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Scotland âcannot affordâ to keep SNP in charge, warns Murray
The Scottish Secretary addressed the Scottish Labour conference on Friday.
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Scotland âcannot affordâ to enter a third decade with the SNP in charge at Holyrood, Labourâs Ian Murray has insisted.
Speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Friday, the Scottish Secretary said the country needs a fresh start with Anas Sarwar installed as first minister.
The SNP has been in power in Scotland since 2007 and currently leads in the polls ahead of next yearâs Holyrood election, but Mr Murray said: âScotland desperately needs a new direction.â
Noting Sir Tony Blair was still prime minister and the iPhone had not yet been launched in the UK when the SNP first came into Government, the Labour MP said Scotland needs ânew energy and vision, to lead the government and the country into the 2030sâ.
He branded John Swinney a âfailing First Minister at the heart of a failing Governmentâ, and said the SNP leader âsimply belongs to a different eraâ.
Ian Murray, right, said Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar can bring the change Scotland needs (Andrew Milligan/PA)
PA Wire
Calling for Mr Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, to be the next first minister, Mr Murray said Scotland âneeds a leader with the courage to tear up a broken model and reform our public servicesâ.
He added: âSeriously conference, Scotland simply cannot afford to enter a third decade of the SNP.â
Mr Murray accepted voters across the UK have âevery rightâ to be impatient for change under the Labour Government at Westminster.
He also insisted his party must not allow its âpositive messages of hope to be drowned outâ by its political opponents.
He accepted it âhasnât been entirely easyâ for Labour since the party took power at Westminster in July â with Sir Keir Starmerâs Government having come under fire over decisions such as the ending of the universal winter fuel payment and the failure to compensate women who lost out because of changes to the state pension age.
Mr Murray noted: âEvery Labour government in history has inherited a bleak economic legacy and has had to sort it out.â
The Scottish Secretary said SNP First Minister John Swinney âbelongs to a different eraâ (Andrew Milligan/PA)
PA Wire
But he went on to claim no previous government had âfaced the same degree of economic and industrial carnage left behind by the Toriesâ.
With some voters disillusioned with the party in power, Mr Murray accepted âthe public are impatient for changeâ, adding: âThey have every right to be.
âI share that impatience and I am eager to get on and deliver our plan for change.
âBut that plan would have failed if we didnât first fix the foundations of our economy first.â
Labour returned 37 MPs from Scotland in Julyâs general election, up from just one in 2019, and Mr Murray insisted he and his colleagues in the Commons are âworking day in, day out to bring change to Scotlandâ.
He added they need to be âconfident in shouting about that changeâ, saying: âWe must not allow our positive messages of hope to be drowned out, as our opponents intend.â
He hailed measures such as the creation of GB Energy as being amongst the âhallmarks of a Labour Governmentâ.
