What a year it has been! A year that will go down in the history of our country, our party and our movement. When we last met here in Glasgow for Scottish Labour conference, we had two MPs. We had an electoral mountain to climb. But together we didn’t just redraw the political map of the UK. We defied all the pundits, pollsters and delivered a political earthquake that put Labour in power for the first time in almost 15 years. We did it.
And just remember how you felt when that exit poll dropped. Remember that feeling of joy, of hope and optimism. That we had won the trust of the people of Scotland once again. That once more Labour had the chance to serve. Conference, Scotland didn’t just play its part, Scotland led the way in getting rid of that Tory Government. Our share of the vote went up 16 per cent. So not one, not two but 37 Scottish Labour MPs. From the Western Isles to West Lothian. From Stirling to Fife.
A UK Labour Government, led by my friend Keir Starmer, has begun the work to change the UK for the better. A pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest-paid Scots. Only possible because we have a Labour government. The New Deal for working people – the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights for a generation. Only possible because we have a Labour government. GB Energy – our publicly owned energy company headquartered here in Scotland. Only possible because we have a Labour government. The largest budget settlement for Scotland in the history of devolution and the end of Tory austerity only possible because we have a Labour government.
Conference, we can never underestimate the importance of booting out the rotten Tory government. They decimated our public services … and shamefully pitted community against community to cling to power.
It’s thanks to the people of Scotland that we were able to end a decade and a half of Tory division and decline.
An end to the economic chaos of Truss. An end to the austerity of Cameron. And it was thanks to the people of Scotland we were able to end the incompetence of Sunak, and the sheer gutter politics of Boris Johnson. That’s what people want you to forget – but we should never tire of reminding them.
And thanks to the people of Scotland, today we have a UK Labour government with Scotland at its heart – with Scottish voices in the UK cabinet, Scottish voices on our airwaves and Scottish voices on our government benches. Change delivered for all our communities – for Scotland and the United Kingdom. Conference that is what you delivered, that is the change you made, that’s the change our country needed. But we know there is so much more to do.
The importance of that general election victory in July cannot be overstated. But neither can the need for a new direction in Scotland be underestimated. So let me make it clear from the outset – Scottish Labour is on the pitch and I am determined that we will defy the odds again and that we will win the election in 2026. Because the truth is that while we got rid of a Tory Government that was doing so much damage. The reality is that Scotland is still being held back by a tired SNP government that’s lost its way.
Whether it’s in our NHS, our economy, or our schools the SNP is taking Scotland in the wrong direction. We will set out what a new direction in May 2026 will mean for you, your family, your community and our country.
Let me tell you why that matters.
Because Scotland isn’t just our home – it’s a country of immense potential. The story of my family is Scotland’s story. From my grandfather arriving in Lossiemouth with nothing but the shirt on his back in the 1940s … To me becoming the leader of this great party. My family’s story is symbolic of the opportunity that Scotland has offered to those who are ready to work for it.
I want to create a Scotland where opportunity is available to all, and every Scot has the chance to use their talents to write their own story. I am ready to give back to the country that has given me so much. That’s why today I am submitting my application to be the Next First Minister of Scotland. As First Minister, I will unlock the potential of all the people of Scotland. The government I lead will save our public services. Tackle poverty at its root. And chart a new direction for our country. That’s the offer that I will be putting to the people of Scotland. That’s the new direction we will deliver together.
Now in this campaign, I am not going to pretend that every decision over the last 18 years has been the wrong one. But we need to build on our successes – not live off them and or allow them to stop the essential progress our country needs to make. Because devolution and the benefits it brings to us Scots does not belong to the SNP. That’s why Scottish Labour will keep the successes of devolution of previous Scottish Governments. But while maintaining these achievements is important, we need to build on them and not use them as cover for a failing government.
That’s why a Scottish Government led by me will keep bus passes – but make sure you actually have a bus to get on. That’s why a Scottish Government led by me will keep free prescriptions – but make sure you don’t have to remortgage your house to get an operation. That’s why a Scottish Government led by me will keep the Scottish Child Payment – but end the scandal of 10,000 homeless children in our country. And that’s why a Scottish government led by me will maintain free tuition – but make sure every young Scot has the chance to thrive. Scotland faces many challenges that we have to seriously confront. But the fact is that the SNP cannot meet the challenges of today, never mind tomorrow. They are not what they were. They are tired, divided, and out of ideas.
And after nearly two decades in power, they’ve had their chance. If they were going to fix the problems, they would have done it by now.
The fact is every institution is weaker after 18 years of the SNP in government and they have squandered the opportunity Scotland gave them. They have left our NHS on life support – with nearly one in six Scots on waiting lists. They have failed to support our businesses – and deliver the growth and jobs we need. They have failed our teachers and pupils – with falling standards and rising violence in our once world-leading schools. And they have left our prison system at breaking point. Thousands stuck in poverty or living on the streets.
But John Swinney claims he has steadied his ship. That’s exactly the problem – steadying the ship, moving numbers on a spreadsheet, managing decline. It’s not enough. More of the same won’t do. He’ll never chart the new course our country so desperately needs. Because after 18 years, the SNP and its back-to-the-future leader aren’t going to change now.
Give them a third decade, and you know what you’ll get:
First, they’ll say everything is fine. Then when that doesn’t work they’ll say they’d love to help but just don’t have the powers. But when that is exposed – when we demonstrate what they could do – they will always hunt for someone else to blame. It’s always somebody else’s fault. Meanwhile, you pay the price.
So my message to John Swinney and the SNP is simple – you might not see Scotland’s talent – I do. You may not see Scotland’s potential – I do. You may not have the will to use Scotland’s power and resources – I do. You can’t fix the problem, so move aside because as First Minister I will. As First Minister the buck would stop with me and my ministers. No more passing the blame – no more shirking responsibility. A Scottish Government in the service of the people of Scotland. Putting Scotland on the path to better days. Restoring our public services. And making our country the success we all know it can be.
So my message to Scots is this – If you, like me, can see that the SNP is taking Scotland in the wrong direction. If you want to end almost two decades of SNP rule If you want to chart a new direction for our country. Then the only party that can replace them is my Scottish Labour Party.
Nowhere is the need for a new direction and fresh thinking clearer than in our National Health Service. There is not a person in this room and there is not a life in this country that has not been touched by our NHS. Labour’s greatest ever achievement, the NHS has been a lifesaving pillar of our society for almost 80 years.
The NHS has brought us into the world. It has cared for us in our times of need. And it has looked after millions of Scots in their final hours. Fixing our NHS is personal to me – it’s in my DNA. Before politics, I worked in our NHS as a dentist in a part of Paisley with some of the worst health inequalities in Europe. I saw firsthand the human cost of poverty and how it affects the health of Scots. But I also saw firsthand the life-changing power of our National Health Service.
But conference, can we really claim that the founding principles are being met for every Scot? Today in Scotland one in six people are stuck on an NHS waiting list in pain and anxiety. Patients are treated in corridors by staff who themselves have been failed and are hitting breaking point. The NHS crisis is costing lives.
The sad reality is that an NHS free and available at the point of need has been shattered by the SNP.
I will never forget the young mum I met in Rutherglen who had been waiting years for her child’s mental health diagnosis. In the end, she had to pay thousands of pounds and go to London just so her child could get the treatment he needed. There will be hundreds if not thousands like her.
Or the man I met who needed a hip replacement and had been told by his bosses he had six months to get back to work – and in desperation had to re-mortgage his house to get the surgery he needed. There will be thousands like him.
Or just last week, the story of Irene and Margaret, both diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. Forced to pay for chemotherapy and surgery – costing tens of thousands of pounds. In desperation, they felt compelled to write an open letter to John Swinney asking, ‘Do our lives not matter?’ Think of the thousands who won’t raise their voice, who can’t raise their voice or who can’t raise the money. What happens to them?
That’s why today I am saying clearly – As First Minister I will declare a national waiting times emergency and do whatever it takes to fix the NHS.
A Scottish Labour government will make clearing the backlog and cutting waiting times our day one priority. And let me tell you how we will deliver that new direction for Scotland’s NHS. We will maximise existing capacity, create additional capacity, and use digital solutions for faster diagnosis and faster treatment.
Currently, the NHS in Scotland, despite more resources and more staff, is delivering fewer operations and fewer treatments than before. Vital capacity is going unused. Scotland’s health boards are scheduling 50,000 fewer operations every single year. That cannot continue. We will end the postcode lottery in treatment.
Right now we have 50 health boards for a population of five and a half million people and they are not incentivised to clear their backlogs. As an example, waiting lists are growing but the number of referrals to hospitals like the Golden Jubilee in Clydebank are falling. And because of our bureaucratic and archaic structures, in many cases patients are forced to wait for longer in their own health board area even when there is capacity in other parts of the country.
As an example a patient could be made to wait a year in Glasgow when they could be seen within weeks in Tayside. Or a patient could be stuck on a waiting list in Aberdeen while they could have their life saving operation quicker in Edinburgh or Forth Valley. That’s why we will ensure patients are seen based on need, not an outdated postcode lottery or their ability to pay. Instead of a system that puts health boards and their managers first, we will put patients first.
Health boards will only be paid when they deliver the care people need. Under our plans, the money will follow the patient.
And conference, to deal with this national emergency we will use capacity wherever it is – even if it means travelling to other parts of the country or using private sector capacity to save lives. Be in no doubt as First Minister I will do whatever it takes to fix our NHS.
So while the immediate effort will be to tackle the national emergency, we will also plan for the future of our health service. Because the reason we are stuck in a crisis is because successive SNP governments have entirely failed to ensure our NHS is fit for the future. That’s why I will take on the top-heavy management that is holding the NHS back and deliver the biggest and most meaningful NHS reform in decades. We will end the growing culture of bureaucracy.
We will cut the number of health boards down to three, pushing power away from the boardrooms and to patients and staff on the frontline. Put bluntly – fewer managers, more nurses. Fewer chief executives and more doctors. Because as First Minister I will make sure your money is spent on the nurses and doctors, not the bureaucrats and the penpushers. And we will finally make our NHS fit for the future by embracing digital innovation and technology.
Conference, Under the SNP there are still parts of the NHS using fax machines. I know I am showing my age, but there are some young people here that don’t even know what a fax machine is! So, from E-prescriptions to digital records, to an NHS app for appointments. To digital solutions for faster diagnoses and precision medicine. We will modernise our NHS so that it works for everyone.
To be blunt, I will be a digital first First Minister. No more Analog John. We can’t ignore that so many of the challenges facing our NHS are due to a failure to get to grips with the Primary care and the social care crisis. All of you will know the 8am rush to book GP appointments. Many of you will be familiar with the text message – don’t bother calling, there is no appointments available. Or – after hours on the phone – being told to call back tomorrow or go to A&E. That’s why as First Minister I will end the 8am rush. And l will re-write the GP contract so that you can be seen within 48 hours of your first call. That’s the new direction for primary care I will deliver. We will tackle the crisis in social care at its root with proper workforce planning. Proper local government funding. And as First Minister I will deliver a proper National Care Service. One that delivers for carer workers and care users. Not another SNP disaster.
Conference, it will be hard work. But all worthwhile things are. It not just our NHS that needs a new direction after nearly two decades of the SNP. We all understand that to deliver world-class public services, we need a growing and thriving economy. But we also need to make sure we are spending every pound of your money well. Because this incompetent SNP government is addicted to wasting your money. And just two examples make this so clear.
Take the ferries scandal. It may be funny seeing a First Minister launching a ship with painted-on windows, but for island communities the ferry scandal has been catastrophic. Families separated. Businesses forced to close. Health and social care services pushed to breaking point. If this was the trainline between Glasgow and Edinburgh rather than the ferry between Arran and Ardrossan, it would have been fixed long before now. But instead, the SNP has left island communities behind, and saddled the Scottish Taxpayer with a soaring bill for ferries running years and years late and £300 million over budget.
The fact is – the impact of the SNP’s wasteful incompetence is felt across Scotland. Take the example of the new Barlinnie prison. A project first estimated to cost £100 million is now on track to cost £1 BILLION. To put that into context, the SNP is spending the same amount on the new Barlinnie prison as the cost of building the five-star, luxury Atlantis hotel in Dubai – which has over 1500 bedrooms, spas, a wellness centre, restaurants, cafes, an aquarium, swimming pools, and a water park with 105 slides. They think that’s value for money for a prison for murderers and rapists.
As First Minister I will respect every penny of your money. That’s why we will have our own Department of Government Efficiency to stop the waste and deliver value for money for you, the taxpayer. And that value for money will extend to every part of government. Because right now Scots are paying more and more to serve the ever-expanding machinery of government.
And they are getting less and less from public services. Scotland is now home to no fewer than 131 quangos – there are more quangos than MSPs. £6.6 billion is being spent on these bodies every year. The waste is so bad that even the Auditor General and the Information Commissioner have started playing Quango Bingo, asking each other: “Have you heard of this one? Have you heard of that one?” At the same time services get worse and ministers blame everyone but themselves.
I can tell you now that as First Minister, I will end this culture of waste. Respect people’s hard-earned money. And get value for every penny. Because, conference that is the new direction I will deliver. All of my government’s policies and decisions will be made on firm and sound economic foundations to deliver the thriving, growing economy we need. The big changes we need for jobs and growth require bold thinking.
But again this government is taking Scotland in the wrong direction. One of the key parts of our growth plan for Scotland is maximising the opportunities of the clean energy revolution. Despite being uniquely placed to benefit from a transition to green energy, Scotland is missing out. Green jobs have fallen; supply chains are underdeveloped. And instead, foreign companies are left to profit from our energy while Scottish communities and workers are left behind.
Oil and gas will play a key part in our energy mix for decades to come. But we do have to accelerate our investments. But the SNP want to pretend it’s an either or – renewables or a sustainable baseline. But to protect our energy security we must do both.
The UK Labour government is attracting billions of pounds in investment in new nuclear power. But Scotland is left out because of the SNP’s tired, 1970’s opposition to clean, low-carbon nuclear energy. Right now, 20 percent of the electricity used in Scotland comes from nuclear energy sources. But thanks to the SNP, Scotland is missing out on billions of investment and jobs are going to other parts of the United Kingdom. What kind of nationalists are they?
A Scottish Labour government will deliver a new direction for Scotland’s energy. That’s why as First Minister I will end this ideological block on new nuclear projects in Scotland. I will unlock billions of new investment and bring thousands new of jobs here to Scotland. Delivering energy security for Scotland and leading the way in the clean energy revolution.
Conference, reforming our public services and delivering a better Scotland for everyone means delivering economic growth. But it’s not just about legislating and regulating like the current SNP government, it’s about how you work in partnership to make decisions and use the convening power of government to get things done.
You see, this current Scottish government likes to pretend all of our problems are caused by Westminster. But also somehow we should wait for Westminster to fix all our problems too. Other parts of the United Kingdom are not doing that. We have more powers, more resources and more levers – yet our communities are missing out on investment and opportunities. We will use the powers we have to maximum effect to benefit all of our communities.
Take one example. Our business rates system is wholly the responsibility of the Scottish government. But as I speak, Scottish businesses are missing out – due to a rates system that is rigged against small and medium-sized businesses while protecting the online giants that are eating our high streets and town centres. Retail and hospitality businesses in the rest of the UK benefit from 40% rates relief, in Scotland they miss out. We all know that small businesses are the beating heart of our economy but they are being failed. That’s why we need a new direction.
As First Minister I will immediately deliver rates relief while fundamentally overhauling our business rates systems so that it actually works for businesses.
And I will act to reinvigorate our high streets and town centres by making online giants pay their fair share – to do that a Scottish Labour government will introduce an Amazon Tax. Delivering equality between our high streets and the online giants. To get our economy firing on all cylinders, we must unlock the potential of every part of Scotland.
But the current Scottish government has taken us in the wrong direction centralising power and draining resources from local communities. That’s why we will empower all of our communities. To help do that, I am delighted that renowned economist Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli has agreed to become an independent economic adviser looking at how we deliver regional economic development and how we unlock Scotland’s economic potential. Alongside our other economic advisers he will help us deliver on our ambitions on growth and securing Scotland’s economic future. His global experience will help us lay the foundation so that every part of Scotland can be stronger and can flourish.
Because local democracy must be more than balancing a council budget. It has to be about standing up for your area. Bolstering civic pride. And giving a region and its people a voice on the national stage.
Take my home city of Glasgow as an example. I know I am biased, but for me it is the greatest city on earth and the centre of the universe. But let’s be honest – it is being ignored by a centralising SNP government that has no interest in Glasgow or towns and cities across Scotland. Too many communities with shuttered shops, overflowing bins, potholes not fixed.
I look at Manchester and Liverpool and see local champions in Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham – fighting their community’s corner. All while the SNP leave Scottish communities voiceless. This is a hammer blow to Glasgow’s economy and to communities across the country.
You know conference – you can now get a direct train from Glasgow Central to Manchester Airport– but you still can’t get one to Glasgow Airport!
And it is this lack of joined-up thinking that is holding Glasgow and other communities back. We need a re-wiring of local democracy to push power out from the Scottish Government.
That’s why as First Minister I will pass a local democracy act that will guarantee fair funding for our councils. Deliver the power to have directly-elected mayors for communities across Scotland. And begin the next stage of Scotland’s devolution story. Empowering local communities to collaborate, designing services like integrated transport networks which work for them.
I will end the ‘Holyrood knows best culture’ that is holding Scotland back.
This is the new direction we will deliver.
And conference in every community people can see we are going in the wrong direction. So if we are to unlock the potential of our cities, towns and communities then we need to get people and goods moving across our country. The simple fact is that our transport connectivity is not where it needs to be.
Hardworking Scottish taxpayers are being asked to pay more for declining services.
Despite finally being shamed into bringing Scotrail back into public ownership, the SNP has given the green light to fare hikes on travellers. This policy is taking money out of workers’ pockets, harming our economy and damaging the businesses across our country that rely on footfall.
A Scottish Labour government will put our trains back on track and deliver value for money. As First Minister I will scrap peak rail fares to make travel cheaper for everyone in Scotland.
This policy is good for our economy, good for businesses and good for the environment. Delivering value for money for taxpayers and letting every Scot make the most of this fantastic country. That is the new direction we will deliver.
Conference I want a Scotland where opportunity is for all. Opportunity is what allows our people, our communities and our country to thrive. And that’s why unlocking the full potential of every young Scot will be at the heart of a Scottish Labour government. The sad truth again is that the SNP is taking us in the wrong direction.
Right now more and more young Scots are struggling to thrive – feeling frozen out of the job market and the housing ladder. That’s why a Scottish Labour government will be with young Scots – every step of the way from school, through education and into the world of work. First and foremost this is realising that university is not the only path to success for everyone. Yes, we have some of the best Universities in the world. But over well over half of our young people don’t go straight to University.
So whatever path they choose – university, college, apprenticeship or work, they all deserve the same support, guidance and championing as their peers.
As First Minister I will deliver for every young Scot.
We have skills gaps across key parts of our economy. Sectors with the potential for expansion and well-paid, skilled jobs, if only they could get the talent. I will make sure our young people can take advantage of the opportunities in our economy. We will work with businesses and education providers to agree new Scottish Industry Standards – linking young people’s school studies to the jobs of the future. They will give clarity to employers about how the achievements of young people relate to their workplaces. And they will give young people a clear line of sight between the subjects they pick in school and the exciting potential jobs open to them. And as First Minister I will do all I can to make sure that every Scot can reach their potential – that is the new direction we will deliver.
Central to unlocking the potential of our young people is restoring our schools to the standards we once were so proud of. That’s why we will take the action needed to make our schools thrive again and above all – be safe spaces for our young people to learn and for our teachers to teach. I have listened to teachers, pupils, and their parents. And the feedback is clear. Schools and classrooms should be spaces for learning, growing and flourishing.
But the situation today is this: Teachers are working in fear and anxiety as physical attacks on staff have skyrocketed. Staff are noticing the attention spans of our pupils shortening. Bullying is once more on the rise with cyberbullying following children inside and outside the school day. There are hundreds of sickening examples of vicious attacks filmed on mobile phones and spread on social media channels. Meaning there is not just the trauma of the violence itself but the violation of dignity that comes from cyberbullying.
There can never be a repeat of the sickening attack that took place in Waid Academy in Fife when a young girl was viciously attacked by a fellow pupil in a classroom while the entire ordeal was filmed on a mobile phone. More and more pupils are feeling unsafe in our classrooms. The mental health of our young people is being undermined – with catastrophic consequences. This has to end.
That’s why, as First Minister, I will ban Mobile phones in classrooms and make schools safe, calm places for learning again.
Conference – too many young people never get the chance to succeed in the classroom because they cannot thrive at home. Too many don’t even have a place to call home. They are just some of the victims of Scotland’s housing emergency, another clear example of the wrong direction the SNP have taken Scotland in. Right now there are 10,000 children currently homeless on this government’s watch. We have record levels of children in temporary accommodation – without a home to call their own. That’s the reality under this SNP government. The number of social homes built by housing associations in Scotland is at its lowest level since the days of Margaret Thatcher. Ending the housing crisis will be a key priority for a Scottish Labour government. It will require bold action and strong government intervention at every level. That means the largest housebuilding programme in decades, building more homes across all tenures.
It means unlocking public pension funds to build more social homes. It means using the Scottish National Investment Bank to build more affordable homes. And it means reforming our planning system to attract investment and get spades in the ground and cranes in the sky.
Because as First Minister I will make the dream of home ownership a reality again. Cut the red tape, end the bureaucracy and take on short-sighted opposition in order to deliver the homes Scots need.
Conference, let’s not pretend that homelessness does not cost lives. Just last year, some 242 Scots lost their lives while homeless and sleeping rough. That is a damning indictment on government failure. So as First Minister I will end rough sleeping in Scotland once and for all.
Conference, every action that I have set out already is guided by our fundamental aim – to end poverty. Because we know that fighting structural poverty requires action on all fronts. As we speak, we have over a million Scots living in poverty. 30,000 more children are living in poverty now than when the SNP came to power in 2007. Legally binding targets, set by SNP ministers look set to be missed.
And deaths of desperation from drugs, alcohol and suicide are among the highest in Europe.
We must tackle poverty – but it’s got to start with an understanding of what causes poverty and what prevents people from rising out of it. Poverty is caused by and maintained by issues across our society – from workplace practices to housing. The SNP wants to pretend that one single benefit or payment is the answer. But we know, in the Labour Party, that welfare is only one part of the approach that we must take to end poverty. Because we know that you can’t tackle poverty if there is not good, secure work available.
If children don’t get the opportunities they deserve. You can’t tackle poverty if people don’t get the healthcare they need. Or if people don’t have safe homes. And you can’t tackle poverty if our communities are not safe places to live in. But on every measure, the SNP is taking Scotland in the wrong direction.
That’s why we will fix our NHS so that it is there for all who need it. That’s why we will deliver the skills and training our young people need. That’s why we will abolish peak rail fares to make travel more affordable. That’s why we will make our classrooms safe places to flourish. To end poverty requires the whole government to put its shoulder to the wheel.
As First Minister the national effort I lead will use all the powers at Scotland’s disposal to end poverty. This is the new direction we will deliver.
I have set out many of the challenges facing Scotland and what we will do to address them. While I believe that our country is being taken in the wrong direction, and while I advocate for a new direction for Scotland, I don’t want there to be any doubt. Yes, we have to confront the big challenges facing our country, but I genuinely believe our best days lie ahead of us. I have never been more confident about the future of our great country than I am now. Because what motivates and drives me and what gives me energy is my love of Scotland. My pride in our nation. And my admiration for my fellow Scots.
We have so much to be proud of. Our nation’s culture, our nation’s heritage but also our nation’s ingenuity. While the challenges we must confront may be difficult, this nation has never failed to confront them before. From the Enlightenment to light entertainment – we have shaped the modern world.
Let’s be honest – for too long, it’s felt like our party has been uncomfortable championing Scotland. But conference, the truth is that national pride does not belong to nationalists. Our love of Scotland is not the politics of difference and division – it is the politics of pride and belonging. Despite all the nationalism of our opponents, they too often are the ones that do our country down. They talk about what Scotland can’t do – not what Scotland can do. They focus on selling Scotland to the Scots – as if we don’t know how great it is.
But I want to go back to what our country does best – selling our great ideas, our values, our produce to the rest of the UK and the rest of the world. Because the Scottish Labour government I lead would be unashamedly proud of our nation and will champion the best of Scotland on the world stage.
As First Minister I will use Scotland’s immense soft power across the world to drive jobs and investment to Scotland.
Everyone in this room knows, no matter where you go in the world, tell them you are from Scotland and you will get a warm response. We have got to tap into the huge cultural and economic influence of the Scottish diaspora. That’s why – as First Minister I would put selling ‘brand Scotland’ at the heart of our economic plan. Meaning more exports out of Scotland, more investment into Scotland, creating more jobs and opportunities for the people of Scotland.
But I am not waiting until the election to unlock the potential that Brand Scotland holds.
That’s why I have already been in Germany to make the case for investment in the renewable opportunities of Scotland. In the coming months I will be in the Republic of Ireland to learn the lessons of their thriving cultural and heritage sectors and how they use it to leverage in investment. I will be in Europe to champion Scottish trade in European markets. And I will be in New York and Washington to build on our strong cultural and economic ties. Because with me as First Minister, Scotland will be on the world stage, confidently playing its part once more. That’s the new direction we will deliver.
In fifteen months time Scotland will face a choice. More of the same and managed decline with John Swinney and the SNP. Or a new direction with me and the Scottish Labour Party. I am standing to be Scotland’s First Minister. And I have set some out the bold actions I will take. No more tinkering around the edges. No more passing the buck. No more sticking plasters. Big, bold, meaningful change.
So the choice in May 2026 is this: Record long waiting lists with them or a First Minister that will do whatever it takes to fix our NHS. It’s falling school standards and squandered opportunities with them or a First Minister that will make sure that every young person achieves their full potential. It’s wasted money and incompetence with them or a First Minister that will respect every pound of your money. It’s record levels of homelessness with them or a First Minister that will end rough sleeping and get Scotland building. It’s a hostile environment for business with them or a First Minister that will back Scotland’s entrepreneurs, innovators and businesses. It’s poverty of ambition with them or a First Minister that will fight structural poverty on all fronts. And its inward-looking divisive politics with them or a First Minister that will bring our country together and champion Scotland on the world stage once again.
New hope, new thinking, new leadership and a new direction for Scotland. That’s what I offer. That’s what Scottish Labour will deliver. Let’s go out and win that future together.