Tony Blair to help Scottish Labour in bid to oust the SNP from power
The former prime minister's non-profit organisation is working with Scottish Labour on health policy.
Tony Blair will help Scottish Labour in its bid to oust the SNP at next year's Holyrood election, according to reports.
The former Labour prime minister's non-profit organisation, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), is working with Scottish Labour on health policy, according to The Times.
It is expected to be a large part of Labour's campaigning next May as it seeks to make the problems in the NHS a central issue.
The TBI is reportedly working on how to improve access to GPs and use technology to drive down waiting lists. There is no fee involved in the work.
Blair is a controversial figure inside and outwith Labour despite being the only person to lead the party to consecutive election wins.
Angus Robertson, chair of the SNP's campaign committee, told The Times: 'It speaks volumes that Scottish Labour are relying on the advice of the man to led us into a disastrous, illegal war in Iraq to tell them what is best for Scotland.
'Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar have no vision for Scotland's future and rather than listening to the people of Scotland, they can only look backwards at a discredited, unpopular figure like Tony Blair.
'Only the SNP is offering people a positive, ambitious vision for Scotland's future — improving our NHS, tackling the cost of living and ensuring Scotland reaches its full potential with the powers of independence.'
Blair led Labour between 1995 and 2007. He was Prime Minister from 1997 for 10 years, winning three general elections.
Scotland's NHS is facing huge problems, with one in six Scots on a waiting list for treatment.
The Scottish Government is also yet to release an NHS app, despite England having one for six years.
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour's health spokeswoman, told The Times: 'Our NHS is stretched to breaking point and technology is a way to ease that pressure — but the SNP is squandering the opportunity.
"From GP practices using fax machines to doctors relying on pagers, the SNP is running an analogue health service in a digital age. GPs have been sounding the alarm about how a woeful lack of basic IT is holding them back — it's time we have a government that will listen.
'A Scottish Labour government will put Scotland on the cutting edge of medical innovation and modernise our NHS so it is fit for the future.'
A Tony Blair Institute spokesman said: 'We are always happy to talk to any and all political parties who are interested in our work, all of which is published and publicly available.
'The conversations we have had with Scottish Labour are specifically around how our health policy proposals could apply to healthcare in Scotland. We intend to publish this work regardless of the outcome of the election.'
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