Election is straight choice between a broken status quo or change with Labour - Ian Murray

Labour leader Keir Starmer and his Scottish counterpart Anas Sarwar greet supporters during the launch of the Scottish Labour general election campaign (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)Labour leader Keir Starmer and his Scottish counterpart Anas Sarwar greet supporters during the launch of the Scottish Labour general election campaign (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Labour leader Keir Starmer and his Scottish counterpart Anas Sarwar greet supporters during the launch of the Scottish Labour general election campaign (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Being MP for Edinburgh South is an enormous privilege. I am immensely grateful for the support I have had from voters since first being elected in 2010, and I hope to have the opportunity to continue serving this wonderful part of our city.

The general election has finally arrived, and I am looking forward to the campaign in Edinburgh South and building on the thousands of conversations I have had with local residents. If re-elected, I will continue to champion every constituent and fight for what matters to people here, such as better access to a GP. I will also be travelling across Scotland to talk with voters in every part of the country.

Voting Labour on July 4 is the only route to booting out this rotten Tory government and delivering the change that our country needs. It’s an opportunity we cannot afford to miss. Whatever the SNP might claim, this election is a straight choice between a broken status quo with two bad governments, or change with Labour.

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Other parties want to use this election to send a message: the SNP wants to send a message to the Tories, and the Tories want to send a message to the SNP. What low aspirations for our country. Rather than voting to send a message, how about we vote to send a government to Westminster with Scotland at its beating heart? That’s what electing Labour MPs will achieve.

Keir Starmer has been clear that Scotland is key to delivering change across the entire UK. Part of that change is what a Labour-run Scotland Office can deliver – particularly for our economy, which has been trashed by the Tories and SNP. Labour will maximise Scotland’s influence by using the UK’s global trade networks to promote Scottish businesses, boost exports and attract investment to create jobs.

Our produce like whisky and salmon are already world-leading, and our achievements in the fields of science, education and innovation are the greatest of any country on earth. But for more than a decade we have had two governments more interested in selling their version of Scotland to Scots, rather than selling Scotland to the world.

A UK Labour Government would change that – we would work with the Scottish Government to promote our brilliant country and all we have to offer. This is just one example of the change for Scotland that Labour will deliver. We will grow our economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible, cut NHS waiting lists by cracking down on tax avoidance and non-doms, and set up GB Energy to boost energy security – headquartered here in Scotland.

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It will be funded by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants that the SNP opposes. I can’t stress enough the difference it will make having Scottish MPs who want to deliver change, rather than MPs from other parties that only deliver stunts. Remember Ian Blackford leading a walkout of Prime Minister’s Questions? Or Douglas Ross not knowing whether Boris Johnson should stay or go?

For too long we’ve had two parties who only want to use politics to send a message. In a matter of weeks, we can use politics to send a government – that’s the change that Edinburgh, Scotland and the UK needs.

Ian Murray MP is Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland

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