Sarah Boyack officially launches Scottish Labour leadership campaign

Sarah Boyack officially launched her campaign to become leader of the Scottish Labour Party today, with a speech announcing that the “biggest problem we face as a party is to reconnect with people.”

“We need to rebuild our relationship with people who share our values, our former supporters who’ve not turned out for us in recent years and to reach out to young people.”

The Lothian MSP said Scottish Labour need to campaign on “social, environmental and economic justice”.

Boyack highlighted four key areas that would be her focus if she became First Minister: healthcare, childcare, devolution, and funding for local government. She also said that harnessing the energy of the referendum debates was vital to the health of the Party going forward, but that energy alone would not be sufficient:

“It’s not enough just to be angry; not enough just to have the right policies; not enough to have great party organisation. Labour needs to get elected to office and that is the privilege I seek for Labour and for me as Labour’s Leader in Scotland.”