SCOTLAND wasn’t mentioned once in Labour’s big pre-election pitch today.
Nope, not Keir Starmer’s 2631 word speech. Not even the hefty 5724 word press release including comments from the likes of Ed Milliband and Yvette Cooper.
A non-exhaustive list of what (ie. everything) was mentioned more than Scotland:
- Ingrown eyelid
- Knutsford services
- The central London neighbourhood of Somers Town
- Crap (x2)
- The Guardian newspaper
- Great British Energy (which Starmer previously said would actually be based in Scotland)
- Trombone
- Liverpool
- Putin
- Milton Keynes
- Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School in Barnet
- Rotting teeth
- Wolverhampton
- Manchester United
- Arsenal
- Old Trafford
- Afghanistan
- Iraq
- Thurrock
- Royal United Services Institute
- Liz Truss
- Easton station
- Kings Cross
- Nye Bevan
- Boots stores
In fairness, neither Wales nor Northern Ireland were mentioned either.
But today was the party’s doorstep offer to voters across the UK ahead of the general election – with Starmer unveiling a pledge card with six “first steps” his party would take if it were to win power.
One of them, Great British Energy, was even previously earmarked to be based in Scotland. Bit of an own goal there.
The other steps include measures to invest in the NHS, education and policing, to set up an elite border force, and to promote economic stability.
The lack of Scotland mentions has already been picked up by SNP Westminster depute leader Mhairi Black.
“It's clear that Sir Keir Starmer intends to be Prime Minister for England only,” she said in response.
"The problem for Sir Keir is that he has U-turned on nearly every policy he has ever promised - so it's little wonder the public don't trust a single promise he now makes.”
Starmer denied the pledges were a toned down version of the “five missions” Labour has previously touted.
Asked whether this constituted a scaling-back of ambition, Starmer said he was “not scaling back absolutely at all”.
He said the pledges were the “first down payments on the delivery of those missions”.
Starmer added: “We’re putting flesh on the bones by saying these are the first steps we’ll take in order to deliver the missions but the missions, each and every single one of them are there as the long-term ambitions, goals, targets, the driving purpose of an incoming Labour government.”
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