Scottish Labour gathers for its annual conference in Edinburgh this week with a spring in its step.
Keir Starmer is miles ahead in the polls and it looks like he will be the UK’s next prime minister.
The polls have also turned for Anas Sarwar, with Scottish Labour edging close to 30 per cent.
This progress comes after Labour regained second place from the Tories at last year’s council poll.
Such a turnaround is remarkable given the decline of Scottish Labour over the past 15 years. The party slumped to fifth place in the European elections under Richard Leonard and looked to be headed for the exit door.
We welcome this revival on the grounds that having the Tories as the main opposition to the SNP serves nobody well. Far better to have a social justice party keeping the SNP honest than an organisation that protects the interests of the top 10 per cent.
But Scottish Labour needs to make another leap by outlining a positive, upbeat vision of the future at its conference.
Too many voters still do not know what Labour stands for, a weakness that has to be addressed.
Our story today about Labour backing Holyrood’s right to set a higher minimum wage is a step in the right direction.
Sarwar needs to be clear about the powers Labour will devolve and spell out the change this will usher in.
Resetting Scottish politics is long overdue and Sarwar must seize the moment.
One rule for us, another for them
The benefits of onshore windfarms have become obvious in recent years.
As the climate emergency continues to rage, they offer a reliable and renewable source of power.
They can also generate revenue for households and local businesses.
Many people living in more rural parts of the country have built a turbine or two on their own land.
Alexander Burnett, a multi-millionaire Conservative MSP, is a trustee and potential beneficiary of the Fordie Trust.
It built two turbines in 2013 near the village of Torphins in Royal Deeside.
Yet Burnett has been a consistent and vocal opponent of onshore windfarms.
The Record first revealed his link to the Fordie Trust in 2019.
Despite this, the MSP still makes his opposition to windfarms plain.
He could benefit from turbines but seemingly doesn’t want other people to.
It’s the kind of one rule for us, one rule for them attitude we’ve come to expect from the Conservatives.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
