How the coronavirus outbreak is teaching us a political lesson – Ian Murray MP

The Covid-19 crisis is teaching us again the value of community, of solidarity and pulling together towards a common goal, writes Ian Murray MP.

Ian Murray is the Labour MP for Edinburgh South

The coronavirus crisis poses an unprecedented challenge for Edinburgh’s economy. A major economic contraction is inevitable, but I was stunned this week to learn about the potential scale of the impact.

The respected Fraser of Allander Institute has estimated that if lockdown measures continue for a three-month period, the Scottish economy could shrink by up to a quarter. That will have a huge impact on local jobs and household incomes here in the capital – the driver of Scotland’s economy. The economic concerns are reflected in my caseload which has been deluged by residents who are fearful about their employment and employers not knowing if their businesses can survive.

The positive news is that Edinburgh is a resilient city and communities are coming together to support each other. That will be required more than ever after the immediate crisis has been averted and will go a considerable way towards a faster bounce back of the economy.

Sir Keir Starmer, the new leader of the Labour Party, was a breath of fresh air about working with government but also holding them to account (Picture: Getty)

But the challenge is that this crisis is hitting all parts of the economy at the same time. Our local economy is underpinned by the financial services industry, tourism, hospitality and our universities. All four of those sectors will be hit particularly hard.

The depth of the post-coronavirus crisis will demand a whole-country response to recover as quickly as possible and that means we can’t go back to the same old politics.

This crisis is teaching us again the value of community, of solidarity and pulling together towards a common goal.

Politicians from all parties and none will have to work together like never before. That’s why on Saturday morning, when Keir Starmer was elected as the new leader of the Labour Party, it felt like there was a new dawn for both the Labour Party and the country.

He immediately set out the case for working closely with both the UK and Scottish Governments to get through this crisis but also to hold them to account, scrutinise their decisions, and be the voice of the public’s concerns. What a breath of fresh air – sensible, pragmatic, principled, and experienced.

It doesn’t matter what political party you support, our entire system relies on there being a strong opposition to the government that can be a credible alternative. The Labour Party now offers that.

That is why I am so delighted to join Keir’s shadow cabinet. There is lots of work to be done in the Labour Party to win back voters’ trust and there is even more work to be done in Scotland, but I am up for that battle.

And that is why the election of Keir Starmer is interconnected to the aftermath of this crisis. We need politics to change. We need the ideological division to be set aside. We need the populist nationalism that has paralysed and poisoned our politics to be gone. We need the entirety of our political and governmental institutions to be working solely in the national interest to get through this crisis and recover as soon as possible.

It is not going to be easy. It’s really tough at the moment. But as the Queen said on Sunday, we’ll get through it and we’ll meet again.

Whatever our politics, I know we all share a deep gratitude to everyone in our NHS, care service, shops, transport and all key workers. We all appreciate it. The applause we collectively give at 8pm on a Thursday is genuine. I can’t quite work out how it is such an emotional experience, but it is, and it’s from the heart. Thank you.

Ian Murray is the Labour MP for Edinburgh South