Scottish Borders Labour Party Manifesto
Our vision
The Scottish Borders Labour Party wants to see a modern, sustainable and outward looking Scottish Borders. Our manifesto recognises that local communities have their own needs and need local strategies, and is built on a commitment to:
Fairness and social justice
Openness and accountability
Co-operation
Our Priorities
At the heart our vision for the Scottish Borders is the need for economic growth and well-being in the SBC area. As a matter of urgency we need to:
Tackle poverty in the Borders
Attract new forms of employment
Protect and invest in local business, including fishing, forestry, farming, textiles and tourism.
Encourage an economy that takes the Scottish Borders away from being one of the lowest wage economies in the UK
Our Policies
Infrastructure
Improvement of our local infrastructure is crucial to inward investment. A strategy for a Borders Rail Network needs to be agreed and we support improved rails link to Edinburgh and the extension to Carlisle. We need to fully integrate our road links into this strategy and ensure that the current network is maintained to a high standard with adequate funding.
Local Revenue
The reduction in services to those most in need is a heavy price to pay for the Scottish government’s Council Tax freeze. Scottish Labour will seek a better deal for the Borders from central government to release the funding needed to support services.
Child poverty
Levels of child poverty in the Borders are far too high. Child poverty has long-term impacts not only on people’s lives, but also on the economy and services now and in the future. Current SBC strategy to deal with child poverty aims to redesign existing services. Scottish Borders Labour Party will make this issue a priority for every elected Councillor, and establish more measures. Labour councillors will push for immediate action in the worst affected areas to help those on low incomes to get the support they need.
Fuel Poverty
Energy prices for gas, oil and electricity are taking an ever greater share of people’s income. Scottish Labour will support schemes that seek to collectively negotiate lower fuel prices from energy companies for local communities, as are being delivered elsewhere in Scotland and the UK.
Childcare
The availability of affordable and quality childcare is essential for working parents. We support the provision of childcare cost across the whole of the SBC area as standard. SBC must work in partnership with schools and child care providers to achieve a workable deal for parents and enable job seekers to be supported.
Housing
The Scottish Borders needs more affordable and sustainable housing, both to buy and to rent. We would seek to establish an SBC strategy group, in partnership with local communities, housing associations, and other providers, to identify areas where housing can be built or improved and where empty properties can be brought back to the market.
Young people
Young people are the future of the Borders and are an asset. They need a council that is on their side, supporting them to grow and learn, to find employment and housing, and contribute to society. We will ensure that there is a new coordinating role for young people at the council, responsible for improving services and provision, so that young people are involved in decisions that affect them and included in our goals.
Tourism
Tourism is an increasingly important economic driver in the Scottish Borders, More must be done to join up the efforts in tourism and maximise our region’s potential. Planning for the whole community must be a priority, so that ‘green tourism’, and events across the region are properly promoted, where businesses can benefit from an integrated strategy, and a long-term plan for sustaining and growing opportunities is developed. Scottish Borders Labour seeks to work more closely with tourist businesses and Visit Scotland to improve information and promotion of the industry.
Caring for those in need
There are 12,000 carers in the Scottish Borders, looking after a relative in their own home. Our health and social care system would collapse without them. Scottish Borders Labour candidates are committed to:
Working with carers and related organisations to implement a national policy that improves the lives of carers and those they care for at a local level
Involving carers and their families in the planning, design and delivery of services which support both carer and cared for.
Appointing a Carer’s Champion to co-ordinate provision and support
Towards a Co-operative Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders Labour Party supports and actively seeks to promote co-operative policies in the Borders. Co-operatives are a business model which communities can use to work together across a range of situations, such as collective energy purchase schemes to reduce costs and help address fuel poverty, and credit unions, which can help people gain get credit in a harsh economic climate.
The need for change
We believe that in the Scottish Borders our infrastructure, our economic development and our people have been neglected, and that there has been missed opportunity and mismanagement over many years. The continued lack of sustained economic growth, and the continued town and rural poverty seen throughout the SBC area blights the Scottish Borders. This manifesto begins to address these issues, realistically, affordably and with the commitment of every member.
