MP Murray’s path is the one to follow

ALMOST a decade ago Labour was all but wiped out in Scotland after losing 40 seats to be left with just one MP.

Across the country, many voters had lost faith in a party they felt was taking them for granted and they made their feelings clear in the 2015 general election.

There was a feeling that Labour had lost touch with the concerns of ordinary families who were being battered by Tory austerity.

At that time, the SNP had delivered popular policies at Holyrood and it ushered in a crop of new MPs who seemed to view their new jobs as an honour not a birthright.

Whether you supported independence or not there was a perception that this was a party that understood the lives and struggles of real people and would fight to make things better.

Today as we approach the General Election, the tables have turned again.

It is the SNP that now looks out of touch, with its obsessive focus on gender politics, a catalogue of scandals and lacking basic competence in government.

Question marks remain for Labour over how it will deliver the much change the country desperately needs.

Constantly repeating the word change will not make it happen and Keir Starmer will not be forgiven if he fails to match promises with a policy agenda that takes steps to redistribute wealth in an increasingly unequal society and rebuild public services.

What cannot be denied is there is an air of determination and hope among candidates and activists who joined Labour not to secure a comfortable career but because they believe in its founding principles.

In the 2015 general election, the one MP Labour retained in Scotland was Ian Murray in Edinburgh South, with an increased majority of 2637.

He bucked the trend by doing the simple things right – talking to his constituents, understanding their problems and working to make their lives better.

It is telling that this weekend he gave up his tickets to watch Scotland play at the Euros to hit the campaign trail with Anas Sarwar and Angela Rayner.

While the SNP seemed more concerned with knocking back beers in Germany, Murray was knocking doors and talking to voters in Barrhead.

If Keir Starmer wants his tenure to be a long one, he should take a leaf out of Murray’s book.