Election: Candidates have their final say ahead of election vote

Voters will take to the polls from 7am on Thursday, December 12, to decide who they want to win the West Dunbartonshire seat.

For the last couple of weeks, the Post has featured discussion topics on Brexit and constituency issues and each of the six candidates have had their say.

For this final week, we asked them to share their final thoughts on why they should represent the local area.

Peter Connolly, Scottish Greens:

You’ve been asked to vote a lot recently. The flurry of recent elections makes it hard to remember that this week could be the last time we elect MPs to Westminster for five years.

Last year, the world’s leading climate scientists told us we have until 2030 to save the planet. By the next general election we’ll be half way there. The climate emergency is already hitting hard – we need to make drastic cuts in carbon and that means we need to fundamentally transform how we do things. There’s no time to lose.

We need a plan that gives us the fastest possible reductions in every sector. A plan that uses every lever available while protecting and creating jobs. The Scottish Greens’ plan is the Scottish Green New Deal and it’s at the centre of our manifesto for this election.

The deal will create 200,000 new jobs, redirect massive investment into low carbon industries, grow a low carbon manufacturing sector, restore our environment, give everyone a warm home and provide access to affordable, reliable, publicly-owned green transport.

When Green MSPs were first in the Scottish Parliament to propose a motion to declare a climate emergency in March this year, the SNP, Tories, Labour and Lib Dems all joined forces to vote against. The SNP’s recent climate change bill was so watered down, the Green MSPs couldn’t support it. While other parties claim to acknowledge the problem, their actions fail to match their words.

This election must be the climate election. Your vote is your chance to speak up for children, grandchildren and the planet. Demand climate action by voting for the Scottish Greens.

Jenni Lang, Liberal Democrats:

A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to stop Brexit, stop independence, and build a brighter future for Scotland in the UK.

Brexit has caused economic pain and uncertainty from Caithness to Cornwall and prevented us from tackling the real issues facing the country. And the SNP want to start the chaos over again with independence.

That’s why we are determined to stop the Brexit uncertainty and use the £50billion Remain Bonus to invest in public services and tackle inequality.

We are also committed to a transformation of mental health services so that mental health is treated as seriously as physical health.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have led the campaign for better mental health services in Scotland. At the moment children wait up to two years for the treatment they desperately need and services are hundreds of staff short. The SNP were 15 months late with their flagship strategy, delaying critical decisions and investment.

Rather than ploughing on with a damaging exit from the European Union or breaking up the UK with independence, Liberal Democrats will deliver a brighter future for the whole of the UK.

Andrew Muir, Independent:

Having been to two hustings and listened to views, our MP must work together with MSPs and councillors to enact legislation to change the culture of the area.

Poverty, foodbanks and homelessness: Every adult citizen should have a universal basic income of £10,000 p.a. This can be funded by the removal of Trident and the reduction of benefits for highly paid public sector officials.

NHS: They are our public servants and not our masters. They should be required to provide a minimum level of services at the Vale of Leven Hospital; have an effective complaints system where mistakes are admitted and dealt with; and the laws must comply with the United Nations Convention on Rights of People with Disabilities.

Alcoholism and addiction: These are mental health issues, we need more counselling, not drugs. I currently organise school chess tournaments in order to engage young people and give them a purpose and to feel included. Funding should be found for youth participation in various activities.

The planet: Each generation should clean up its waste for the next. We need to fund research to find a replacement for plastic which decomposes within 25 years. We must be an example to encourage high emission countries like China and USA to reduce our overall carbon footprint.

Independence and Brexit: The above four issues are far more important. We should respect the results of the 2014 and 2016 referendums with further referendums in 2039 and 2041 being for the next generation in 25 years hence.

Alix Mathieson, Conservative:

This election we must consider what we want for our future.

Do we want two more referenda next year with further division and delay or do we want to move our country forward and get back to what really matters to people?

I am passionate about improving our local area, ensuring our services are flourishing and growing the local economy.

I want a Scotland that is free from divisive politics, where everyone gets a fair crack at the whip regardless of their background, where our education system is once again regarded as the best in the world.

Only a vote for the Scottish Conservatives on December 12 can move us on together.

Jean Anne Mitchell, Labour:

We are now on the eve of a General Election that is perhaps the most important one for a generation.

Families, single-person households, elderly, and the disabled have each been affected by austerity from both Westminster and Holyrood.

The Tories have been in government for nine years, the Lib Dems were in the coalition government, the SNP are in government and the Greens prop up the SNP in government. The only party that has not been in government in the past decade is Labour.

That is why Labour truly are the only party that will deliver for our communities, for the postal worker, the bus driver, the care worker, the teacher, the NHS worker, and so many people that are the backbone of our economy. Not the rich, not the privileged, and certainly not the billionaires who have profited off the back of this community.

The SNP is going to tell you that a vote for them is a vote to “escape” Brexit. I’m sorry, but what does that even mean? It is desperate word play.

I want to roll up my sleeves and head down to Westminster to get the best results for you. Scrapping Universal Credit, investing in our NHS, investing in our council, investing in jobs, investing in public transport, and compensation for WASPI women – not warm words.

It is a clear choice for me as your anti-austerity candidate to deliver real change. Please vote for Jean Anne Mitchell, Scottish Labour, on Thursday. We can achieve this change together.

Martin Docherty-Hughes, SNP:

This is an historic election, not only because it has seen candidates campaigning at a time when most of us would be happier staying in planning for the festive season, but because we find ourselves at a crossroads in the history of these islands.

I know locals will see through the lies spouted by the prime minister and his Tory lackeys – the direction their future plans will take us in, turning the UK into a mini-me to Trump’s America, selling off our NHS and rolling back the hard earned rights and protections that were won by generations of working people in communities like our own.

Regardless of your views on Brexit, it has become clear that it has become the defining issue of our times – and one that this Tory government has shown itself utterly incapable of meeting.

Yet again, the views of people here and all over Scotland has been given the rubber ear – as if we needed any more proof that the Westminster is ever going to be the right fit for people here.

So in the election, I’m asking you to vote for me and the SNP, to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands. That means not waiting around for Westminster’s permission to tackle the issues that we know our communities face, and not be dragged into the chaos they’ve created. Only a vote for the SNP on December 12 will send that message, and only the SNP can make the Tories listen.