Ian Murray: ‘John Swinney offers nothing new – Scotland can send a government to Westminster, not just a message’

There have been a lot of remarkable moments in Scottish politics recently. For the Scottish Labour Party many of those moments have not been very positive.

But aside from the political drama, there have been two important targets missed by the Scottish government.

The SNP government is letting down Scotland on the climate and poverty

First, the climate targets missed (if there was ever any intention to meet them!) which the Scottish Green leadership were happy to ignore. They revealed that Scotland is far behind where it needs to be in tackling the climate emergency. That is putting the future of generations to come at risk.

Much more immediately, analysis of the Scottish Government’s own figures shows that targets on reducing child poverty are well behind too. Statistics show that more than a quarter of kids in Scotland are growing up in poverty. I know that not just from reading the figures but seeing the families struggling in my own constituency.

They are suffering under the twin incompetence of the Tories and the SNP. After 14 years of the Tories, and 17 years of the SNP, there are huge challenges facing our country. Household finances stretched, public services failing and a lack of opportunity.

Swinney is yesterday’s man with a litany of failures behind him

These challenges require bold and effective interventions. But instead, the Scottish Government has once again plunged into chaos. It is chaos during a time of national crisis.

And John Swinney does not have anything new to offer. He is yesterday’s man who leaves a litany of failures behind him – not least the exam scandal in 2020 which devastated an entire generation of young people.

He shares the same traits as his predecessor, Humza Yousaf, in that he would be failing upwards.  Events at Westminster are no better – with Rishi Sunak’s failing government faltering from one crisis to the next.

Voters deserve a say on the Tories and the SNP

Seemingly unable to learn the lesson of Liz Truss’ kamikaze budget which impacted millions of mortgages, Sunak has made a near £50bn unfunded spending commitment and refuses to say who will pay for it.

That’s why for many months now, Labour has been demanding a General Election to give the UK the government it deserves.

And the events of the last week in Holyrood are part of why Anas Sarwar pushed a motion of no confidence in the Scottish Parliament this week.

The vote was lost but the debate allowed the voices of change to make their case. The SNP has failed over the last 17 years with everything demonstrably worse. The latest SNP soap opera is the cherry on the cake of failure.

The people of Scotland deserve a say – in their First Minister and their Prime Minister. And they deserve change. That is what Labour is setting out to the people of Scotland under Anas’ and Keir’s leadership.

Labour will deliver the biggest workers’ rights upgrade in decades, and green jobs

The New Deal for Working People will be the biggest expansion in workers’ rights in decades. It will mean an end to fire and rehire, rights at work from day one and a ban on exploitative zero hours contracts. That will transform the professional lives of thousands of Scots, who have suffered while the Tories slashed workers protections.

Our plan for GB Energy, a publicly owned energy company headquartered in Scotland, will help unlock new green jobs and generate clean power. We estimate that 50,000 clean energy jobs will be created in Scotland through GB Energy.

While the SNP and the Greens miss their climate targets, we are committed to delivering zero carbon electricity across the UK by 2030. Our Green Prosperity Plan will capitalise GB Energy with billions of pounds and give young people opportunities in the global race in green tech.

And our British Jobs Bonus will help ensure that supply chains stay here in the UK. The SNP and the Tories have created the absurd situation of our renewable energy being captured by publicly owned companies – it’s just that they’re owned by other countries. Labour will change that.

We’ll end the failed privatisation of our railways and create Great British Railways, bringing key Scottish train services, like the West Coast mainline, into public hands.

The choice in Scotland is opposing the Tories or kicking them out

All of these and more will radically improve the lives of millions of Scots. So, it’s little wonder that more and more people are turning away from the SNP and toward the Labour Party.

At the next general election in Scotland, there is a clear choice. We can continue to oppose the Tories. Or we can kick them out of Downing Street and deliver change.

I don’t want to simply send a message from Scotland to Westminster – I want us to send a government. We’ve had three Prime Ministers and three First Ministers in as many years. Let’s make the fourth PM and fourth FM Keir and Anas.

Now, that’s the positive change Scotland needs.

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