An opportunity Scotland can’t afford to miss

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar launches the party's general election manifesto

This week I helped launch Scottish Labour’s General Election manifesto at the home of Scottish rugby, Edinburgh’s own Murrayfield Stadium this week. Although in recent weeks the stadium is perhaps better known as the home of Taylor Swift.

Either way, Edinburgh is crying out for change. As I knock on doors across the city, I speak to voters every day who are tired of the sleaze, tired of the chaos and want to see a Labour government replace the Tories.

Our manifesto outlines outline six first steps for change which will deliver for every household in Edinburgh. First, we will deliver economic stability to grow our economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages low after the chaos of the Truss budget which crashed our economy and sent mortgages soaring.

We will cut NHS waiting times by investing in our NHS and funding 160,000 additional appointments every year in Scotland, paid for by cracking down on tax breaks for the super rich. We will set up GB Energy in Scotland, a publicly-owned clean power company, to create good jobs and cut bills for good, paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants. A New Deal for Working People will ban exploitative zero-hour contracts and deliver a genuine living wage for 200,000 Scots including 40,000 young people.

We will create jobs and opportunities for young people by improving access to apprenticeships, supporting first-time buyers, and creating 69,000 Scottish jobs in the clean energy industries of the future. And we will maximise Scotland’s influence using the UK's footprint on the global stage to promote Scottish businesses, boost exports, and attract investment to create jobs. A Labour government in Westminster will have Scotland at its heart, working to deliver the change our country needs. This will be the start of a process. A down payment for change so we can start to undo the damage of 14 years of Tory chaos and 17 years of SNP incompetence.

Joining me at the event was Doug Thomson. Doug works in financial services and is a member of my own local Labour party in Edinburgh South. But before that, Doug was a card carrying member of the SNP, and even stood for selection to run against me for the SNP in a previous General Election.

Now Murrayfield has seen some impressive conversions over the year, but Doug’s journey is one thousands of people across Scotland have taken, moving away from the SNP and towards Labour under the leadership of Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar as we put our party back in the service of working people again.

We’re two weeks away from polling day. In a matter of days, we can vote to make sure we get rid of the Tory government and replace it with a Labour government which has Scottish Labour MPs at its heart. Like a last second drop goal to win the Calcutta Cup, that’s an opportunity Edinburgh and Scotland can’t afford to miss.

Ian Murray is Scottish Labour candidate for Edinburgh South

An opportunity Scotland can’t afford to miss - Ian Murray