Happy New Year!
As many of us do at this time of year, I spent the festive period reflecting. Last year was undoubtedly one of the most challenging years for Stirling, Scotland and people right across the UK. Coming out of the pandemic we went straight into a Tory cost of living crisis, fuelled by Brexit. Despite being self-sufficient in energy and supplying most of the UK’s power, Scottish people must pay record prices as the cost of Westminster failure.
At Westminster we have seen nothing but corruption, incompetence, scandals, and the shameful denial of Scottish democracy. There was also the fiasco of three different Prime Ministers through the revolving door of Downing Street. This included the shortest serving PM in history, who managed to crash the economy in her 44 days “in charge”.
In Scotland we got on with the day job and did all we could in our Parliament to mitigate the worst of the Westminster mess. We allocated almost £3 billion to help families and households deal with the increased cost of living. This included support for energy bills, childcare, health and travel, as well as social security payments not available anywhere else in the UK. We increased our Scottish Child Payment to £25 per child per week and put in place safeguards for tenants of private and social housing. We would like to do so much more, yet Westminster holds the real powers needed, such as borrowing, energy policy, the minimum wage, National Insurance and 85% of social security spending.
On a personal level, during 2022, I met with over 60 local businesses, charities, and organisations across our constituency. I always feel privileged to hear their often very personal stories of success, challenges, and future plans. These stories, and those I receive from constituents, informed my 79 contributions in our Scottish Parliament last year.
The Conservative and Labour leaders have also been reflecting on the year ahead. But after 12 years of a Conservative Government, and an opposition without ideas yet desperate for power, there is no prospect of change or improvement.
Rishi Sunak promises to halve inflation this year. But this is a meaningless pledge as economists and the Bank of England suggest that inflation has already peaked. But even half of our current inflation rate is a symbol of Tory failure. Whilst taxes, food prices, energy costs and mortgages soar, more people will be forced to choose between heating and eating.
The Labour party now backs Brexit, something that Scotland voted against. Labour is also terrified of a vote on Scottish independence, remaining staunchly against allowing our people a say in their future. And Starmer’s latest big idea is to adopt Conservative clothing and rehash the ‘take back control’ slogan from the disastrous Brexit.
Real political change is needed. That will only come through Scottish independence. The structure of Westminster means Scotland is governed by parties it does not vote for, and whose policies don’t reflect our values. And the longer we remain part of the Union, the longer it will take to repair the damage it inflicts on Scotland year on year. And last year’s Supreme Court judgement shows that this union is not one of equals.
My resolution for 2023 is to resume the fight against this affront to democracy, as well as to continue to champion the needs of my constituents, as we work to build a fairer and more equal Scotland.
