British Labor leader Keir Starmer sharply criticized separatists in Scotland on Friday, a crucial territory for Labor’s hopes of coming to power, where he visited on the second day of the legislative campaign.
In a good position to become Prime Minister after the July 4 elections, the Labor leader estimated in Glasgow that the votes of the Scots were “vital” to win him key seats in Westminster, and thus give victory to his left after 14 years of opposition.
Until 2010, Scotland was largely a Labor territory. But the independent Scottish National Party (SNP), positioned on the left, currently controls 43 of the 59 constituencies, compared to only two for Labor and seven for the Conservatives.
Keir Starmer has dismissed the two parties, the SNP in Edinburgh and the Conservative Party in London, accusing them of having sowed “chaos and division” in the British province over the past fifteen years.
“Only Labor can put an end to this and turn the page,” he said from the old Labor stronghold.
In May, a Savanta poll gave Labor for the first time in years ahead of the SNP with 37% of voting intentions, compared to 31% for the separatists, fueling Labor’s hopes.
“Scotland and the United Kingdom desperately need change, they are crying out for it, and Labor is ready,” Anas Sarwar, leader of the party in Scotland, said on Friday.
For its part, the Scottish SNP has suffered a series of difficulties since the departure of the charismatic former Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon a little over a year ago. The party is the target of a police investigation into its finances, and M’s successorme Sturgeon, Humza Yousaf tendered her resignation only a few weeks ago.
Labor accuses the SNP of being obsessed with the dream of Scottish independence, to the detriment of the concrete problems of residents, who are suffering from the rising cost of living in the United Kingdom.
Corbyn excluded
The new Prime Minister and leader of the SNP, John Swinney, wanted to assure voters that the independence of this British nation could still be achieved within the next five years, but this project faces firm opposition from London.
The last vote, in 2014, was won by a 55% “no” to independence, but separatists argue that Brexit, to which the majority of Scots were opposed, has relaunched the debate.
The Prime Minister and Conservative candidate, Rishi Sunak, is traveling to Northern Ireland, where he will complete his 48-hour express tour of the four British nations.
He insisted on the improvement in the economic situation and welcomed the announcement on Friday by the energy regulator that gas and electricity bills would fall this summer.
“The economy has turned a corner”, which proves that “our plan is working”, affirmed Rishi Sunak.
His Labor rival was quick to point out that the annual energy bill for British homes still remained much higher than in 2021.
In this nation at the forefront in the development of renewable energies, Keir Starmer also defended his proposal to create a public company in charge of energy management, which according to him would make it possible to reduce bills and strengthen energy independence from the country.
Labor leads the Conservatives by more than 20 points in the latest polls.
But after a crushing defeat in 2019 under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, Labor needs to win back dozens of seats to secure a majority at Westminster.
The former leader of Labor from 2015 to 2020, positioned much further to the left than Keir Starmer, announced his candidacy as an independent on Friday in his historic constituency in London, at the risk of dividing the Labor vote.
Labor, which had already suspended him, accusing him of allowing anti-Semitism to flourish in Labor ranks under his leadership, announced his exclusion immediately.
With Clara Lalanne in London