The Commons Touch

Published 27 Oct 2011 09:30

On October 1 I joined with thousands of people in Glasgow City Centre to march in protest against the cuts being made by the Tory-led Government.

The march was organised by the STUC, and politicians, trade unions, faith groups, workers and families came together to protest at the public sector cuts that are having a damaging and devastating impact on public services and local communities.

We were also joined by veteran Labour politician Tony Benn.

This march showed the strength of opposition to the Tory-led Government's cuts and I was delighted to see so many people from West Dunbartonshire there.

By cutting too far and too fast, the Tories are risking the economic recovery and damaging public services up and down the country.

It's laughable for Cameron to say that families should be paying down their debt when it's his actions that are putting the squeeze on household budgets. We need a plan for growth, not a plan for cuts.

Remploy

Remploy workers, like many others, have been badly treated by the Government over the last year with continued speculation over the future of the factories and a drip feed of bad news.

Recent plans by the Tory-led Government have suggested closing Remploy factories, forcing workers out of jobs and I recently went to the Clydebank factory again, along with the GMB union, to talk through these plans.

Disabled workers should have a range of options open to them and it's clear that many people value supported workplaces like Remploy.

For the Government to suggest closing Remploy, particularly at such a difficult time for job seekers, is a slap in the face.

It's particularly grating that the management have continued to receive large bonuses even when they have been underperforming and not meeting their targets. It shouldn't be the workers who suffer for their ineptitude.

New role

I'm delighted to have been reappointed to my role as a shadow Defence minister in Parliament by Labour leader Ed Miliband.

But for the first time, all Labour's Scottish front bench MPs will also work as part of the shadow Scotland office team with the new shadow secretary of State, Margaret Curran.

We will be putting forward the positive alternative for Scotland, challenging the Tories' damaging cuts and working closely with our colleagues in the Scottish Parliament who just this week have shown damning evidence of Alex Salmond's failure to listen to ordinary Scots.

Like the nurses who are at 'breaking point', parents who now face bills of thousands of pounds for orthodontic treatment for their children, unemployed young people desperate for a job and an incredible one third of Scots households who are in fuel poverty.

Alex Salmond needs to stop worrying about constitutional wrangling and sort out some of the real problems on his doorstep.

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This article appeared in Clydebank Post 27 Oct 11

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