On the day that the Scottish Parliament officially opens for the 4th time, KEZIA DUGDALE spells out a few reasons for Labour to be cheerful


There’s something ironic about the fact that Queen will officially open the Fourth Session of the Scottish Parliament this morning, a day after it has closed for the summer recess. It is however a day of celebration.  A day to mark the existence of the Parliament itself, and a day to recognise the 129 local heros nominated by MSPs.

I think Labour can also quietly celebrate today. The party has woken up to a solid win in Inverclyde and we should taken a small degree of comfort from that. Not least because the alternative scenario would have just been too horrific for words.

There have also been small, but significant, wins in the Scottish Parliament. The Government accepting the need to delay the Sectarianism Bill, and consult more broadly, was a victory for common sense. Whilst the SNP’s adoption of Labour’s “First Foot” policy shows that they may not need our votes, but they do need our ideas.

The road back is long however, and for me, it starts with the interim report of the review led by Jim Murphy and Sarah Boyack.

I submitted my contribution to that review yesterday and will share my thoughts here in the coming days. In the mean time, it’s time to practice my curtesy and remember the efforts of Labour giants past and present who made this Scottish Parliament possible.

Kezia Dugdale is a Labour MSP for the Lothians region. She sits on the Local Government and Regeneration Committee and Co-Convenes the Cross Party Group on Children and Young People. Follow Kezia on Twitter at @KDugdaleMSP.

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7 thoughts on “A day for celebration?

      1. Possibly, but TBH propping up the lower end of the housing market that way isn’t a good idea. Would be better to do something about buy-to-let which is crowding out first time buyers and inflating that part of the market rather than helping people keep up with it.

  1. “Not least because the alternative scenario would have just been too horrific for words.”

    Is this relating to the Labour Party, or the electorate.

    With this constituency constantly amongst the worst in the country for unemployment, actions will speak louder than words when it comes to actually achieving anything. Or is it to be a repetition of the last 20 years.

  2. Kezia,

    1. Spelling “we should taken a small degree of comfort”

    2. Congratulations on the win in Inverclyde. What did you think of your man’s bitter rant. Compare and contrast with similar SNP situations e.g. “We do not claim to have a monopoly on….”

    Once again, Congratulations to Ed Milliband and his members in Scotland.

  3. False Dawn..nothing more nothing less.McKenzie will disolve to the back benches never to be seen again…remember Lyndsay Roy and Willie Bain ?..ah such fine words , hopes and promises !!

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