Flint fires up Labour
A former Government minister has urged voters in Rutherglen and Hamilton West to re- elect Tom Greatrex next week.
Caroline Flint, who served as a minister from 2005 until 2009, visited the constituency on Monday to help the local Labour team campaign on Rutherglen Main Street.
And she warned voters they faced losing a good constituency MP if Mr Greatrex was not re-elected.
The pair have worked closely together over the past few years, with Ms Flint holding the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and Mr Greatrex holding the position of Shadow Energy Minister.
With the SNP riding high in the polls, Labour face a real fight to hold onto the seat.
Ms Flint, who is standing in Don Valley, also said a vote for the SNP would “put a big smile on David Cameron’s face.” She said: “On a very personal level Tom and I have worked together for over four years now and he’s my right hand.
“Everything we have successfully achieved in the past four years in holding the big six energy companies to account, the polices we have set out to freeze energy prices from rises to give the regulator the power to cut these prices when companies don’t pass on their cost reductions, and our plans for how we can get investment into energy and get confidence back, we have worked hand in glove together on.
“What we discuss in Westminster is about reflecting the lives on the doorsteps of the people we represent.
“Tom Greatrex is a constituency MP like me. He lives here with his family, his kids are in local schools, he’s a resident, he’s part of this community, so vote Labour.”
Ms Flint said people in Rutherglen she spoke to were concerned about the prospect of another Tory Government, adding: “A vote for any other party here in Scotland whether SNP, Liberals or anyone else, just puts a big smile on the face of David Cameron.
“We have 10 days left in what is a very, very important general election and there clearly is a choice between who is going to be Prime Minister, is it going to be David Cameron or Ed Milliband?. Every vote for Labour makes sure we don’t get David Cameron for another five years.
“We’ve seen in the last five years things like the Bedroom Tax, their total lack of concern about people who are working on things like zerohour contracts.
“I think, generally, there is a sense of ‘we understand there is some sort of recovery going on across the United Kingdom, but it does not seem to be one that ordinary people are feeling’.
“That’s the worry. The Tories have broken their promises in the last five years, they’re just making it up as they go along at the moment.”
Ms Flint also moved to reassure voters who may have felt disillusioned by Labour in recent years. She said: “Values of social justice and equality, about helping working people succeed in life and get on was as much part of our values 100 years ago as it is today.
“The truth is, if you want to have those sort of values coming out of Westminster then you need to vote Labour.”