​We need an election and we need it now - Ian Murray

Scotland is trapped between two unstable, chaotic and failing governments which are using the public as pawns for their own party agendas, always putting party before country.

We’ve had three prime ministers and three first ministers in as many years. And that doesn’t include the unofficial first minister, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, who fired the gun that brought down Humza Yousaf’s career while shooting himself in the foot.

But the incompetence and failures of the Scottish Government have never been down to one man. The chaos in public services isn’t an accident of the last 14 months – it is the outcome of 17 years of SNP failure and 14 years of Tory failure.

That is why I – as with so many others across Scotland - have no confidence in the Scottish and UK Governments. It’s why we demand a UK general election now and why my Labour MSP colleagues yesterday made clear in Holyrood that Scotland needs new stable and confident governance.

It is abundantly clear to the people of Scotland that neither the Tories nor the SNP can deliver the change Scotland needs.

I’m not sure who is most scared of a general election, the Tories or the SNP, but they are certainly both fearful of the verdict of the people.

Scotland is facing a catastrophic crisis in our public services. Thousands of Scots are waiting in pain on NHS waiting lists – one-in-six people.

Our school standards are falling with the attainment gap persisting, the economy is stagnating causing misery for businesses, homelessness is rising – with a housing emergency here in Edinburgh, child poverty targets are not being met and the public finances for vital local services are fundamentally broken.

The truth is that the SNP and Tories have given up on governing, but in doing so they have given up on Scottish people at a time when they desperately need a strong government in Holyrood fighting their corner.

Last week I visited the Community Windpower Aikengall wind farm just a few miles from Edinburgh in the East Lothian hills. There is an incredible opportunity in Scotland to harness the power of green energy, but there are too many barriers in the way – particularly in the planning system.

Government inaction led to the abandonment of Scotland’s legally-binding 2030 climate change target, the catalyst for the break-up of the SNP/Green coalition. As well as holding back green development, the failings mean higher bills, fewer jobs, and more energy insecurity.

And we have the extraordinary situation where the SNP would rather side with the oil and gas giants and allow them to pay less tax on their massive profits than take action to help families struggling to afford their energy bills.

Even the Tories, who are responsible for so many years of chaos, think the oil giants should pay more.

But, that difference aside, there is little to distinguish the SNP from the Tories anymore. Both parties are divided, out of touch with people’s priorities and are not fit to govern.

Our country is crying out for change, and only Labour can deliver it. It’s time for a government who puts country before party in a decade of national renewal.

We need an election, and we need it now.