Strong leadership is the essential ingredient needed to propel collective human endeavour.
Moreover, it becomes paramount in the face of challenging headwinds. The Prime Minister’s barefaced opportunism in calling the election on the basis of meagre positive news is revealing.
For too long this country has languished because of weak, rudderless leadership. In particular in Scotland, we have suffered from the political malaise created by the Tories in Westminster and the SNP in Holyrood.
It is now time for a point of political inflection. The legacy of the last 14 years will weigh heavily on the next Government. The choices to be made, the trade-offs to be considered, and the ambiguities to be navigated will be fraught with difficulty.
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Trust is the glue that binds us together. We need to rebuild trust in the institutions that underpin the wellbeing of people and communities across this country. It is only through political change that we can embark on this journey with optimism.
At the turn of the year, I produced my ‘Higgins Report’, which was an independent detailed survey of business opinions in Scotland. The level of despair and frustration expressed was overwhelming. Almost 80% of the jobs in this country are in the private sector, and a huge proportion of them are in small businesses.
To support a society that cares about social justice, the NHS, social care and so much more, we need a vibrant economy. We need to make it an easy choice to invest in Scotland.
We need government to support and encourage businesses, not hinder them. It is precisely four years ago that I was completing my report for Scottish Government on economic recovery beyond the pandemic. All 25 recommendations were warmly welcomed and accepted. Most have barely been mentioned since then.
Instead, the formation of one group after another, and the pursuit of one more review after another, has been viewed by politicians as an alternative to taking action. This forthcoming General Election puts the opportunity in our hands to say: ‘no more’.
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This can be a new dawn. It will demand surefooted prioritisation of decisions, which can be the necessary catalyst to recover our strength and identity. It is only by choosing Labour that we can find hope and optimism.
Jim Stockdale - a highly decorated American prisoner of war in the infamous ‘Hotel Hanoi’ during the Vietnam War - coined the expression ‘The Stockdale Paradox’. It was how he explained the approach that enabled him to survive brutality for more than seven years. It obliged him to maintain faith that he would ultimately enjoy freedom but that he also had to confront the harsh reality before him.
We now need political leadership that will adopt this principle. Keir Starmer and the Labour Party represent the only credible option.
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