Scottish Labour

Next month marks 12 years since the Bosnian town of Srebrenica was seized by General Ratko Mladić. What followed was the worst atrocity on European soil since World War Two – almost 9,000 Muslim men and boys were murdered because of their religion and between 20,000 and 50,000 women were raped.

Last year, along with the other main party leaders, I launched the education resources for the charity Remembering Srebrenica Scotland. They were setup to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide and to help teach us lessons of tolerance by remembering the past. By sharing the stories of the Mothers of Srebrenica and other survivors of genocide I believe we can inspire people in Scotland to tackle hatred when they see it and therefore make our communities safer and more cohesive.

This week I’ve been in Srebrenica with Remembering Srebrenica Scotland hearing those harrowing stories first hand. From meeting survivors to seeing bullet holes in almost every building you don’t have to look hard to see the marks of the horrors.

Next month, Remembering Srebrenica’s National Commemoration in Scotland will take place in Glasgow at the Mitchell Library. On Friday the 14th July, you can go along and hear the powerful testimony of the founder of the Association of Women Victims of War, Bakira Hasečić. But no matter where you are next month, I hope you will join me in reflecting on this horrific genocide, and how we can work to prevent anything like this ever happening again.

(This article originally appeared in Kez’s Daily Record Column on 13 June 2017)

(Pictures by John Young / www.YoungMedia.co.uk)

Well, what a result. Everyone wrote the Labour Party off – both here in Scotland, and across the UK. But we defied the pollsters, with Labour making significant gains on what will be remembered as a historic election night. In Scotland we… read more

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Nicola Sturgeon’s broken record in government will be exposed today in a new Labour Party Election Broadcast.

The hard-hitting PEB, to be broadcast this evening, accuses the SNP leader of ‘playing a broken record’ as she continues to campaign for a divisive second independence referendum, rather than fixing our schools and hospitals.

The PEB will highlight:

• We have 4,000 fewer teachers, an attainment gap between richer and poorer pupils, bigger class sizes and declining results.
• More than 90,000 patients had to wait longer than four hours at A&E in 2016, while nurses have faced a real-terms pay cut.
• Local services like care for the elderly and schools will be hit with nearly £170m of cuts this year alone.

Nicola Sturgeon’s answer to all these problems facing Scotland is another referendum.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said: “On Thursday, people can send Nicola Sturgeon a message that she should focus on the day job, rather than forcing another independence referendum that people in Scotland don’t want.

“After ten years of the SNP campaigning for independence, Scotland’s schools and hospitals have suffered. Nicola Sturgeon’s answer is another referendum – she is playing a broken record.

“On Thursday, voters can elect a Labour MP who will spend every day fighting for local services, or they can elect an SNP MP who will spend every day campaigning for another divisive independence referendum.

“Only Labour can defeat the SNP in the majority of seats across Scotland, including Edinburgh South, East Lothian, Lanark and Hamilton East, Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, Midlothian, and Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.

“With a Labour government in Westminster, Scotland will be part of a country run for the many not the few.”

Commenting on the terrorist attacks in London, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said:

“My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families after the horrific terrorist attacks in London last night.

“Once again our nation finds itself under attack from those who hate our way of life and seek to change us. But we will not allow that to happen, because the values that they hate – democracy, the rule of law and tolerance – are what make our country so special. It’s why Britain is a beacon for other nations around the world. We will not let the terrorists win.

“We must also thank those in our emergency services who yet again put themselves in danger to protect others. Their bravery and commitment to our safety never fails to inspire.

“London is one of the greatest cities in the world, a place where people from every continent have made their home. One of the most multi-cultural cities on earth will continue to welcome people from different faiths, cultures, races and backgrounds. It will not be cowed. We all stand with the people of London today.”