This weekend, Scottish Labour Party members will gather in Glasgow for our annual conference. With our NHS in constant crisis, schools slipping down international league tables and a housing crisis, it could not be clearer that Scotland needs a new direction.
Our opponents want you to believe that this is as good as it gets. They want you to think that things can’t get better. They don’t want you to hope for a brighter future for you, your family and your community.
Populists thrive when people despair. When people feel that the system isn’t working for them. When people give up. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Scotland’s best days can lie ahead of us, but to achieve that we must change course.
We must recognise where things have gone wrong, and set out a clear plan to save our NHS, grow our economy and rebuild local services.
Over this weekend and in the year ahead, Scottish Labour will make the case for the new direction we believe Scotland can and must take in 2026.
As Scottish Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance, it is my job to set out the new direction that we will set for Scotland’s finances. We are determined to cut out the waste and get value for your money.
The SNP has been reckless with your money, wasting over £6 billion on things like ferries that don’t sail, bloated bureaucracies, countless strategy documents and consultations, a National Care Service that will not deliver a single extra care worker and a Deposit Return Scheme that didn’t recycle a single bottle.
Just this month, it was revealed that the new Barlinnie will now cost more than double the original price tag.
Despite grave warnings from experts about the long-term risks to Scotland’s Budget, the SNP continues to spend money they do not have and promise what they cannot deliver.
We all know what it means to live within a budget. We all do it every month. But the SNP has shown it is unwilling, or unable, to do that. They have lost control of the public finances and ordinary Scots are paying the price.
It has to stop. This is the new direction that a Scottish Labour Government will deliver in 2026.
We will cut wasteful spending and get value for taxpayers’ money, freeing up more money to spend on services that matter to you, such as ending the 8am rush and delivering more GP appointments.
We will ensure that major projects like ferries, hospitals and roads are delivered on time and in budget. We will deliver a long-term plan for Scotland’s finances which is responsible and sustainable.
Scottish Labour’s ambition for Scotland is limitless. Together, we can build a brighter future for Scotland.
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