On July 4, there is a simple choice: a Labour government or a Tory government.

The policies of the Conservative government over the last 14 years have devastated communities up and down Britain.

Their economic policy of austerity has decimated public services as national debt has risen.

We have had the worst wage growth in this country for 200 years.
Food bank use has rocketed and millions have been pushed into in-work poverty.

Economic growth has stalled, inequality has risen and household bills have spiralled out of control.

To put it simply: this chaotic Tory administration has presided over 14 years of decline.

Instead of addressing these issues, the priorities of the five Conservative prime ministers have included indulging in slashing the incomes of some of the poorest in society, restricting workers’ rights to organise, and Brexit.

And if you are unhappy about these policies, they have also restricted your right to protest.

Only one party can replace this rotten Tory government: Labour.

The Labour manifesto, published this week, offers radical policies on public ownership, workers’ rights and industrial strategy.

The New Deal for Working People will boost wages after years of stagnation. The minimum wage will be raised to finally reflect the spiralling cost of living.

Exploitative zero hour contracts will be banned, giving everyone the right to have a contract which reflects the number of hours they regularly work.

Disgraceful practices such as fire and rehire, which sees employees’ terms and conditions ripped up and undercut, will be banned.

As well as boosting wages, Labour will set up GB Energy, a publicly owned energy company headquartered here in Scotland with a strategy to both develop green energy and bring down bills. 

It will own, manage and operate clean projects across the country, providing energy security and creating tens of thousands of jobs in Scotland’s renewable industries.

This will in part paid for by an increased windfall tax on oil and gas giants, a policy opposed by the Tories and SNP despite these mega firms’ rampant profiteering off the back of ordinary people during the cost of living crisis.

We will also develop a long overdue industrial strategy to develop new technologies, meet climate targets and build a resilient economy.

This will be vital in reversing job losses and industrial decline here in Inverclyde, which has suffered under the failed policies of both Tory and SNP governments.

A Labour government will prioritise getting the NHS back on its feet, ending the development of a two-tier system of health that has prevailed under the Conservatives and SNP.

That will mean investing in additional clinics, bringing down waiting lists and workforce planning, funded by closing non-dom tax loopholes and tackling tax avoidance.

The SNP has represented in Inverclyde since 2015, yet can point to no tangible achievements for the area in that time.

There is now an opportunity to vote for something better: a Labour government – and to kick out the Tories.