Labour is just not the solution to pain of UK politics - Lorna Slater

Watching UK politics is a bit like going to the dentist. Nobody likes it or looks forward to doing it, but sometimes you just have to face your fears.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer

I suspect that’s true for many who have endured years of decay under the Tories, not least here in Edinburgh where we see how their policies have worked against our city and the progressive agenda of the Scottish Government.

There’s no doubt the Tories lie at the very root of the trouble. They have tanked the economy, cut vital budgets, undermined devolution and have been the most xenophobic government of modern times.

Yet as much as I want to get rid of the agony they are causing, Labour just isn’t the right solution for Scotland.

Take Palestine where despite the horrors that have been inflicted, Sir Keir Starmer, pictured, has refused to show any kind of leadership.

At their conference his members heeded growing calls to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, yet even since his words have dripped with doublespeak and reluctance.

For the thousands of us who have protested in our city and beyond his hesitance makes us doubt what he says now.

I and my Scottish Green colleagues are unequivocal.

There must be an immediate ceasefire, aid must get in, hostages must be released, and the world must recognise a state of Palestine.

Yet this is far from his only failure.

He has also set fire to his climate and economic agenda by performing the mother of all u-turns and ditching a pledge to spend £28 billion a year on building a green economy and saving the planet.

It is a disastrous step that would both put the brakes on the net zero revolution, and turns our back on the Green jobs it would create. The new green jobs that young people so desperately need.

What message does it send to all those stepping up to take action, when the would-be Prime Minister is running in the opposite direction?

What does it say to the many businesses looking to invest in a greener economy?

Think of the stress it can cause for all of those who are studying for a career in renewables or nature at our schools, colleges and universities, who may be wondering if their choices or degrees are the right ones for the kind of path they thought they could follow.

We don’t have to vote for a Labour government through gritted teeth. There is an alternative. The Scottish Greens will fight for those greener jobs, and for a fairer, greener and better future for people and planet.