Shaun Fraser campaign launch

Labour's candidate in the Western Isles, Shaun Fraser, was joined by Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, for the formal on-line launch of his campaign last night (Thursday).

All three speakers stressed the need to concentrate on recovery from the pandemic over the next few years rather than walk straight into the divisions that would result from another independence referendum.

Mr Sarwar told party members: "Ten thousand of our fellow citizens have lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of livelihoods are at risk. The idea of coming through this collective trauma of Covid and then spending months and years arguing about a referendum is not the mood of the country."

He stressed that Labour's manifesto would emphasise the need to return powers to the regions and communities of Scotland.

"It is not enough to argue against independence but to put across the positive case for making devolution work much, much better - to talk about what Scotland can do, rather than what Scotland can't do".

Mr Sarwar, who has made two previous campaigning visits to the Western Isles, said that he intended to return to the islands in support of Shaun's campaign once travel restrictions allowed.

Alistair Darling, who has strong family connections with the constituency, said the pandemic had highlighted the need to "re-build the resilience of the NHS" so that it would be prepared to meet any similar challenge that it would meet in future.

He warned that the country would face "massive additional debt" as a result of the pandemic and it was not credible for the Nationalists to claim that they could meet the costs of independence and loss of the Barnett formula through additional borrowing without "extraordinary impacts on jobs, taxes and services."

Shaun Fraser identified the crisis in ferry services and the levels of "extreme fuel poverty" - which affects one in four households in the Western Isles - as issues he would be highlighting in the course of the campaign.

He said: "These are examples of how these islands have suffered from the failure to recognise their urgent and specific needs."

Constituency chair, Alison MacCorquodale, thanked the guest speakers for their support and said Labour would “work flat out” between now and the election to persuade voters that it is time for a fresh voice with real commitment to represent them at Holyrood.

Labour heavyweights back Shaun Fraser’s campaign

2 April 2021