Dugdale: reject the flag waving and vote Labour
Political Correspondent KEZIA Dugdale has called on voters to reject flag-waving politics at the General Election and choose change for the economy, jobs and public services.
The Scottish Labour leader went on the attack i n a speech in Glasgow, with Ruth Davidson and Nicola Sturgeon in her sights, as she attempts to win back voters from both the SNP and the Tories.
In some seats, like East Renfrewshire, she urged tactical voting if Labour was in second place and could unseat the SNP with the help of other anti-independence votes.
Ms Dugdale said the Labour manifesto, launched by Jeremy Corbyn this week was “radical and transformative”.
The Scottish party’s manifesto will be launched next week.
After another disappointing showing in the council elections, coming third behind the SNP and Tories, Ms Dugdale has the task of improving performance and increasing the number of Labour MPs from the current one, Ian Murray in Edinburgh South.
Ms Dugdale said: “Our nation is deeply divided, but out of two parties of government, the SNP and the Tories, want to spend more time exploiting those divisions than doing anything to heal them.”
She said priorities such as improving school and hospitals have been put on the back burner because they are, she said “engaged in a conspira- cy of silence” on those issues.
Ms Dugdale said it suits the SNP and Conservatives to ignore public services and jobs in the campaign.
She said: “Why? Because for as long as they turn and face each other, their backs will be to the very people who need them.
“It also suits then because both their respective records in office are dismal.”
She said Labour is standing for something more than different brands of nationalism.
Ms Dugdale added: “Neither flag -waving Scottish nationalism nor flag- waving British nationalism represents the best future for our country.”
She defended Labour’s record when in government noting it had been out of power for ten years in Scotland and seven at a UK level.
She added: “I’ll never apologise for a Labour Government when it raised family incomes, protected working people with tax credits, invested billions in public services and changed the way our country was run with devolution.”
And in her bid to rally anti-independence voters, she urged them to back the Labour candidate where they are best placed to defeat the SNP.
Ms Dugdale added: “My message to you is this. In many parts of the country, the way to stop the nationalists is to vote Labour.
She added: “That is how we will begin to break the hold of nationalism in our politics.”