The Christmas holidays should be a time for relaxation and celebration, but once again the crisis in our NHS has cast a shadow over the break.
Anyone struggling with their health at this time should be able to trust that the NHS will be there for them in their hour of need, but under the SNP that is too often not the case.
The consequences of SNP incompetence for our NHS have been painfully clear this winter. We have seen patients in desperate need of help facing dangerously long waits in A&E. Hospitals stretched to breaking point as flu cases spike. Staff exhausted and demoralised after being bounced from one crisis to another.
Have no doubt – this chaos is costing lives. Analysis by Scottish Labour has shown that long A&E waits may have caused more than 2000 excess deaths in the first ten months of this year alone – before winter even hit.
Winter is always challenging for our NHS, but under the SNP our NHS is at crisis point all year round and the winter months are worse still. Our NHS is constantly teetering on the brink of disaster, unable to cope with the added pressures of the colder months.
As the new year begins, the need for a change in direction could not be clearer. This year Labour began the process of change by getting rid of a disastrous Tory government that was doing so much damage to our country.
It has been a transformative year and I am proud that with your support the hard work of change has begun – but the job is only half done.
Over the course of 2025 – with energy, humility and hard work – I will seek to demonstrate that we need a new direction in Scotland too. Because there is so much more that needs to be done to improve the lives of Scots.
More must be done to ensure that we have public services there to help people in need.
The crisis in our NHS is proof of that – but the challenges our country face run far deeper. We need a change in direction to end the scandal of homelessness and to make our country more equal and more prosperous for all. We need fresh ideas to kickstart growth in our economy and restore our once world-class education system.
These are the challenges that face us. But the potential that our country has knows no limits. Scotland’s best days and years are ahead of us if we are ready to chart a new direction for our country. By working together, we can get Scotland back on track and deliver the change our people need.
So that no one in our society is left behind and so that the enormous potential we have is not wasted. This is the task before us.
So from my family to yours, I hope 2025 brings you health, happiness and success. Happy New Year when it comes.
MAKING WORK PAY
For too long workers in Scotland have been failed by the Tories’ low pay, low growth economy – but Labour’s game-changing plan to Make Work Pay will turn the page on this.
Labour’s plans are expected to save shift workers up to £600 a year by tackling the hidden costs of insecure work – from losing pay when shifts are cancelled to forking out for expensive childcare or transport for last-minute work.
As well as boosting the minimum wage so it is enough to live off, Labour is tackling insecure work by giving guaranteed hours and ensuring workers get reasonable notice of compensation for lost work.
Analysis published today by Scottish Labour has revealed that communities across Scotland stand to benefit disproportionately from these changes.
Scotland is currently the zero-hour contract capital of the UK, with the number of people stuck on these contracts soaring by 31 per cent in a single quarter.
Over 100,000 Scottish workers stand to benefit from Labour’s plans to ban exploitative zero hour contracts, and many more will enjoy stronger protections under Labour’s Employment Rights Bill.
This is the difference a Labour government makes – and this is just the beginning.
BUILDING ON SUCCESS
As families across Scotland gather to celebrate the holidays and look back on the challenges, success and changes that the year has brought, I want to wish you all well for the year ahead. 2024 has been one of the most transformative years in recent history, and I look forward to building on that next year.
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