Monica Lennon toanas Sarwar

Here, Monica Lennon asks her fellow MSP and rival in the Scottish Labour leadership election, Anas Sarwar, the questions as the pair vie to take charge and forge a new future for the people’s party

ML: You’ve spoken about the need for greater party unity. What’s the first thing you would do if elected to make this a reality?

AS: We can’t hope to reunite Scotland if we can’t reunite our own party, so this is vital to our recovery. In recent years I’ve been working hard to bring our diverse communities together – listening and learning – and that’s the approach I will bring to our party as leader.

Leading with honesty and humility is an important part of that. I want to lead a team that draws on all the talents of our Labour and trade union movement so that we can focus on Covid recovery.

The attainment gap in Scotland was a serious problem before the pandemic and is likely to get even more serious. What measures would you take to ensure all Scottish children have the same opportunities regardless of economic circumstances? Nicola Sturgeon has broken her promise to the people of Scotland and has utterly failed to close the attainment gap.

Our schools are underresourced and understaffed, and the most important measure we can take is to reverse the SNP’S £400 million cuts to school budgets since 2010 and ensure extra funding for schools with high levels of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Over the last year, lower-paid workers have kept Scotland going in the most difficult circumstances. What steps would you take to reduce the disparity between those key workers and the wealthiest in our society? The pandemic has shown us who truly runs our country: dedicated NHS staff, shopworkers, public transport and taxi drivers, emergency services workers, and many more. Applause is not enough

– we need to give key workers the pay rise they deserve, starting with a £15 an-hour wage for social care workers.

I have also put forward a National Recovery Training Fund offering everyone on Universal Credit access to training and advice on reskilling for jobs in growing sectors, and a Business Restart Fund for small businesses and sectors shut down during the pandemic. Later this year the eyes of the world will be on Scotland as Glasgow hosts the 26th UN Climate Change Conference. What policies would you introduce to make Scotland world-leaders in climate reduction?

The shock of this pandemic cannot be a dress rehearsal for a climate crisis to plunge us deeper into the inequalities that have risen sharply over the last 12 months.

We need a Climate Justice Plan that has green jobs creation at its core, to provide a just transition for workers, and bring innovation and creative sustainable solutions.

What do you regard as the biggest single achievement in your political career?

I have led many campaigns, but I have a particular passion for our NHS, having been an NHS dentist before entering politics. I was proud to lead the campaign in parliament to end the NHS pay cap; a policy that disproportionately impacted women.

Alongside that, we should never forget that politics is also about challenging power to deliver justice. That’s why winning the public inquiry into the failings at the Queen Elizabeth University

Hospital also means so much to me. I won’t rest until I get justice for the family of Milly Main and other children.

What’s the one flagship policy we can take into the Holyrood elections to defeat the SNP?

That the next five years must be a “Covid Recovery Parliament” which reflects the priorities of the people of Scotland. We can’t go back to the old divisive politics and an endless debate about another independence referendum.

We should shift the debate with a focus on ending inequality, and a flagship policy to end child poverty by 2030. You’ve served under a number of leaders. What’s the best lesson you’ve learnt from them?

I remember Johann Lamont always reminded her Shadow Cabinet: “Don’t just tell me your priorities, show me your budget. I served Kez Dugdale as her Shadow Health Secretary and she rightly demanded that our politics was rooted in people’s lived experiences.

And I worked with Richard Leonard on the constitution and he was always clear our position had to be driven by the principles of solidarity and social justice. Scotland’s men’s football team take part in their first major tournament for more than two decades this summer. Your predictions for our games against the Czech Republic, Croatia and England?

I hope I don’t jinx us! I think we will get through to the last 16. I think we lose to Croatia, but beat the Czech Republic. So it all comes down to the England game. I dream of a famous Wembley victory.