WE CAN SEE OFF THE SNP FOR GOOD, SAYS LABOUR'S ANGELA RAYNER

• Starmer’s No2 says a General Election victory for Labour can pave way to kicking Nats out of Holyrood 

Angela Rayner has issued a withering assessment of the SNP’s ‘miserable’ 17 years in government – and called on Scots to ‘come together’ to get the Nats out for good.

Labour’s deputy leader said that the UK now needed ‘serious’ politicians who worked for the public, not themselves.

And she added that a UK Labour government could pave the way for Scottish Labour to seize control of Holyrood in 2026 and see off the SNP, a party which she said had been beset by ‘chaos and sleaze’.

She said: ‘We need to come together. Nationalism is not going to solve the cost of living crisis or problems that we’ve got in the economy.

‘Actually, what we need to do is all come together to build our economy out from all of our nations and regions.’

Ms Rayner added: ‘Scotland will be crucial to that, working together to get rid of the SNP in Scotland that’s had 17 years and have failed miserably, and the Tories who have had 14 years in Westminster.

‘A UK Government alongside Scottish Labour could really transform Scotland for the better. We’ve had enough of gimmicks and slogans. Now we’ve got to pull together and really drive our economy and Scotland will be at the heart of that.’

Ms Rayner was speaking at a campaign event in Livingston, West Lothian, a so-called ‘swing’ seat currently held by the SNP’s Hannah Bardell.

Scottish Labour is hoping to shift the dial in the area towards its candidate Gregor Poynton, a former Blairite communications chief, amid a plan to snatch a number of Nationalist seats in Scotland to shore up Sir Keir Starmer’s trajectory towards No10.

Meeting parents at the Broxburn Family and Community Development Centre, Ms Rayner told how the UK needed ‘serious politicians’ that put the public first.

Although votes on July 4 will only impact who is returned to Westminster, Scottish Labour hopes wins down south will boost its chances at the Holyrood 2026 Scottish parliamentary election.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, Ms Rayner said: ‘It feels like the whole foundations are crumbling, and that’s because we’ve had this chaos and sleaze whether it’s the SNP or whether it’s with the Tories in Westminster.

‘We’ve got to have serious politicians that put the public and the country before themselves. We haven’t had that.’

Outlining her party’s manifesto offer to working people, which she claimed would ‘transform their lives for the better’, she said that tens of thousands of youngsters in Scotland will benefit from policies to raise the living wage for those over 18 and scrap the lower minimum wage bands for workers aged between 18 and 20.

At the event – which was also attended by shadow secretary of state for Scotland Ian Murray –Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar pushed back against SNP criticisms that Labour’s plans would result in swingeing spending cuts.

He said: ‘There will be no austerity under a Labour government and John Swinney can do all the scaremongering he likes, that’s not going to happen.

‘We’ve always been clear, this manifesto is our first steps for change. A key part of what we’ll be able to achieve is if we get our economy growing again, that’s why economic growth is front and centre.’

Today, on Father’s Day, Labour will also pledge to enhance paternity leave rights and seek a ‘cultural shift’ from employers to better support family life, making parental leave a right for workers who start new jobs.

Under the current rules, workers must have had 26 weeks of continuous employment in a particular job before they are entitled to time off after a child is born.

Ms Rayner said: ‘The challenge for us is having that cultural shift in the UK. I’m ready to work with those employers who are already doing that to show those other employers that time’s up on that sort of thing.’

Mr Sarwar added: ‘Labour will make parental leave a day one right, so new dads aren’t forced to choose between spending time with their child and putting food on the table.

‘This Father’s Day, the best gift on offer is a Labour government that will help parents to balance family and work.’

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2024-06-15T21:57:07Z dg43tfdfdgfd