Dear neighbours and friends of Davy Russell in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse,
You face a stark and serious choice this Thursday in the upcoming by-election.
Don’t believe the spin and the nonsense of John Swinney – this by election is a two horse race between Scottish Labour and the SNP.
Reform can’t win here.
And the SNP don’t deserve to win here again.
Throughout this by-election campaign, Reform have tried every dirty trick in the book to drive a wedge to divide this community – but I know you will see right through it.
They know they can’t win – they don’t care about beating the SNP, all they care about is getting attention.
Nigel Farage is a poisonous, pathetic and toxic little man that doesn’t understand this community or our country.
He and his cronies in Reform have spent thousands of pounds spreading bile, misinformation and racial slurs.
Scotland is my home.
I was born here. I am raising my children here. And I was proud to work in Scotland’s NHS, serving one of our most deprived communities.
At the same time, Nigel Farage was on the Brussels gravy train.
While I am seeking to unite and change our country after 18 years of SNP failure, Nigel Farage wants to divide us.
He left the Tories because they weren’t Right Wing enough for him – but now that former president of the Margaret Thatcher Appreciation Society claims to be the great champion of working people in Scotland.
Give me a break.
On Monday, Nigel Farage will finally appear after getting his chauffeur to put Hamilton into Google Maps.
In the face of his toxic bile, I challenged him to go head to head with me in any town hall in this community.
But like every other plastic hard man he shrank from the challenge.
He is a charlatan and a coward who knows nothing and cares less about this community.
But this by-election is not about him.
It’s about you and your family and how we make your life better.
The choice you face is between an outsider who wants to give you more managed decline, lies and failure or one of your own – Davy Russell, a local champion that will fight every minute of every day for you.
You have a choice between an SNP candidate who voted against £8m of new investment for Hamilton Town Centre or a local champion who knows how to get your community back on track.
An SNP candidate who claims to stand up for the NHS but supports SNP plans to downgrade the Wishaw Neonatal Unit, forcing local mums to travel hundreds of miles to get care for their babies in Aberdeen – or a local champion who will fight tooth and nail to stop this SNP madness.
And the choice is between an SNP candidate who leaves behind a trail of failed election campaigns in Rutherglen and Glasgow or a local champion who has never been a politician, never stood for election before, but wants to deliver for the community he belongs to.
Because you have been let down by the SNP who deserve to be removed from office – and next May we will get that chance.
But that starts here in this by-election.
And let me tell you why this is so important.
After 18 years of the SNP, one in six Scots are on an NHS waiting list and you will know someone who has been forced to pay thousands of pounds to go private.
They have neglected your communities and town centres and they have wasted billions of pounds of your money in the process.
The truth is Reform can’t win in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse and they can’t win in Scotland.
They can’t beat the SNP and they have already admitted that they are aiming for third place.
The truth is that the SNP don’t deserve to win.
John Swinney is trying to use Reform as a mask for his failure.
He shouldn’t be let off the hook for his own role in making people feel so scunnered and let down.
Only Davy Russell can beat the SNP – so on Thursday, use your vote to make a positive choice.
A positive choice to reject Reform and their hatred.
A positive choice to beat the SNP and their incompetence.
A positive choice to reject the politics of division and deliver a better future for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
The SNP has failed you.
Reform can’t win in Scotland.
And only Scottish Labour’s Davy Russell can beat the SNP.
Next year I will be seeking your support to become the Next First Minister of Scotland.
But this week you can lead the way in beating the SNP and delivering the new direction that Scotland so desperately needs by electing one of your own – Davy Russell.
Yours,
Anas Sarwar