Labour at a UK and Scottish level have not looked like winning any national elections for over a decade.
The party has selected a succession of poor leaders who were shunned by voters.
Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn never cut the mustard and were rejected at the ballot box.
Richard Leonard and a host of others led Scottish Labour and were humiliated by the SNP.
But now for the first time in many years, the tide appears to be turning and Labour looks impressive in the UK and Scotland.
Sir Keir Starmer is not a fiery leader but he is seen as a decent and trustworthy alternative to the liar in Downing Street.
He looks like a Prime Minister and may well end up in Downing Street.
Now a new poll has shown that Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has a higher net popularity rating than Nicola Sturgeon.
This is a remarkable turnaround for someone who has only been in post for over a year.
Nicola Sturgeon has dominated Scottish politics for nearly a decade, winning eight out of eight elections, but she now has a rival.
Part of this is down to Sarwar but it is also a reflection on the competence issues facing the Scottish Government.
Ministers should have sorted out the ScotRail debacle and they should also have ensured the ferries scandal never happened.
There are major issues with the health service and in the attainment gap in education.
Sturgeon led Scotland well during the pandemic, but her Government is beginning to look tired.
Competition is good in politics and it is to the benefit of voters that Labour looks credible again.
Well done, Maria
Maria Hewitt is exactly the kind of person who deserves national recognition for her extraordinary work during the Covid pandemic.
She only retrained as a nurse at the age of 55 but her commitment to the NHS was proved in the most heartbreaking of circumstances.
Her husband John died of Covid in the summer of 2020 but Maria was back at work just weeks later.
By 2021, she was one of the vaccinators whose diligence allowed the country to finally make lockdowns a thing of the past.
Maria thoroughly deserves her British Empire Medal as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Honours.
Too many gongs are awarded to time-serving politicians and super-rich party donors.
This fawning over the selfish and the plodding has tainted the Honours System in the eyes of many.
If it is to have a future it must be to recognise more heroes like Maria.
For too long, it’s big businessmen and their political masters who have been offered awards.
Make the Honours System for the people.
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