Scotland isn’t in parties’ vision
As conference season gets underway, we hear familiar speeches from party leaders setting out their visions for the future of the UK, writes Stephen Gethins MP.
In Liverpool, Sir Keir Starmer spoke of a fight for the “heart and soul of the nation.” Yet for Scotland, his words felt hollow: growth without purpose, rhetoric without a roadmap.
Once again, Scotland was treated as an afterthought - mismanaged from Westminster rather than seen as a partner shaping its own future, same under Labour as it was under the Conservatives.
Sir Keir Starmer insists Labour will deliver “renewal” and “growth.” But what does that mean for families in Scotland struggling with the cost of living, or for communities still bearing the scars of austerity?
Like the Conservatives before them, Labour’s centralising approach remains rooted in Westminster, not in recognising Scotland’s distinct needs, ambitions, and opportunities.
That stands in sharp contrast with the vision the SNP has been advancing - one built on well-being, fairness, and sustainability.
Across Northern European nations, we see how economies can be organised around the health and happiness of citizens, not just GDP.
Our neighbours Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Norway consistently top global rankings on education, equality, and quality of life.
They invest in early years care, support families, and prioritise a just transition to a greener economy.
That is the path the SNP is carving out for Scotland: an economy where success is measured not by how the wealthiest few are faring, but whether every child has the chance to thrive.
We are embedding this approach in policy, from expanding childcare to investing in renewables and community wealth-building.
This is our fight for the heart and soul of Scotland - creating resilience, prosperity, and fairness for everyone.
Labour’s message, meanwhile, seemed designed to reassure the City of London rather than inspire a nation.
Sir Keir Starmer is also watching the emerging threat of Nigel Farage and the hard right, chasing their damaging rhetoric instead of confronting it.
History shows that copying the far right’s agenda never works - it only legitimises and strengthens it. Scotland deserves leadership with courage, not caution; with conviction, not calculation.
We know the challenges we face - economic inequality, rising energy costs, and increases in the cost of living. But we also know the opportunities Scotland has: vast energy resources, world-leading universities, and a skilled workforce. What we need is the power to shape our own future.
That is why more and more people are looking to the SNP’s well-being agenda and to the independence needed to deliver it. Scotland deserves more than Labour and Conservative leaders, two sides of the same coin, who offer little. We deserve the chance to build a nation where wellbeing is the true measure of progress - and where our communities not least those across Angus, not Westminster, are in control of their future.