Laura Mitchell

Unlike the UK Government, the SNP will always stand up for Scotland’s whisky and spirits trade and it’s high time the Labour Government backed this successful industry.

The tax hikes imposed on Scotland's greatest industry by Labour and Tory MPs at Westminster has driven down sales, brought down tax revenue, and placed enormous pressures on distilleries across Scotland.

Our key industries - be it oil and gas or whisky - are facing crippling taxes from Westminster.

The Labour Party promised to back Scotland's whisky sector 'to the hilt' before the election, but instead Scottish Labour MPs waltzed through the voting lobbies to hammer the industry - our greatest export deserves better.

If Andy Burnham wants to deliver growth in every postcode, then he should start by cutting Labour's crippling tax on Scotland’s premier export and I've written to him urging him to do just that.

Andy Burnham must, as a priority, scrap the Labour Party’s national insurance tax hike, which has destroyed jobs and cost Scotland’s businesses huge sums of money.