On Tuesday, Scottish Government Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced up to £500m of public spending cuts.

In attempting to balance the Scottish Government’s budget, the cuts she has announced this week include £116m from the health budget, including an £18.8m cut to vital mental health services which will have a direct impact on services in Inverclyde.

Amongst the other cuts are over £20m to both the transport and net zero and energy budgets and a cut to social justice spending of over £15m. Up to £460m earmarked to tackle the climate crisis is to be redirected to other spending.

Wednesday’s Programme for Government also saw the Scottish Government break its promise to provide free school meals to all primary pupils – a cut that won’t be replicated in Inverclyde, where the Labour-led council has committed to continuing to fund free school meals.

I don’t deny that the Scottish Government faces a difficult financial position, and therefore difficult decisions must be made – just as for the incoming Labour government at UK level.

The difference, however, is that the Labour Government came into office eight weeks ago with the worst economic inheritance since the Second World War left by the previous Tory government. We need to clean up their mess.

This SNP Scottish Government, by contrast, has been in office for 17 years, and the mess it finds itself is only of its own making. Seventeen years of poor decisions, lack of grip, and sustained dishonesty with the public are coming home to roost. The impact on Scottish public services could be devastating.

Predictably, however, the Finance Secretary did what she could to pass the buck and insist, after 17 years of SNP rule, that ‘it wasn’t us’. Everything, of course, is Westminster’s fault.

But people aren’t daft. Blaming a Government that’s been in power for eight weeks rather than the one that’s been in charge for 17 years isn’t going to wash. A raft of independent economic experts have been absolutely clear that these SNP cuts stem from the Scottish Government’s own decisions.

Ms Robison can pass the buck all she likes; she’s fooling no one. It is her government’s culture of always blaming someone else that comes with a cost: jobs and service cuts.

This week, I resigned from Inverclyde Council, where it has been an enormous honour to represent the people of Gourock for over two years.

After my election to Parliament in July, I gave up my council salary and used the past eight weeks to transfer and conclude council casework. It’s right that Labour Party rules do not permit politicians to hold more than one such role at a time, and that is why I resigned from the council on Tuesday.

I have been proud to serve as part of the Labour administration, which has stood up for Inverclyde and its most vulnerable residents and services in the face of extraordinarily difficult financial circumstances, and a sustained assault on local councils from the Scottish Government over many years.

It has also been a pleasure to work with Chief Executive Louise Long and dedicated council staff, who work every day to provide assistance and services to the people of Inverclyde. In my new role, I look forward to continuing to work closely with all of them.

The situation in Gaza remains devastating, with too many lives lost needlessly as the conflict has intensified.

This week, the Government announced the suspension of some UK arms sales to Israel because there is a clear risk the equipment could be used to commit serious violations of international law.

The events of this week, in which six Israeli hostages were found murdered in Gaza, should reinforce for all of us Israel’s right, and need, to defend itself. But such defence has to be in line with international law.

As Foreign Secretary David Lammy set out following a review of arms exports begun in July when the new government took office: “The assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk they might be used to commit of facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”

This partial ban covers items that can be used in the current conflict in Gaza, and reinforces the government’s commitment to pushing for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the killing of so many innocent civilians.