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Help me beat the SNP in Coatbridge and Chryston
Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, United Kingdom
Aim
Help me beat the SNP in Coatbridge and Chryston and make Anas Sarwar First Minister
I’m standing to beat the SNP in Coatbridge and Chryston next May and help Anas Sarwar become First Minister.
Coatbridge and Chryston is a key battleground seat between Labour and the SNP.
I’m looking to raise funds to run a campaign which connects with as many voters as possible.
Why I’m the best candidate for Coatbridge & Chryston
I was born in the Whifflet and went on to St Mary’s Primary and Columba High School before working in Frankie & Benny’s down the Showcase for ten years.
This community shaped who I am. It taught me that we don’t walk by on the other side.
That’s why I have dedicated my working life to social justice with better security and opportunity for working class people.
During the pandemic I was part of the senior leadership team at Citizens Advice Scotland helping people access essential advice on energy, debt and the cost of living.
I was appointed as a special adviser in the UK Labour government following the General Election and have helped secure record funding for the Scottish Parliament under Labour. Now that money needs to cut waiting lists and raise attainment.
I also fought to ensure Coatbridge main street benefitted from the £20m Plan for Neighborhoods.
I’m from this area and I’ll fight for a better future for it– better local NHS services, more opportunities for young people, more investment in our local economy and action on the cost of living.
Why I’m standing
Last year people across these communities voted for change and voted for Labour. But the reality is change people can feel in their local services and community won’t be delivered unless we get the SNP out after nearly 20 years in power. The key things that impact our everyday lives – the NHS, our schools and education system, funding for local services – are under the control of the Scottish Parliament.
Our NHS is in crisis under the SNP
In Lanarkshire 90,000 people are on an NHS waiting list. More people have been waiting more than 2 years for treatment in Lanarkshire than in the whole of England. The construction of a new Monklands Hospital has been delayed and the SNP is threatening to downgrade the neonatal unit at Wishaw general hospital, potentially forcing the families of sick babies to travel further afield for treatment.
Young people aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve
A child born the day the SNP entered office in 2007 turned 18 this year. They are less likely to have a college place because budgets have been cut by 20%, places are at their lowest point a decade and apprenticeships have fallen. They will likely have witnessed violence in the classroom with one in four violent crimes in Scotland last year taking place in a school, and if the have an older sibling who sat exams during Covid there’s a good chance John Swinney marked down their exam results on the basis of their class.
A decade on from SNP promises to close the attainment gap between rich and poor working class young people are seeing fewer opportunities.
Local services are underfunded
The SNP came to power in 2007 promising to scrap the council tax – a decade on bills are higher than ever, services face huge cuts and 100,000 fewer people are getting help with their bills.
North Lanarkshire Council has faced a £250 million worth of cuts since the SNP came to power. If North Lanarkshire’s budget had grown at the same rate as the Scottish Block grant in the last decade there would be £145million more to spend on local services.
It’s time for a fresh start and new direction with Scottish Labour
After nearly 20 years the SNP is a knackered government that is out of ideas, out of energy and should be out of office. Only Scottish Labour can beat the SNP in Coatbridge & Chryston and replace the SNP as the Scottish government in Edinburgh with Anas Sarwar as First Minister.
We’ll drive those waiting lists down, ensure better opportunities for young people, deliver fairer funding for local services and tackle the cost of living.
With your backing, I’ll speak to as many people as possible and beat the SNP next May.
I am immensely grateful for any support you can give.
*Donations to a political party are regulated by the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000. By making a donation to the Labour Party, you are accepting the following terms and conditions:
I am donating to the Coatbridge and Chryston Labour Party.
If I donate more than £500 checks will be made to ensure my name is listed on the UK electoral register (excluding the Channel Islands and Isle of Man).
If I donate more than £1,500 to a Constituency Labour Party or more than £7,500 to the national Labour Party in a calendar year, my name and the amount of the donation will be published on the Electoral Commission's website, although my home address will not be made public.
I must use my own funds to make a donation to the Labour Party.
Donations are not tax-deductible.
**Permissibility checks will be carried out on individual donors in compliance with the rules laid out by the Electoral Commission on donations in election campaigns. You will be contacted by the Election team on behalf of Kieron Higgins to obtain this information. Donor details may be published.
Promoted by Kate Watson on behalf of Kieron Higgins both at Donald Dewar House, 139 Norfolk St, Glasgow, G5 9EA
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made