It is not enough to just oppose the Tories.. we need to replace them

Yes, Labour has made big strides in the local elections but we will never be satisfied with second and must wrest back power and deliver for the Scottish people

THERE haven’t been many days in the last decade when it has been easy to be a member of the Scottish Labour Party.

So it might not come as a surprise to hear that I am still smiling after last week’s local government elections.

We pushed the Tories out of second place and into third in both share of the votes and number of seats and while I was delighted, I don’t aspire to come second.

I am in politics because I want to make our country a better place and I know to do that, Labour needs to win elections again.

I’m a realist and I know that won’t happen tomorrow.

It isn’t likely to happen before my next column either – but I want the Scottish Labour Party I lead to change lives.

Because, as I travel around, I see a country which is hopeful for the future; outward-looking, and full of potential but also looking for leadership and a politics which is focused on providing the support this country needs for people to realise their dreams and for the next generation to have the opportunities they deserve.

That’s the job of politics – giving people the power to change their lives for the better.

But in Scotland, our politics has lost sight of that.

For too long, we’ve had our politics dominated by parties who want to put people in boxes – Leave or Remain, Yes or No – and only govern for the half of the country that agrees with them.

They want to divide Scotland into two camps and to convince them to dislike and distrust one another.

But Thursday’s election showed that things can be different and that there is a better future we can choose. But it cannot be delivered by the Tories.

The warm and welcoming party which Ruth Davidson tried to spin into existence is dead. Replaced by the same old nasty Tories, with no answers on things that really matter but grudge and grievance.

And it can’t be delivered by the SNP, who have spent 15 years stoking bitterness, division, and anger – all to try to achieve the one political aim they’ll put before everything else. I believe that

Scottish Labour is the alternative to both of these bad choices and that, where they offer division, we can offer hope and optimism, guided by a belief that Scotland’s best days are ahead of it.

But as we head towards a future general election, the question on the minds of so many people will be “how do we get rid of Boris Johnson and the Tories?”

In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon will try to pretend that it is a fight between England and Scotland.

But the next election isn’t a fight about the constitution – it will be Boris versus Britain, and Britain must win.

Because it won’t be enough to just oppose the Tories – it will be about replacing them.

Only one party can do that – the Labour Party.

It is my job to make sure that when that time comes, we are worthy of your support. That is my mission – day and night.

Not to be a party of protest – to become a party of government, so we can make people’s lives better.

This is the same old nasty Tories of grudge & grievance