IN 2011 the SNP made history by securing a landslide victory in the Holyrood election which resulted in what was thought to be impossible – a majority government. Over 900,000 voted SNP in constituencies across Scotland. In the 2012 council elections many thought this success would be replicated, but they were wrong. First preference votes were just over 400,000 and despite getting more councillors elected than any other party, the SNP took majority control of only two out of 32 local authorities across Scotland.
The referendum has changed Scottish politics forever. But there is a difference between independence referendums and elections. We lost the referendum but if we want another one so that Scotland can at last become an independent country then the party of independence has to keep winning elections.
The next step in our journey towards independence was winning a massive majority of Scottish seats at the General Election of 2015. Then we won the Holyrood election of May 2016 with an increase in our vote of over 10 per cent. In June of this year we had the opportunity to use our votes to protect our European status and we voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. This further highlighted the democratic deficit that is imposed upon us in Scotland, with our clear decision to remain in Europe being overruled by the result in England and Wales.
The journey towards independence is well underway. Our next challenge on that journey is to win council elections across Scotland.
Alyn, Angus and Tommy are all exceptionally talented and valued parliamentarians. Alyn has proven to the country that he is the best person to stand up for and promote Scotland in Europe, regardless of the result of this depute leader election. Angus, in his role of SNP leader at Westminster is already holding the right wing Tory Government to account on a weekly basis and has made the SNP the true opposition at the Westminster parliament. Tommy is absolutely right in calling for the party to reform, to restructure, and to take into account the fact that we have grown from 24,000 members to over 120,000 members in such a small period of time. I wholeheartedly support Tommy’s vision of the future and hope to see him play an integral part in a restructuring of the SNP.
However this is not the time to be putting unnecessary emphasis on a London parliament or to be talking to ourselves about internal issues: this is the time to be putting local government to the forefront of our campaigning.
The SNP have an opportunity to use this Depute Leader contest to send a strong message out to people across Scotland. We care about local government and we support the hard work that is carried out in local communities across Scotland. There are 33 governments in Scotland, one Scottish Government and 32 local governments spread across the country. We are the third largest party in the UK, but the Tories and the Labour party would laugh at the idea of a councillor being elected to such a senior position. If we want to win in all 32 local authorities next year there can be no stronger sign of our commitment to councils across the country than that of electing a representative of local government to the heart of our party’s leadership.
The future of Scottish politics is right here in Scotland. A leadership team consisting of our leader Nicola Sturgeon who comes from the SNP group at the Scottish parliament and a Depute Leader who comes from local government makes strategic sense. Westminster and Europe are still important, but the SNP is the party of Scotland, and it is the government of Scotland which should be at the heart of the party.
It’s time to do local politics differently. We must clear out the old boys clubs that fill up council chambers across Scotland. Whether it is the stale Labour-led councils in Inverclyde, Aberdeen, Glasgow, North/South Lanarkshire, Fife or the Lothians. Local politics can be a force for good and it is an arena where we can work together to improve our children’s education, look after those in need, improve our areas and use the resources at our disposal to invest in communities.
We cannot afford to allow business as usual to continue after next May. Winning at Westminster and at Holyrood will all be for nothing if we cannot win locally across the country in May of next year. That is why I want to be Depute Leader of the SNP, to start delivering for the many communities that are being failed at the moment.
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