Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Everything to hope for here Labour leader Kezia Dugdale spells out the importance of ‘priority’ seat
Kezia Dugdale called the Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill constituency “a real priority seat” for Labour as she campaigned alongside her party’s general election candidate.
The Scottish Labour leader officially opened Hugh Gaffney’s campaign office, four weeks ahead of the June 8 polling day, and said her party is targeting the constituency – where the SNP has a majority of 11,501.
Speaking to the Advertiser, Ms Dugdale said of the Coatbridge seat: “When you look at the detail of the local government results, it’s clear that not only can Labour beat the SNP here, but are actually ahead if you look at first preferences and examine the detail.
“That tells you a lot – it tells you that people are increasingly fed-up of Nicola Sturgeon and her obsession with independence and they want a party and an MP that’s going to put working people first.”
Party officials say their analysis of the council election results indicates that both the Coatbridge and Airdrie constituencies are among seven across Scotland in which “Labour is ahead of the SNP or within a single percentage point”.
Ms Dugdale’s visit to the newlyopened campaign office – located in Bellshill where Mr Gaffney was last week elected to a North Lanarkshire Council ward – saw her spend time meeting activists from across the constituency, before joining them and Mr Gaffney for an afternoon canvassing session.
The party leader said of the Labour candidate for Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill: “He would be a fantastic MP for this constituency. I’ve campaigned with him before and found everyone knew him and wanted to talk to him.
“He’s a real character and a real asset to the community.
“He had a really successful victory in the council election and I think that can be repeated on June 8.”
She added: “I love getting to meet people and talk about Labour values and explain that if people want those put into practice there are only really two choices in this election – a Tory government led by Theresa May or a Labour government which is going to stand up for working people.
“With Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour manifesto we’re putting forward, there’s a real plan to tackle in-work poverty, to give people a chance, to give them the rights and opportunities they need to succeed, and what I’m saying clearly to people is that you can vote against a second independence referendum and vote for better living standards by voting Labour.
“You look at the damage the Tories have done over the past seven years and imagine how much worse it could get over the five that could potentially follow.
“We can reject that Tory government, and reject a second independence referendum.
“We want to talk about raising living standards, investing in our schools, protecting our NHS.
“I think people understand what’s at stake – this is a general election we didn’t see coming but the stakes are incredibly high.”