Our NHS needs a Labour government now more than ever

Today marks 69 years since Clement Attlee’s Labour government created our National Health Service.

In 1948, in the aftermath of war and national bankruptcy, it was a Labour government which found the resources to create a National Health Service (NHS) – our proudest achievement – providing universal healthcare for all on the basis of need, free at the point of use.

And, as we are all too often reminded by the actions of other political parties, it is only Labour which truly protects the NHS.

The Tories have consistently undermined our health service and have spent the last seven years fighting with junior doctors.

The SNP’s running of our NHS in Scotland has been calamitous.

Just yesterday it was revealed that 20 operations have been cancelled every day since the start of the year due to a lack of beds or staff.

At the start of this week we found out there are over 1,000 fewer registered nurses or midwives working in the health service than there were in 2014. This is the legacy of Nicola Sturgeon’s time as Health Secretary, when she cut the number of training places available.

And last week statistics showed 12 of the 14 health boards in Scotland missed their 62-day cancer treatment standard.

Without doubt there’s a crisis in our NHS. The harsh reality is we have a government in Westminster which doesn’t care about our NHS and a government in Scotland more interested in running a referendum campaign than a health service.

Labour would do things differently.

We created the NHS and we will be the ones to save it.

In our manifesto, which inspired millions across Britain to come out and vote, we pledged to end the pay freeze on our hard-working nurses and NHS staff.

We would massively increase the funding available to our health service by making the richest in society pay their fair share.

A Labour government would be a government focused on delivering for and expanding our health service, not another divisive independence referendum.

We would restore the NHS to what it was originally intended to be – a health service for the many, not the few.



Insecure work soars under SNP

Figures revealed by Labour today show insecure work has increased by nearly a third since 2011.

            
The figures show 220,000 people in Scotland are in low paid or insecure work, a 32 per cent rise since the SNP won a majority in 2011.


This is indicative of the kind of economy we have seen under the Tories and the SNP. Frankly, it’s an economy that works only for the privileged few.


While it is a huge relief that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures released today show Scotland avoiding recession, this was a narrow escape for our economy.


And the long-term trends are still worrying. The average annual change showed growth of only 0.5 per cent, compared to 1.9 per cent across the UK.


But GDP growth figures don’t show the reality of the economy for many people across the country. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland, and millions across Britain, who from week to week don’t know how many hours they will work. Single parents who don’t know if their job will provide them with enough money to feed their children in any given week.


The United Kingdom is one of the wealthiest nations on earth. It is utterly appalling that there should be anyone, let alone hundreds of thousands, using food banks. Yet that is the reality for many families across our country.


The SNP often cries foul, pointing the finger of blame at others, but it has run a Scottish Government with more control over the economy than any other administration, for the last decade. The growth in insecure work is the SNP’s responsibility.


We would do things differently.


Labour’s government-in-waiting in Westminster would ban zero hour contracts across the UK and we would increase the minimum wage to a real living wage of £10 per hour.


We’d repeal the Trade Union Act and guarantee trade unions access into every work place, reversing the ebbing away of workers’ rights we have seen under Tory and SNP governments.

 

And this week Jackie Baillie will launch our industrial strategy.


It’s time to build an economy that works for the many, not the few.


Agree? Join us at https://scotlandjoin.labour.org.uk



Scottish Labour calls for action on ScotRail performance

Fewer than half of ScotRail services arrive on time at as many as 20 stations across Scotland, new figures have revealed.

The latest data from ScotRail, covering the period May 28 to June 24, shows that under 50 per cent of services were on time at these stations.

Scottish Labour's Neil Bibby MSP has called on SNP Transport Minister Humza Yousaf to demand improvements from ScotRail over the summer, to prevent a repeat of the chaos that blighted the network last autumn and winter.

Public satisfaction with ScotRail is at a 14-year low and passengers are losing patience with Humza Yousaf’s failure to act. They are fed up with overcrowded, delayed and cancelled trains.

Humza Yousaf cannot allow a repeat of the chaos that blighted the rail network last autumn and winter, and that means getting on top of performance when weather is better during the summer months.

There are 73 stations listed in the ScotRail performance report. Of those, 20 stations recorded an on-time performance of less than 50 per cent. On-time is the percentage of services which arrive within 59 seconds of their arrival time, having called at all stations on the route.

The 20 stations are:

  1. Arbroath 38.7%
  2. Ardrossan Harbour 26.5%
  3. Balloch 48.9%
  4. Bathgate 48.2%
  5. Carnoustie 38.6%
  6. Dalmuir 45.6%
  7. Elgin 40.8%
  8. Girvan 41.3%
  9. Helensburgh Central 49.3%
  10. Lanark 43.7%
  11. Largs 32.2%
  12. Markinch 43.0%
  13. Milngavie 26%
  14. Motherwell 49.2%
  15. Partick 44.5%
  16. Paisley Canal 41.2%
  17. Tain 45.4%
  18. Tweedbank 46.1%
  19. Whifflet 48.3%
  20. Wick 40.9%


Labour keeps up the pressure on public sector pay

3 July 2017

Public sector workers need a pay rise. That's why today Kez Dugdale has written to Nicola Sturgeon calling for clarity on vague promises about a pay rise.

The story so far…

On 10 May 2017, Nicola Sturgeon and other SNP MSPs voted against a Labour motion at Holyrood to scrap the 1% pay cap on NHS staff and give NHS staff a real terms pay rise instead. 

Then, on 21 May, Nicola Sturgeon was heckled by a nurse on NHS pay. 

After the General Election, SNP MPs supported a Labour motion at Westminster to lift the public sector pay cap.

Now, the SNP government at Holyrood is promsing to lift the cap – despite voting against just weeks ago.  

That's why today Kez Dugdale has written to Nicola Sturgeon looking for answers on her vague promises, and keeping the pressure on the SNP government to deliver a pay rise for public sector workers.

Agree with us that Scotland's public sector workers need a payrise? Then join today and let's fight for a Scotland for the many, not the few. 



It’s time to end Tory and SNP austerity

REVEALED: THE SNP HAS CUT COUNCIL SERVICES THREE TIMES FASTER THAN THE SCOTTISH BUDGET HAS BEEN CUT

A report by independent experts has revealed that the SNP government has cut council services three times faster than the Scottish Budget has been cut.
Research by the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) shows local government budgets have plummeted by 4.6 per cent between 2013/14 and 2016/17.
Over the same period, the Scottish Government’s budget has decreased by 1.5 per cent.
This shows that the SNP has taken Tory austerity and passed it on to the poorest communities.
Figures published by the SNP government confirms that the majority of council spending in Scotland is on education and social work.
Instead of using the new powers of the Scottish Parliament to invest, SNP Ministers have slashed £1.5billion from local services since 2011.
We will continue to press the case to use the tax powers to stop the cuts and invest in public services instead. 

Scottish Labour deputy leader Alex Rowley said:
“This report proves that the SNP has taken Tory austerity and passed it on to Scottish communities.
“The SNP has cut spending in local communities three times faster than the Tories have cut the Scottish budget.
“Those cuts fall on the poorest the hardest – the biggest chunk of council spending is schools, nurseries, and social work.
“This is SNP austerity, increasing poverty and leading to thousands of redundancies across Scotland.
“It is clear that Scotland is sick and tired of austerity. Only Labour is actively making the case to use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to stop the cuts and invest instead.”