LibDems want mental health first in recovery
Party calls for local services to reduce wait times
THE Liberal Democrats have put mental health at the centre of their plans for a post Covid recovery. The party, which currently has no MSPs in Glasgow, wants to recruit more mental health specialists and counsellors to get people the support they need.
Willie Rennie, Scottish LibDem leader, said the focus of the next Scottish Parliament has to be recovery after Covid.
His party’s manifesto lists recovery in the economy, in the health service and in education to get Scotland back on track after the impact of more than a year of lockdown.
It proposes an “education bounce back” plan with more inclass support and a teacher job guarantee as well as free childcare for two-year-olds.
On the NHS, it calls for more local health services to reduce waiting times, 15% of new health spending for mental health and double the number of staff in training and national care standards for care users, and new fair pay standards for staff.
On the economy, the LibDems want to see a job guarantee for young people and graduate internships for small businesses.
It proposes offering people up to £5000 to retrain and future-proof their career, backed by support and advice, and a tax cut for high streets to help businesses compete with online.
On the environment, it calls for switching one million homes to climate-friendly heating and converting the public sector to electric vehicles to guarantee a new reliable charging network.
Rennie said: “Liberal Democrats will put recovery first, not independence.
“That means an NHS recovery plan. It means a greater priority for mental health with extra counsellors, mental health first aiders and specialists for easy access near to you.
“Bounce back support for pupils, employing more permanent teachers to cut class sizes, and extend free nursery education to all two-year-olds.
“Creating more jobs and taking action on the climate with
1 million low cost, low carbon homes, a young people’s job guarantee and £5000 training grants. That’s what you get when you put recovery first.”
The LibDems are looking to win their first MSP in Glasgow since Robert Brown, who was a list MSP from 1999 to 2011. They failed at the last two elections to win one of the seven regional list seats in the city and have had no councillors in Glasgow since 2017. The party is targeting winning list seats across the eight regions to increase its MSP group at Holyrood.
Rennie added: “After the year
we have endured we must bring the country together to recover from this dreadful pandemic.
“This is not the moment to go back to the divisions of the past with another independence referendum that will divide, because the recovery will require the skills and talents of everyone. Just imagine what we can do.
“To cut mental health waits. Faster treatment in the NHS. Giving pupils the education they deserve to achieve their best. Creating well paid jobs with a skilled workforce. Taking bold action to tackle climate change.”
We will put recovery first, not a referendum