By James Kelly
The Labour heartlands of Glasgow and Central Scotland have never needed a strong Labour Party more. For eight years they have been deceived by Nationalists who talk Left but walk Right.
Just ask Alex Salmond's former head of policy Alex Bell, who looks at the SNP's mealy mouthed rhetoric, compares it to their record and concludes that Scotland's Government is – and I quote – morally dubious.
On health, on education, on justice the SNP would rather point at the polls than deal with the problems. Scotland can't afford another five years of a government that would rather congratulate itself than explain itself.
Scotland at present is a different place than it was 18 months ago. Reflecting on the referendum, I know many Labour members felt their hearts break. By taking a certain position on the constitution, I was called a "red Tory" in the areas I grew up in. The argument is, for better or worse, settled. The question now is who builds a fairer Scotland.
Nicola Sturgeon gave up running the health service to run a referendum campaign, but during that period she also had a day job, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities; a grand title, but a record of utter failure. I should know; I shadowed her through it.
The SNP wants to be judged on its record. In my experience it is an appalling one.
On four separate occasions I asked Ms Sturgeon to back my plans to extend the Living Wage to low-paid jobs such as cleaning, catering and caring.
And on four separate occasions the "Minister for Yes" said no to a fairer Scotland.
I challenged the-now First Minister to back my plans to ban rip-off rent rises so that vulnerable tenants in the private rented sector wouldn't be taken advantage of by rogue landlords.
Again, she said no, this time to fairer rents.
And as we all stand by waiting on the latest delayed, over-crowded, over-priced offering from Abellio, remember it was Ms Sturgeon who said no to my plans to freeze the tendering process while Holyrood gained the powers to deliver a "people's ScotRail" that would put passengers before profit.
The First Minister's entire political career has been defined by left-wing sloganeering matched by right wing governing. After eight years of SNP government, a majority in the parliament and more powers than any First Minister before her, it is clear that the only thing that will deliver a more radical Scotland is Labour MSPs who are willing to argue for what we believe in, and match action to warm words.
Scotland deserves better than this administration: a government that refuses to work with other parties for fear of appearing weak.
In the Justice brief I led Labour’s opposition to the hated Football Act. It gave us a sign of what the SNP would become in government: arrogant, complacent and more concerned with headlines than tackling the real issues.
The reality is that sectarianism in Scotland goes beyond 90 minutes on a Saturday and the way to tackle it is in our classrooms and communities. I proposed an alternative action plan that fell on deaf Nationalist ears.
The SNP bulldozed the Bill through Holyrood, making it the first piece of legislation passed by Holyrood with no cross-party support.
Law-making as a PR exercise inevitably backfired and the episode reveals the SNP in microcosm: desperate to be seen to be doing something rather than actually doing something.
It’s time to talk about the opportunities for Scotland’s future, not the arguments about our past.
I know what it takes to win. I was part of the team that ran our 2012 Glasgow council election campaign: a campaign during which the focus of the SNP was on winning Glasgow, not to make the lives of Glaswegians better but as a “stepping stone to independence”, as one SNP minister put it.
Labour put forward better plans and a positive vision. We retained the council because we put people before politics. It’s how we won before and how we can win again.
I'm standing for the Glasgow list selection because I believe Scotland deserves better than this Government and it needs a strong group of Labour MSPs who won't let the SNP have it all their own way.
James Kelly is Labour MSP for Rutherglen.
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