119 days ago the SNP won the Scottish Parliament election and received a mandate from the people of Scotland to govern, albeit as a minority administration. What followed wasn’t a whirlwind of bold and radical activity, it was yet more constitutional debate. It simply can’t go on like this.
The Scottish Parliament returns for a new session next week. In advance of that today I am setting out Labour’s priorities, an alternative Programme for Government. These are some of the key issues we will push the SNP on in Parliament and across the country. They are firmly rooted in the manifesto we built together in May with a clear anti-austerity message at its core.
Education is our priority, because only by giving our young people the skills they need to compete for the jobs of the future can we grow our economy and close the gap between the richest and the rest. We also want the government to introduce a Bill to ban fracking, to ease the pressure on our NHS by investing in social care, to secure rights for workers and to support refugees arriving in Scotland.
At the heart of everything we do is the message that to invest in our public services and give everybody a fair chance in life, the SNP must stop the cuts. The Scottish Parliament has major new powers over tax and it’s time the nationalists started using them to end austerity in Scotland.
You can read our full alternative Programme for Government here.
If, like me, you think the last thing Scotland needs or wants is a second independence referendum, then share this with your friends and let them know what the Government should be doing to deliver that fairer future we want for all.
Kezia Dugdale
Scottish Labour Leader
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So again Labour are calling for taxes to be increased. They want to stop austerity by taxing everyone more. Everyone is so hard pressed as it. How about not renewing Trident – which just doesn’t tackle threats in the modern world. Or how about ensuring companies and the super rich pay their taxes? How about campaigning for MPs to NOT get their massive pay rises? How about campaigning for Scotland not having to pay a share for HS2 which doesn’t come to Scotland. We have our own needs to increase our transport infrastructure. No she want’s ordinary, hard working families, who have no money, to pay for the mistakes of the rich. Socialism for the rich and ruling classes and capitalism for everyone else.