By Lucy Ashton
Scottish Labour has pledged to lower bus and rail fares as they launch their “cost-of-living” local government election campaign.
Leader Anas Sarwar said the issue should be the priority of every level of government, as people face rising bills, petrol prices and weekly shop costs.
At the heart of the election pledge is a flagship promise to halve rail fares for three months and bus fares capped at £1.80 per journey under plans from Scottish Labour to ease the “cost of commuting crisis”.
Mr Sarwar highlighted the model used in countries like New Zealand as an ideal framework for Scotland’s railways.
He added: “To take an example of someone who makes the commute from Glasgow to Edinburgh, that one measure alone would save someone over £400 over the next three months.
“That’s how you use progressive policies. That’s how you use your promise in the Scottish Parliament.”
Councils can use powers under the 2019 Transport Act to cap fares by setting up franchises or their own bus companies.
Scottish Labour’s manifesto includes a proposal to introduce a windfall tax for oil and gas giants in order to reduce household bills by up to £600.
Mr Sarwar said: “Oil and gas giants are making £44,000 a minute.”
“You’ve got directors of these companies saying, ‘we are making more money than we know what to do with it’.
“Right now, millions of pounds are waiting in shareholders’ bank accounts in dividends, and at the same time, people’s energy bills have gone up, petrol prices have gone up, and the food shop’s more expensive than ever.
“That’s why we will introduce a windfall tax on the oil and gas giants and put that money directly into people’s pockets.”
Turning to the wider campaign, Mr Sarwar also appealed to former Labour voters to “come back home”.
He appealed to ex-Labour voters who have switched to the SNP and said: “After 15 years of this SNP government, poverty is on the rise, inequality is on the rise, our communities and our country is more divided than ever, and our local services are being decimated.”
Mr Sarwar also appealed to supporters who had “held their nose and voted Tory” in previous local council elections.
He said: “I say to those people directly, Boris Johnson has let you down. Boris Johnson has let the United Kingdom down.
“Boris Johnson is a corrupt joke and a liar. You don’t need to hold your nose and vote Tory anymore, come home and vote Scottish Labour.”
Recent polling suggested Scottish Labour could overtake the Scottish Conservatives in the local council elections, with a survey on Monday placing some 23 per cent – a swing of plus three from 2017’s ballot – of respondents intending to vote for Mr Sarwar’s party as a first preference, which would see it in second place.
The Survation poll, for Ballot Box Scotland, found 44 per cent of those asked intend to vote for the SNP – a plus-12 swing.
At the last local government election in 2017, the SNP took control of Glasgow City Council – which had been run by Labour since its creation.
Asked if he is confident Labour can take back control of Glasgow on May 5, Mr Sarwar said: “I want us to go into the election with the intention of winning.
“I want us to win Labour councils, I want us to make Labour gains in terms of both councillors and councils, and I think if you look at the last five years, what’s happened in Glasgow City Council, you can see the difference a Labour council makes.
In response, SNP MSP Rona Mackay said: “Anas Sarwar tries to blame the crisis on the SNP while cynically demanding that we use powers that we do not have – powers that he himself campaigned to keep in the hands of the Tories.”
Scottish Conservative Shadow Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Donald Cameron MSP added: “Labour are currently in coalition with the SNP in six Scottish councils and we know they would happily prop them up again, despite their leader’s half-hearted, unconvincing assurance.”
Later Labour issued the following on its website:
Our National Recovery Plan
We are emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic, but the impact on our people, our society and economy has been significant. It has been tough for us all but it is important to recognise that the impact has not been felt equally across society. Here we set out Scottish Labour’s immediate priorities for recovery. It contains our plan to avoid a social and economic crisis, and to take steps to reduce the impact of the physical and mental health crises that Covid-19 has created.
A Collective National Effort
Scottish Labour’s vision for the country in five years is one that is free of the restrictions placed on us by Covid-19, where the looming social and economic crisis has been dealt with successfully through government and civic action, and where we have strengthened our NHS to prepare it for the future.
To achieve this vision, we believe our country must be focused on recovery for the next five years. That means the energies of our government and our parliament should be on a collective national effort to fully recover our country from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Scottish Labour has set out our recovery plans for jobs, the NHS, education, our climate and our communities. In each of these areas, Scottish Labour is establishing a specific national mission to focus the energy of our country on the big challenges we need to solve if we are to build a fairer Scotland with increasing equality and prosperity.
While our recovery plans set out immediate actions that the government must take, our national missions set bold and far-reaching ambitions for our country that will keep us focused on long-term recovery, not short-term interests and old arguments. Whether from government or opposition, Scottish Labour will seek to enshrine these national missions in law so that our sights remain firmly on the bold and long-term change our country needs.
Picture: Labour candidates Fiona Howard and Watson Robinson who will be standing in Helensburgh on May 5 with Jackie Baillie MSP.