THE Coalition Government's Spending Review at the end of June confirmed what people across Scotland have known for some time - that this government's economic plan has failed. In 2010, the Tories and Liberal Democrats said that they would get borrowing down at the same time as healing our economy. But borrowing has gone up and the economy is still struggling.

Across Scotland, you can see the effect this has had. Tens of thousands of people are out of work and people are struggling because the prices of basics like food and fuel are going up while wages have gone down. What we needed from George Osborne was action to get the economy moving again, but all we got was more of the same. And in Scotland, it's not just the Tories and Lib Dems who are letting people down. The Scottish Government likes to complain, but it is not matching its words with actions. So instead of building houses across Scotland to get our construction sector back on its feet, it has slashed the housing budget by over 50 per cent. That means we now have the smallest number of homes being built since the Great Depression.

And instead of making sure the cuts fall on people who can afford them, the SNP want to cut the taxes that big business pay by even more than the Tories.

This isn't the plan we need to get the Scottish economy back on track.

Both Governments can change course - the UK Government is in power till 2015 and the next Scottish elections aren't till 2016. But both seem intent on carrying on with the same course.

That's why whoever wins the next General Election, will now be dealing with a very difficult financial situation. Ed Milliband has been clear that we would be responsible with spending, but we would make very different choices from this government.

We'd protect the basic state pension, but not pay the winter fuel allowance to the very richest pensioners.

We'd make work pay with a 10p starting rate of tax, not cut taxes for millionaires.

And we'd give young people jobs they'd have to take up, paid for by a tax on bank bonuses.

But we shouldn't have to wait two years. The UK government said they'd turn the economy round, and the Scottish Government said it would protect people from the Tories, but both of them are failing. What we need now is action, not warm words.