Kezia Dugdale is the Labour MSP for Lothians. She writes”=
“My first official engagement as an MSP was to visit the Canongate Youth Project on Edinburgh’s Southside. A first class project working with young people from across the city. I was instantly struck by their outlook on life, their attitudes to institutions like the police and their hopes, or lack of, for the future.
I hope to spend a considerable amount of time as an MSP working on the issues which affect young people, their education, their prospects of work, their aspirations for life and the community in which they live.
Arguably each generation of Scots since the Second World War has had a “better lot” than the one which came before. As the fall out of the recession materialises into cuts in our public services and slower growth in our economy, the next generation of Scots may be the first to have a harder time than the one that preceded it. Unless, of course, we as politicians get our acts together and focus on the issues that really matter. Creating jobs, growing small businesses, investing in the talents of all of our young people. If we succeed, the benefits will be felt by our whole society.
In the short to medium term, I am taking a keen interest in the Edinburgh Trams debacle. It is no longer an issue of whether you are for or against the Trams, it’s about how we make the very best of a bad situation. Making sure we do right by the public purse.
I hope to be as accessible as possible to my constituents. I will be rolling out a programme of roving surgeries shortly but will also be available in the Scottish Parliament on either Monday or Tuesday mornings, depending on Parliamentary Committee arrangements which have still to be finalised. I can be emailed on Kezia.Dugdale.msp@scottishparliament.uk , my website address is www.keziadugdale.com“
