With Keir Starmer’s long overdue resignation, the UK Labour Government has been thrown into yet more chaos. After the Winter Fuel Payment debacle, the Mandelson scandal and broken promises to cut energy bills by £300, it was basically inevitable that Keir Starmer would have to resign.
He promised change and delivered more of the same, and I am glad he finally did the right thing. But this is about more than one incompetent Prime Minister or one failed Labour government. With Keir Starmer leaving Downing Street, the UK will soon have its seventh Prime Minister in ten years.
That is not the sign of a serious political system. That says to me that the entire Westminster system just is not working. No matter which party is in Downing Street, the fact is that it is a system that will just never operate in the interests of ordinary people. And it will certainly never operate in the interests of Scotland.
Westminster loves nothing more than to focus on itself, rather than on the things that really matter. That is never an approach my government will take here in Scotland.
When people are facing a cost of living crisis, rising energy bills and global conflicts, they look to their governments to provide serious leadership and stability.
But in Westminster, they see politicians fighting amongst themselves, taking short-term decisions and stumbling from crisis to crisis while jockeying for position. It is just not good enough.
Let me be clear – if Westminster is not willing to get its act together and start doing what is needed to protect people in Scotland, they should get out of the way for a Scottish Government that will.
Because here, the SNP Government is getting on with the job of delivering on the promises we made in the election and is focussed entirely on the things that matter most – helping people with the cost of living, improving our NHS and growing the economy.
That is what people get with me as First Minister and the SNP in government – strong, experienced leadership and a focus on delivering on the things you care about.
So it is no wonder that more and more people are looking at the contrast between Scotland and the UK Government and coming to the conclusion that we just cannot afford to be part of the Westminster chaos any more.
Scotland has a better alternative – and with the fresh start of independence we can be free of Westminster chaos for good.
Whenever I write these columns, I always have in my mind that it is clear that readers of the Daily Record voted emphatically for the SNP in last month’s election.
You put your trust in me and my government, and it is important to me to set out how we are repaying that trust. Already since the election, we have hit the ground running and made real progress in delivering on the promises which you elected us on.
We have opened up the First Homes Fund, giving up to £10,000 support to help first time buyers get on to the property ladder and we are opening more GP walk-in centres across Scotland.
At the end of last week, the Scottish Parliament went into its summer recess – but that does not mean the SNP Government is taking the summer off. Far from it – we are going to be working harder than ever.
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In the coming weeks, we will be doing even more to deliver on the promises we made – including on delivering a price cap on essential food items in supermarkets, delivering a Mansion Tax and a £2 bus fare cap.
That is what we promised – so that is what we will do.