Tag: Politics

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