SNP by-election team in Hamilton
The SNP's Westminster Leader, Stephen Flynn MP, and Deputy Westminster Leader, Mhairi Black MP, join the SNP candidate for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, Katy Loudon, in Hillhouse. The trio are joined by SNP activists as they canvas the area.
The SNP's Westminster Leader, Stephen Flynn MP, and Deputy Westminster Leader, Mhairi Black MP, join the SNP candidate for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, Katy Loudon, in Hillhouse. The trio are joined by SNP activists as they canvas the area.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:18 Hi, I'm Councillor Katie Loudon. I'm the SNP candidate for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.
00:23 So we've got a lot of local activists today as well.
00:26 We've got some of our councillors have come over and we've got Stephen Flynn and Mary Black MPs over to help as well.
00:32 It's absolutely fantastic to have this level of support.
00:35 I think our biggest asset in our party is our activists and to have them come out and lend us a hand over here is wonderful.
00:42 I am feeling confident. Listen, our job just now is to go out and chap as many doors as possible
00:47 and to listen to the priorities and the concerns of people in areas like this in Hamilton.
00:52 So that's what I'm doing just now. We're getting a great response. We're in this to win and we're going to keep going. Three weeks to go.
00:58 Stephen Flynn, SNP leader at Westminster. I've just been chapping doors in the community behind me here.
01:04 I've actually just came off a door where a woman was talking directly with me about the SNP's proposal for an energy rebate.
01:11 This was something that was in place last year and we know that in energy-rich Scotland far too many people are living in fuel poverty.
01:17 So we put forward a practical solution. The UK government should be putting in place a £400 rebate to each and every household
01:24 to help them get through what we know is going to be a very chilly winter.
01:28 But it's not just about energy, it's about the wider challenges that households are facing in relation to their bills.
01:33 Whether that's food bills, which have obviously been impacted by leaving the European Union, or mortgage rates.
01:38 Mortgage rates are going through the roof. We know that I think 1.1 million people are going to be impacted over the course of the next 12 months by mortgage rate increases.
01:46 We want to see the UK government put in place financial relief similar to what was in place in decades gone by
01:52 to ensure that households don't feel the strain and they don't feel the consequences of the mistakes that are being made at Westminster.
01:59 It's hugely important for us and it's hugely important for the people of this community as well
02:04 because what they want is an MP who's going to stand up for them in Parliament and talk about the things that matter to them the most.
02:11 The cost of living crisis is at the forefront of their minds. The impact of Brexit, the devastating impact of Brexit upon businesses and indeed our public sector too.
02:21 And of course that very real possibility that we should have of Scotland being able to determine its own future.
02:27 There's a clear link between Scotland being attached to Westminster and the fact that we are of course facing this cost of Westminster crisis
02:34 exacerbated by leaving the European Union against our will.
02:38 So this area needs and it deserves an MP who's going to go to Westminster and stand up for them on the issues that matter most to them.
02:44 Our party's got a proud history. Winnie Ewan being of course the pioneer but the likes of Margo MacDonald as well in decades gone by
02:53 who really took women to the centre stage of politics in Scotland.
02:57 I'm very proud of the fact that I'm in a party which has had a very popular female leader
03:05 and hopefully Katie can follow in all their footsteps and deliver for the people here in Westminster.
03:10 My name is Mary Black. I am the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South and the Deputy Leader of the Westminster Group.
03:16 Within Westminster we still have a government that are not responding to any of the needs that people have.
03:22 They are not responding to the cost of living crisis. They're not responding to folk who cannae pay their bills, cannae pay their mortgages.
03:29 And again it's just highlighting why we need something better in Scotland
03:33 and I think that Katie Loudon is the perfect example of somebody who can fight to get that.
03:38 I think it's brilliant news that a deal's been struck and of course what the team are asking for is totally reasonable
03:45 and I think it would be unreasonable for anyone to disagree with it so to hear there's a deal was excellent news.
03:51 I think it's shown just how far we've got to go when it comes to equality and particularly when you've got traditional male sports.
03:58 Of course with the success of the women's team we're seeing that that idea's been blown out the water
04:03 so it's time the SFA caught up with where the rest of us are.
04:06 You've got Westminster which is completely male dominated not just in terms of numbers but also in terms of the culture.
04:13 It's a very toxic masculine place and when you combine that with how social media's taken off
04:20 and how easy it is for people to target their abuse particularly towards women
04:25 I can see why it would scare a lot of folk but ultimately things only change if people put their necks out and try and change them
04:32 and I've spent the last almost ten years trying to do that
04:36 so I'm looking forward to passing the baton on to other folk to build on all the success that we've had.
04:42 And if Katie was to be successful what advice would you give her?
04:45 Keep your chin up, you know why you're there so have confidence and argue for what you believe in.
04:51 [no dialogue]