Dundee.
Official statistics released today show that in November 2011 there were 285 more Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants in Dundee West compared to November 2010, and 48 more claimants compared to October 2011.
Jim McGovern said,
"It is unacceptable that unemployment is rising in Dundee. It is clear that the private sector is not growing, and public sector cuts are only making that worse.
"We need to see a plan from the Tory-led government in London and the SNP executive in Edinburgh that gets the economy growing.
"All they currently have is faith in a miracle recovery in the private sector, which simply isn’t happening. They need to take action to increase investment and create jobs.
"The SNP need to stop conspiring on separation and direct their attention on growing the economy.
"We cannot have industries pulling out of the city when we need more, not less, jobs. Uncertainty about Scotland’s future is damaging our efforts.
Mr McGovern concluded,
"Dundee has a great deal of potential, but it is suffering from a lack of leadership.
"A comprehensive plan for growth must be the top priority; not ideological public sector cuts or hugely damaging plotting around separation."