Dear Nicola Sturgeon and Rishi Sunak, I've drawn up some New Year's resolutions for both of you – Ian Murray

I write this in that strangest of weeks when it’s easy to lose track of what day it is.
Nicola Sturgeon should resolve to put unity ahead of division over the independence question (Picture: Jane Barlow/pool/Getty Images)Nicola Sturgeon should resolve to put unity ahead of division over the independence question (Picture: Jane Barlow/pool/Getty Images)
Nicola Sturgeon should resolve to put unity ahead of division over the independence question (Picture: Jane Barlow/pool/Getty Images)

For those lucky enough to enjoy a break from work, it’s perhaps a time to relax with loved ones, switch off, eat leftovers and watch too much TV. For many others, including emergency service workers, shop and hospitality personnel, taxi and public transport drivers, care and charity staff, clergy and journalists, it’s an incredibly busy time.

My heartfelt thanks go to everyone in Edinburgh who has worked over this festive period, particularly those at the ERI and in our NHS, as well as those who can’t spend time with their families, such as members of our Armed Forces.

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My thoughts are also with those who find this time of year difficult, perhaps because it brings back memories of those absent or because they are struggling with loneliness.

This week, as 2022 draws to a close, is an opportunity for looking ahead, preparing for new challenges, and facing the future with some optimism and hope.

Change is possible, and collectively we can resolve to fight for the change we need. For the Labour Party, 2023 will be a year when we focus on building a country filled with empathy, unity and hope. It’s not just about wishing for a better future; it’s about coming together to build one.

A general election is on the horizon, and that is the vehicle to deliver the fresh start this country needs by electing a Labour government. Early in 2023, the SNP’s attention will also turn to that election, but for different reasons. For Nicola Sturgeon and the nationalists, it’s about how to make that contest about constitutional division.

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I know the First Minister isn’t good at keeping her promises to the people of Scotland, but if I may suggest what her New Year resolutions should be… for once, given the extraordinary challenges facing Scots, please choose to focus on unity, not the division that defines nationalism. Put the NHS, schools and community services ahead of your obsession with independence.

For Health Secretary Humza Yousaf, his resolution must be to fix NHS waiting times, which are now by far the worst on record. I make it my own resolution to hold him and the SNP government to account for failing my constituents in south Edinburgh, where there is a GP crisis. I vow to spend this year fighting for the extra GP surgery the area so desperately needs.

When it comes to the Tories, if Rishi Sunak won’t resign, he should resolve to understand what empathy is. It’s not going to be an easy challenge, as we saw when he met a homeless man at Christmas. And every member of his Cabinet should get round the table with the unions and negotiate so we can end the plethora of planned strikes and pay our workers fairly.

The year ahead will be fraught with challenges as the recession deepens, and those in power need to be compelled to do more. By bringing people and communities together, not pulling them apart, we can resolve to tackle these hardships head on. That is an opportunity.

Ahead of the bells, I wish all readers a New Year that brings health and happiness.

Ian Murray is Labour MP for Edinburgh South

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