We are South Lanarkshire Labour. We come from all walks of life and all parts of South Lanarkshire. What unites us is what we believe in – public service, social justice, fairness for working people.

We believe in a better society in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few. We are working to achieve that better society through collective action and democratic change.

We believe that South Lanarkshire Council needs new leadership now. New leadership with a clear vision of how to improve the lives of the people who live and work here. New leadership to drive forward the recovery from Covid.

To bring change to South Lanarkshire, a Labour Council will prioritise frontline jobs and services, develop an assertive new municipalism to push back against austerity and use the power of the local state to create healthier, more resilient, sustainable communities as we build back from the pandemic.

We will put the frontline first. We will do all we can to rebuild essential services degraded by under-funding, five years of weak leadership and the impact of Covid. We will strive to protect core services and the workers who provide them – core services like education, housing, maintenance of our communities and assets, cleansing and social care. We will work in partnership with trade unions to make South Lanarkshire the best employer it can be, leading by example and investing in our workforce.

We will always fight for South Lanarkshire’s fair share of public spending. We will oppose the excessive cuts that have diminished local services and harmed our communities. We will balance budgets fairly, pressing for innovation and reform to make the Council less dependent on inadequate government grants. We will actively explore how new municipal enterprises can generate additional income for the Council and we will use that income to offset the worst excesses of austerity, channelling revenues into local services and democratically determined local priorities.

We will use the power of the Council to drive wider change in society. We will make council spending go further for South Lanarkshire, procuring and investing wisely to advance the wellbeing of our people. We will make South Lanarkshire a leader in Community Wealth Building, keeping more of the wealth we create locally in our communities. We will take forward a Green New Deal, making investment in our homes, our facilities and our environment greener and more sustainable. We will work with the people of South Lanarkshire to achieve a better quality of life for everyone.

Our vision is for a better Council that invests in the frontline, protects its workers and transforms the communities it serves. Our vision is municipal socialism in action, changing lives and building a better society for the future.