
Scotland's mainstream political leaders must unite against racism as by-election looms
Record View says there must be zero tolerance of racism in Scotland.
Important issues have so far dominated the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.
Labour has accused the SNP of running down the NHS and failing on public services.
First Minister John Swinney has laid into the record of the UK Government and hammered Labour on winter fuel payments cuts.
And Reform UK has blasted both governments in a flimsy attempt at portraying itself as the outsider. But Reform's online advert attacking Anas Sarwar was simply beyond the pale.
In claiming he will stand up for the Pakistani community, it twisted his words and tried to question his loyalty to Scotland.
It was a disgraceful attack and amounted to the worst kind of dog-whistle politics.
Despite the SNP and Labour being historic rivals, it was heartening to see Swinney's party complain to Meta about this racist advert.
Politics is a tough business but some things are more important than party rivalry and the First Minister made the right call.
The FM recently convened a summit to tackle the rise of Reform UK across Scotland.
One of the solutions must be to address the feeling that the political system no longer serves the interests of working people.
Fixing public services and ending the cost-of-living crisis would go a long way to blunting Nigel Farage's attacks.
But we must have zero tolerance of racism and Scotland's mainstream leaders have to unite against this poison.
Civic Scotland needs to stand up against the nastiness and divisive politics of Reform.
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Chris still leading
It's typical of Sir Chris Hoy to be thinking of others.
After his devastating prostate cancer diagnosis, he has raised awareness and funds to help fight the killer disease.
He has saved untold lives by going public with his own battles and the need for early detection.
It is too late for Sir Chris to benefit from screening test trial Transform. But in today's Record the Olympic hero tells of his excitement of the potential to 'save countless lives'.
He hopes Transform will help one day make early screening and detection the norm.
Sir Chris also spoke of how 'scary' it was to go public with his diagnosis. Many can be grateful he conquered his fears and spoke so candidly about his ordeal.
This special Scot is an inspiration to us all and through his high profile, he continues to make a difference to so many lives.

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South Wales Guardian
30 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Sarwar says surprise by-election win could help Labour back to power at Holyrood
Mr Sarwar and his party celebrated in the early hours of Friday morning after Labour's Davy Russell was elected as the new MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, winning the seat from the SNP. With the votes showing a swing of more than 7% from the SNP to Labour, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Friday the result showed people have 'voted for change'. The by-election had been held following the death earlier this year of Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie. When the votes were counted, Mr Russell polled 8,559, SNP candidate Katy Loudon took 7,957 votes, while Reform's Ross Lambie secured 7,088. And although Mr Russell was elected with fewer votes than Labour secured in the seat in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP's support fell from just over 46% of all ballots then to 29.35% in the by-election. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice insisting they were 'delighted' with coming third – despite speculation prior to the count that they could come in second or may even pull off a surprise victory. Labour's win came after Scotland's First Minister John Swinney – who made numerous campaign visits to the area – had declared the contest to be a 'two-horse race' between the SNP and Nigel Farage's Reform. But speaking at a media event in Hamilton on Friday morning, Mr Sarwar accused the SNP leader of running a 'disgraceful' campaign. Mr Sarwar also insisted the by-election could 'help lead the way' to him becoming Scotland's next first minister in the May 2026 Holyrood elections. The Scottish Labour leader said he believed the victory to be 'even more significant' than the party's win in the nearby Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election in October 2023 – which he said had been key in helping to secure Labour's general election win in July last year. Mr Sarwar declared: 'I think in some ways this by-election result is even more significant than the Rutherglen by-election result two years ago. 'It is right to say, I believe, the result in Rutherglen helped lead the way in helping to elect a UK Labour Government and I also believe the by-election result here will help lead the way to elect a Scottish Labour government next year.' Looking ahead to that election, Mr Sarwar told the PA news agency: 'I want us to gain scores of seats across the country so we can remove this SNP government from office.' He went on to accuse Mr Swinney of running a 'disgraceful campaign' in the by-election, saying that despite the SNP having been in power for 18 years, 'the best he had to offer was 'vote SNP to stop Farage''. And while Reform UK came in third in the by-election, Mr Sarwar said Mr Farage's party could not win the Scottish Parliament elections. He insisted: 'Nigel Farage is not standing to be first minister. 'It is a straight choice – it is either going to be John Swinney, or it's going to be me.' The Scottish Labour leader continued: 'The choice is stark next year. Our Parliament is not about protests, our election is not about protest, it is about choosing a government here in Scotland. 'The choice is stark – a third decade of the SNP with John Swinney as first minister or a new direction for Scotland with me as first minister.' However, Mr Tice told BBC Radio 4's that the result in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse was 'truly remarkable'. He said: 'We've come from nowhere to being in a three-way marginal, and we're within 750 votes of winning that by-election and just a few hundred votes of defeating the SNP, so it's an incredible result.' Mr Swinney, meanwhile, said the SNP was 'clearly disappointed' with the result. The party leader said Labour had 'won by an absolute landslide' in Rutherglen and Hamilton West – noting the SNP 'came much closer' this time round. But he added: 'The people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse have made clear that we still have work to do. 'Over the next few days, we will take time to consider the result fully.'


Daily Mail
3 hours ago
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Asked whether his proposals chimed with the first of Labour's five 'missions' at last year's general election - 'growth' - he replied: 'If we want to have the key workers that our communities need - the nurses, the social care workers, the bus drivers, the posties - they need to have genuinely affordable homes. 'You can't have that thriving economy without the workforce there, but at the moment, the housing that we are delivering is not likely to be affordable for those sorts of roles. 'It's effectively turning the towns into commuter dormitories rather than having thriving local economies, so for me, yes, it is about supporting the local economy.' Mr Hinchliff warned that the 'bottleneck' which slows housebuilding 'is not process, it's profit'. 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He said: 'I won't stand by and watch more children in the country end up struggling in temporary accommodation to appease pressure groups. No Labour MP should. 'It's morally reprehensible to play games with this issue. These amendments should be withdrawn.' The prospect of a backbench rebellion sparks another blow to the Government's housebuilding plans just one day after a report cast doubt on whether it would be able to meet its 2029 target at all. A bleak report by the Home Builders Federation yesterday showed Labour is falling short of its target by 170,000 homes a year. Industry leaders said the data was 'disastrous' and without urgent support from ministers there is 'little chance' of reaching the goal. Just 39,170 homes were given planning permission in England in the first three months of the year – the lowest quarterly figure since records began. That was a 55 per cent drop on the previous quarter and almost 32 per cent lower than a year earlier. The 225,067 units given approval in the 12 months to the end of March was the worst performance in 12 years. The federation said its data 'starkly illustrates the urgent need for Government to address the barriers to housing supply' if they are to get 'anywhere near the much-vaunted' target.


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