SNP's Mhari Black & Katie Loudon in Cambuslang for by-election

The Scotsman

SNP's Mhari Black & Katie Loudon in Cambuslang for by-election.  They visit Cambuslang Rugby Club to speak to the women's under 16 team.

Transcript

00:00 Hi, I'm Councillor Katie Loudon, I'm the SNP candidate in the by-election for Rutherglen

00:08 and Hamilton West. We've been out speaking to people this week about voter ID, because

00:13 this is going to be the first election in Scotland where voter ID has come into play.

00:17 So we're making sure that people get the message that when they're going to vote at the polling

00:22 station they need to have a form of photo ID with them. Now this is something which

00:27 is very problematic, we're making sure that people are getting that message to make sure

00:31 they don't miss out on their vote, they don't miss out on the opportunity to have their

00:35 say. Because we know from the experience at the local elections in England and Wales that

00:40 this is something which did happen. So it's really important that people get onto the

00:44 South Lanarkshire website, get onto the phone number or get in touch with us if they've

00:48 got any questions about that to make sure they don't lose out on their opportunity to

00:52 have their say here in Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

00:54 As you know there's potentially three days of strikes next week locally here. Do you

01:00 support the strikes?

01:01 I would encourage everyone to get round the table to make sure that they're having an

01:05 open conversation which the Scottish Government and COSLA and the unions need to have. I've

01:11 spoken to quite a few people today who've spoken from different points of view when

01:15 I've been out and about, either people who are considering going on strike or will be

01:19 striking if the strike goes ahead and also people who are concerned about the effect

01:23 that that will have on their families. So I would encourage everyone to get round the

01:27 table and make sure those negotiations continue. Nobody wants to see, whether we're talking

01:31 about staff or pupils or families, nobody wants to see this situation.

01:35 My name's Mary Black, I am the MP for Paisley and Memphis South, the Deputy Leader of the

01:40 SNP Westminster group. I think it's fair to say that the SNP have had pretty much a public

01:46 bruising over the last few months. But ultimately I've been pleasantly surprised by the number

01:52 of people that are still with us, still positive about it and still recognise that the SNP

01:57 are the only ones that are offering a really different path for Scotland and a radically

02:02 different path which I think people are needing just now.

02:06 People are tired of politics in the sense that this has been a very turbulent period

02:10 in British politics, a lot has happened in a relatively short span of time. But equally

02:15 I think folk understand though why politics matters and it's all the struggles that they're

02:20 experiencing just now, they originate with politics, they originate with policies that

02:25 governments make, particularly governments in Westminster. So where I think there is

02:30 a natural element of folk feeling scunnered, I think they get that it matters, it affects

02:35 their life.

02:36 Well the feedback I'm getting from now on every door, whether they're a supporter or

02:40 not, is the cost of living crisis. That's where I think it's very important that in

02:45 this by-election and the upcoming election we make sure that we have representatives

02:50 who understand the cost of living crisis and are willing to challenge it, whether that

02:53 be through Tory policies or Labour's cheap imitation of Tory policies. I think it's really

02:59 important that we have someone like Katie Loudon down there to argue the case for all

03:03 these constituents because too many people are struggling just now and that's palpable

03:08 on the doorsteps.

03:09 Well again this is ultimately why I believe in independence because I think that the levers

03:14 that any government needs to radically change things lie with Westminster. Whether that

03:20 be windfall taxes, whether that be welfare, whether that be fairer policies based on the

03:28 economy, all of this happens down in Westminster which is why it's so important that we get

03:32 governments we vote for, we get representatives that will actually stand up for us and challenge

03:37 what has been the status quo for too long.

03:39 I absolutely behind safe consumption rooms. I think they are long, long overdue. Not only

03:45 are they long overdue because addiction is a health issue more than anything else, definitely

03:50 more than it is a criminal issue. These safe consumption rooms actually provide a safe

03:56 space for people to admit that they have a problem and to take the first step to seeking

04:00 help as to how they can get themselves out of that rut. So absolutely I think they're

04:05 long overdue.

04:06 I think addiction, much like many illnesses that you can't physically see, it doesn't

04:12 make them any less real and it's only once we start approaching these issues with the

04:17 correct compassion and understanding that most health professionals offer that we start

04:23 seeing folk actually being able to change their lives and take a better path. But it's

04:28 absolutely a health issue, absolutely.

04:30 [Music]

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