ANSELM ELDERGILL details the problems associated with the Assisted Dying Bill which has its second reading on Friday
Scotland’s expectations as Labour takes the reins
As Labour takes control across Britain, the SNP’s progressive policies have set a benchmark for Starmer in many areas, while nuclear disarmament remains a key issue Labour neglects, writes BILL KIDD MSP
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ANSELM ELDERGILL details the problems associated with the Assisted Dying Bill which has its second reading on Friday
Palestinian women have been failed by the feminist movement overall, argues MARYAM ALDOSSARI, calling for a return to principled solidarity instead of selective outrage and dehumanising narratives
OFER CASSIF, a communist member of Israel's Knesset suspended for calling out genocide, discusses war, ethnic cleansing and worsening repression by the violent, bigoted regime in Tel Aviv
WELL there we go then, another Westminster general election and now another Westminster government. It would be wrong-headed and churlish to say that no difference will be expected from what has been visited upon us these last 14 years, and I sincerely hope that Sir Keir Starmer will indeed deliver a fairer crack of the whip than his recent predecessors.
Here in Scotland much will be expected following what was a significant delivery of Labour MPs — beyond what was expected by the great majority of pundits.
I think that the Scottish government under the SNP has shown that with a mindset to follow a correct approach to left-wing politics, even under limited funding and consequentials from Westminster, a great deal can be delivered for working people, pensioners and everyone suffering a benefits existence.
The abolition of NHS prescription charges; the introduction of the Scottish Child Payment, giving families an extra £26.70 per week per child; free university tuition; and after decades of injustice the SNP paid Glasgow female council workers the money they were owed by the previous Labour authority. These are examples of what we should all be looking for from the new Starmer Labour government.
In my own case, I want to see a commitment from the Labour government in Westminster to nuclear weapons disarmament, as has been a manifesto commitment from the SNP government and is supported by so many in the Labour Party and by the great majority of the Scottish people.
To this point; I will be head of delegation for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament at the UN in Geneva at the end of this month and I will be pressing for a world without nuclear weapons, with Scotland leading to the fore in achieving this. I want to see the Labour MPs pushing their government at Westminster to take up a leadership role in this matter of such great importance to us all.
I know that we are all looking for, and wishing for, so much better from this Labour government at Westminster than we have had to suffer under the Tories.
Bill Kidd is MSP for Glasgow Anniesland.
More from this author
We are going backwards: we now face a new wave of nuclear weapons manufacturing and a new era in the shadow of catastrophic accidents and nuclear war, writes BILL KIDD MSP
I was honoured to play my part as a politician in the international cause of peace at the United Nations this year — but the body is fundamentally undermined by the main nuclear powers and their veto, writes BILL KIDD MSP
BILL KIDD MSP stresses the importance of the SNP’s commitment to unilateral nuclear disarmament in light of growing global tensions and the prospect of Scottish independence
BILL KIDD MSP reflects on the backhanded and secretive Aukus agreement and what it means for Scottish hopes to get rid of nuclear weapons for good
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