WE’LL BE POVERTY BUSTERS
Lennon and Sarwar pledge to help struggling kids
Labour leadership hopefuls Anas Sarwar and Monica Lennon yesterday both vowed to end child poverty at a virtual hustings.
The pair are vying to succeed Richard Leonard after he resigned earlier this month and went head-to-head to set out their vision for members online.
Lennon, 40, the party’s health spokeswoman, said: “The legacy of 14 years of an SNP Government obsessed with independence is more children in poverty. As leader and as Scottish Labour First Minister, my obsession will be ending child poverty within a decade and cutting it by half within five years.
“We will set targets in law for annual reductions and every part of government will be focused on this new national mission.
“This week, I published initial p ropos a l s for achieving this, including increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £30 per week in the next pa r l i ament a r y term.”
The former town planner and South Lanarkshire councillor added: “I understand that struggle. Family and community shaped my politics.
“I learned about the dignity of work f rom my dad, a second chance at education helped him to work his way up to be a health and safety manager within the local council.
“My dad had his own struggles, mainly with alcohol. That forced him to stop working at the young age of 50. Just 10 years older than I am now. He died from alcohol- related illnesses at 60.
“It was devastating. However, it also made me more determined to fight for better healthcare and support for people before they reach a crisis.”
Sarwar insisted he was the candidate to return “calm, empathy, hope and unity” to politics.
The 37-year-old added: “I want to build an economy that works for everyone, create and protect new jobs and tackle climate change while recognising the need for international cooperation. “That will mean building an education system which is once again a global beacon of hope around the world and it will mean rebuilding our NHS so it never again has to choose between treating a virus and treating cancer. This should be our collective national mission to reunite our party behind, and also our collective national mission to unite our country behind.”
Sarwar listed a “business restart fund” and a “national training fund” as two policies he would pursue if elected.
He added: “Having a recovery that leaves nobody behind means ending child poverty and I would double the Scottish Chi ld Payment so we can achieve this by 2030.”
The most significant policy deviation between the pair is on the question of a second independence referendum.
Sarwar believes there should not be one but Lennon has suppor ted the Scott ish Parliament’s right to decide.
Lennon has won the support of Scotland’s biggest trade union Unite and Sarwar has the backing of the GMB union and a majority of MSPs. The winner is to be announced on February 27.