People cannot afford to wait until after the independence referendum for action to tackle inequality, Labour’s deputy leader has said.
Anas Sarwar claimed the SNP Government in Edinburgh was focused on the constitutional ballot and only offered people “sticking plasters” for the problems they are facing.
He raised the issue in a speech in Glasgow today, where he also said Labour had to set out its own vision for Scotland.
Mr Sarwar told the audience at the moment “sadly the only change on offer is how you vote in the referendum ballot paper at the end of October next year, if that’s when it is”.
He said: “That’s not the only change that should be on offer. People can’t afford to wait.
“We still face huge challenges in our country. I don’t think it’s acceptable we ignore the inequalities that are happening today because the only change on offer is a constitutional one.”
He said in Scotland “some have become trapped in the belief that change only means constitutional change”.
With this focus on next year’s independence referendum, he said there were “constant battles about constitutional politics”.
Instead, the Labour deputy argued: “We need to set out what kind of Scotland we want to live in, rather than constantly argue about what powers are where.”
He said there must be a vision for Scotland “that doesn’t include the use of sticking plasters until after the independence referendum”.
For more coverage of the speech, see Tuesday’s Courier or try our new digital edition.