KEIR Starmer has claimed that his Labour Party is “winning back support” in Scotland, despite suffering its worst-ever result in a Holyrood election just three months ago.
The most recent polling listed on Ballot Box Scotland, conducted by Panelbase in late June, suggests the party’s support is slipping, and that they would lose a further two seats should the Holyrood elections be rerun.
Scottish Labour returned 22 MSPs in the May elections, two down on their previous total of 24.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer kicks off Scotland visit with attack on SNP's climate record
However, speaking on a trip north of the Border today, Starmer claimed his party was winning voters over “by building the alternative and by making the argument that we should bring people together, rather than dividing them”.
The UK Labour leader also said that he had been working “very closely” with the leader of Labour in Scotland, Anas Sarwar (below).
He went on: “We’ll continue to do that through to the next General Election.
“But we’re building that alternative, we’re making the arguments, but most of all, we’re saying focus on the pandemic and the recovery.
“That was one of the first things Anas said going into that election and then the other parties followed.
“And building the credibility, closing the gap between the Labour party and those that we want to vote for us.
“That’s why I’m here, to have conversations and to use my ears, as well as my mouth.”
Starmer also ruled out any possibility of a coalition with the SNP in a UK General Election.
“We’re not going to be in a coalition going into the next General Election, not going to be in a coalition going through and after the next General Election. So, I can rule that out.”
Labour lost the battle against the Tory party for second place in Holyrood in May, with Boris Johnson’s party accusing them of being “soft” on the Union.
Sarwar has also been publicly critical of a planned co-operation agreement between the Greens and the SNP in Edinburgh.
Starmer went on: “At the next General Election, those key issues will be, ‘have we built that better future coming out of the pandemic’, not go back to the broken system that we had going into the pandemic, and how do we meet the crisis that is the climate crisis.
“We’ll be focusing on that and my message to everybody is only a Labour government can deliver on those two central challenges and if you want a Labour government, you’ve got to vote Labour.
“You can’t vote for another party if you want a Labour government.”
READ MORE: Boris Johnson 'quite right' to reject Nicola Sturgeon talks, Douglas Ross claims
Starmer’s visit to Scotland coincides with the Prime Minister’s. Boris Johnson has been visiting Police Scotland to talk about plans for Cop26.
Police Scotland say that the event will see “one of the largest policing operations undertaken in the history of the United Kingdom”.
Johnson said: “Police forces across the UK have played a crucial role in keeping us safe throughout the pandemic.
“I was delighted to visit [Police Scotland Headquarters at] Tulliallan and give my thanks to the officers and recruits of Police Scotland... I look forward to working together to deliver the COP26 conference this November in Glasgow.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel