#GE2019 – SNP on the campaign trail in Dalkeith

This morning Nicola Sturgeon the leader of the SNP visited Dalkeith to support the SNP candidate for Midlothian, Owen Thompson.

4th December 2019 – First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, visits supporters in Dalkeith, Midlothian on Wednesday 4th December 2019. PHOTO Thomas Brown

Ahead of a campaign visit to Midlothian – a pilot area for Universal Credit – SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon warned that only a vote for the SNP is a vote to end Tory austerity.

The First Minister highlighted the contrast between the lasting legacy of a decade of Tory austerity, which has seen the deliberate dismantling of the welfare state, with the record of the SNP Government in Scotland in delivering a social security system based on dignity, care and respect.

Ms Sturgeon said: “At this election, only the SNP can beat the Tories in Scotland – and a vote for the SNP is a vote to end Tory austerity.

“Years of successive cuts from the Tories have stifled growth in our economy, threatened our public services and pushed the most vulnerable into poverty. The botched rollout of Universal Credit has caused untold misery in communities in places like Midlothian – and across Scotland.

“Westminster’s austerity agenda has failed Scotland on every measure – and if Boris Johnson is returned to Downing Street that is only set to get worse. Meanwhile in Scotland, the SNP government has built a social security system based on dignity, care and respect.

“The SNP is committed to reducing poverty and inequality – and to putting Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands. That will allow us to build a social security system with fairness at its heart, and is key to achieving the society we all want to see.”