SNP's Mhari Black & Katie Loudon in Cambuslang for by-election.
They visit Cambuslang Rugby Club to speak to the women's under 16 team.
They visit Cambuslang Rugby Club to speak to the women's under 16 team.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hi, I'm Councillor Katie Loudon, I'm the SNP candidate in the by-election for Rutherglen
00:08 and Hamilton West. We've been out speaking to people this week about voter ID, because
00:13 this is going to be the first election in Scotland where voter ID has come into play.
00:17 So we're making sure that people get the message that when they're going to vote at the polling
00:22 station they need to have a form of photo ID with them. Now this is something which
00:27 is very problematic, we're making sure that people are getting that message to make sure
00:31 they don't miss out on their vote, they don't miss out on the opportunity to have their
00:35 say. Because we know from the experience at the local elections in England and Wales that
00:40 this is something which did happen. So it's really important that people get onto the
00:44 South Lanarkshire website, get onto the phone number or get in touch with us if they've
00:48 got any questions about that to make sure they don't lose out on their opportunity to
00:52 have their say here in Rutherglen and Hamilton West.
00:54 As you know there's potentially three days of strikes next week locally here. Do you
01:00 support the strikes?
01:01 I would encourage everyone to get round the table to make sure that they're having an
01:05 open conversation which the Scottish Government and COSLA and the unions need to have. I've
01:11 spoken to quite a few people today who've spoken from different points of view when
01:15 I've been out and about, either people who are considering going on strike or will be
01:19 striking if the strike goes ahead and also people who are concerned about the effect
01:23 that that will have on their families. So I would encourage everyone to get round the
01:27 table and make sure those negotiations continue. Nobody wants to see, whether we're talking
01:31 about staff or pupils or families, nobody wants to see this situation.
01:35 My name's Mary Black, I am the MP for Paisley and Memphis South, the Deputy Leader of the
01:40 SNP Westminster group. I think it's fair to say that the SNP have had pretty much a public
01:46 bruising over the last few months. But ultimately I've been pleasantly surprised by the number
01:52 of people that are still with us, still positive about it and still recognise that the SNP
01:57 are the only ones that are offering a really different path for Scotland and a radically
02:02 different path which I think people are needing just now.
02:06 People are tired of politics in the sense that this has been a very turbulent period
02:10 in British politics, a lot has happened in a relatively short span of time. But equally
02:15 I think folk understand though why politics matters and it's all the struggles that they're
02:20 experiencing just now, they originate with politics, they originate with policies that
02:25 governments make, particularly governments in Westminster. So where I think there is
02:30 a natural element of folk feeling scunnered, I think they get that it matters, it affects
02:35 their life.
02:36 Well the feedback I'm getting from now on every door, whether they're a supporter or
02:40 not, is the cost of living crisis. That's where I think it's very important that in
02:45 this by-election and the upcoming election we make sure that we have representatives
02:50 who understand the cost of living crisis and are willing to challenge it, whether that
02:53 be through Tory policies or Labour's cheap imitation of Tory policies. I think it's really
02:59 important that we have someone like Katie Loudon down there to argue the case for all
03:03 these constituents because too many people are struggling just now and that's palpable
03:08 on the doorsteps.
03:09 Well again this is ultimately why I believe in independence because I think that the levers
03:14 that any government needs to radically change things lie with Westminster. Whether that
03:20 be windfall taxes, whether that be welfare, whether that be fairer policies based on the
03:28 economy, all of this happens down in Westminster which is why it's so important that we get
03:32 governments we vote for, we get representatives that will actually stand up for us and challenge
03:37 what has been the status quo for too long.
03:39 I absolutely behind safe consumption rooms. I think they are long, long overdue. Not only
03:45 are they long overdue because addiction is a health issue more than anything else, definitely
03:50 more than it is a criminal issue. These safe consumption rooms actually provide a safe
03:56 space for people to admit that they have a problem and to take the first step to seeking
04:00 help as to how they can get themselves out of that rut. So absolutely I think they're
04:05 long overdue.
04:06 I think addiction, much like many illnesses that you can't physically see, it doesn't
04:12 make them any less real and it's only once we start approaching these issues with the
04:17 correct compassion and understanding that most health professionals offer that we start
04:23 seeing folk actually being able to change their lives and take a better path. But it's
04:28 absolutely a health issue, absolutely.
04:30 [Music]