Political Opinion: Brian Leishman MP: Scotland deserves better – Labour has the plan to deliver
Scotland is ready for change – real, practical change which will improve lives and raise living standards.
People are looking for a government to deliver after years of drift and broken promises under the SNP.
That is why Scottish Labour is stepping forward with confidence, clarity and renewed energy following the recent Liverpool conference.
We are not just talking about slogans or soundbites for the media – rather, we are talking about a plan to fix the NHS, build homes, create jobs and lead the green energy revolution.
For the first time in a generation, Scotland has the chance to turn the page on complacency and failure, writing a new chapter of hope with Labour leaders in Westminster and Holyrood working together.
Scottish Labour is ready to fix the NHS by declaring a national waiting times emergency on day one, cutting the backlog and embracing digital technology to make healthcare fit for the future.
Scotland also has a proud engineering heritage and current talent along with the wind and water to lead the UK, and Europe, in the clean energy transition we all need.
GB Energy, headquartered in Scotland, is set to drive investment in renewables while ensuring the energy generated on people’s doorstep benefits them.
Scottish Labour’s plans will create tens of thousands of green jobs while a local power plan will deliver up to 1,000 community energy projects.
This matters for Grangemouth.
I have not been shy to criticise the previous Tory administration at Westminster, the complacent SNP in Holyrood and even my own government, which inherited the problem, when it comes to the handling of the refinery.
However, looking ahead, I have been meeting with companies with exciting plans for the future.
I will be pushing for new investment and jobs to come into the area, and to accelerate that process, in a bid to soften the huge blow Grangemouth suffered with the refinery’s closure.
This will require close working with the private sector at all levels of government and a Scottish Labour administration would support that with fresh ideas.
Because the truth is that 18 years of power has seen the SNP turn from a party of promise to a party of paralysis.
Their record speaks for itself – ferries delayed and marred in controversy, an overwhelmed healthcare system and a housing crisis which shames a wealthy nation.
Colleges are on the brink of collapse – and you do not need to go far from home to see this become a reality on the ground with Forth Valley College’s Alloa Campus now under threat of closure.
At the centre of it all – a tired John Swinney who also presided over the Covid exam fiasco which punished so many working-class pupils in our communities.
He has been the architect of failure, and nothing has changed in this regard since he became First Minister.
Next year’s Scottish elections will be about competence and vision.
Scottish Labour offers both – let us turn the page on failure, choosing vision, ambition and delivery instead.