GE will be won on the cost-of-living crisis

FOLLOWING last week’s local council election results it’s hard not see a glimmer of hope for the Scottish Labour Party which under the stewardship of Anas Sarwar has found renewed focus and hunger for winning. It’s been a long time coming – and long may it continue.

Like many people, I didn’t get into politics to shout from the sidelines. I got into politics to make things better for people and families, to make Scotland the best country in the world – it’s good to see that this is now the consensus of opinion in the party.

It may sound harsh but the reality is that in politics, if you’re not in power you’re not changing anything. However, an effective opposition can, in many respects, influence the narrative, and in Scotland we are starting to see that happen as a result of Sarwar’s leadership of Scottish Labour.

Politics is a funny old business and it wasn’t that long ago when Conservative MPs would often say that the country needs a credible and effective opposition to be able to challenge the Government.

We have that in Westminster with Keir Starmer and Sarwar in Holyrood.

But now we have a Conservative government that isn’t governing whatsoever. In Scotland, we have a government that tries to make itsself look professional and competent by announcing that it found the missing document related to the ferry fiasco.

However, questions about signoff, checks and balances remain unanswered.

It’s hard not to convey a sense of frustration knowing that many people across Scotland will fall victim to the growing cost of living crisis.

One of the many things I like about Sarwar and his leadership is that he is in touch with the mood of the country. He understands that to be in power we need to give the people a reason to vote for us. This takes time.

I’m more than confident that the Labour Party in Scotland is on an upward trajectory. But while the victory is small, the reality is that the task ahead will be challenging. However, it’s one we won’t shy away from as this is about the future direction of Scotland and ensuring that people are looked after.

It is often said that in business there are no problems, just solutions, but the one constant narrative that we are hearing from this out-of-touch Conservative government is that things will get more expensive.

But what they aren’t telling us is what is their plan is to help families and businesses. There is no plan, no strategy and no offer. It’s fair to say that the “nasty party” is back but the “nasty party” hadn’t actually gone anywhere.

The big question everyone will be asking is: what does the local council election result mean? The outcome will mean different things to different people but taking the spin out of the analysis, it shows that the people of Scotland are looking for a real alternative to the SNP and the Scottish Conservative Party. It also shows that the SNP can be beaten – just look at West Dunbartonshire Council which is now a Labour-controlled local authority.

The SNP have always known that it is Scottish Labour they need to worry about and although they put out a line that Labour threw everything it had to win back Glasgow and still couldn’t, it demonstrates an arrogance. In many respects, that complacency goes to the heart of the SNP, both locally and nationally.

The reality is that in the next General Election, or even before it, the electorate will be looking for a party that is going to help them with the cost-of-living crisis. This means coming up with a policy that people can get behind.

Just the other day someone mentioned a phrase that I hadn’t heard before – “meconomy” – to describe how it is the economy that voters think about although more on a micro level.

For me, this sums up what people will be looking for from the Labour Party across the UK – tangible policies that are easy to understand.