HAPPY New Year to all Courier readers – I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a relaxing festive break.
2026 will be a year in which we have the chance to change the government in Scotland for the first time in almost 20 years.
Earlier this week, I joined colleagues from across Scotland at Anas Sarwar’s New Year speech. Anas powerfully set out his ambition to win the election in May and become Scotland’s next First Minister.
He began by accepting we are underdogs and have a lot of work to do to convince people that a Scottish Labour government, working alongside a UK Labour government, will be best placed to deliver the change they want to see.
Anas also underlined that this is a Scottish election, determining the future of Scotland. As he said, it is not an election without consequence or for protest, but about the direction our country takes over the next five years and beyond.
In contrast, the SNP and Reform will seek to try and make this election about anything other than who is standing here or the decisions made here, because it suits their agenda.
The SNP have had nearly 20 years, but can anyone honestly say things are better now than when they first came to power?
East Lothian has suffered as much as anywhere in Scotland under the SNP. Our vital local services have suffered £50m worth of cuts, our courts were closed, with police stations now following. GP services have been starved of the funding they require and communities denied the new infrastructure required to meet the needs of our growing population.
We have four months of campaigning ahead of us. But ultimately the election will boil down to two choices: a third decade of SNP failure with John Swinney as First Minister, or new energy, new ideas and new leadership for Scotland with Anas Sarwar as First Minister.
Share