It’s now been over three months since Labour entered the doors of the UK Parliament with an overwhelming majority carrying with them a mandate from the people of change, however, it is already clear that we won’t see the change which the people voted for.

Within weeks the Labour government voted against scrapping the awful two-child cap in an amendment proposed by the SNP and have now voted to scrap the winter fuel allowance which will harm many of the most vulnerable in our communities as we come to yet another winter with rising fuel prices.

When Labour campaigners came to your door asking for your vote I don’t think this was the ‘’change’’ they promised you or your family.

Indeed our own member for West Dunbartonshire Douglas McAllister MP voted for these Labour austerity decisions and then came to council during his last council meeting in August to defend these decisions to inflict more pain on our communities after my motion to condemn Labour’s continuation of austerity.

Our previous SNP MP Martin Docherty-Hughes had a stellar record of voting for social justice and defending our communities in the House of Commons, clearly we can no longer rely on the people of West Dunbartonshire being defended in the same manner in the House of Commons.

The reality is whether it’s a red or blue lapel on the Prime Minister, Scotland and our town will always be subject to austerity from a UK Government which will always fund nuclear weapons on the Clyde or fund foreign military actions abroad but never feed hungry children or look after our pensioners.

The UK Government has borrowing powers from the Bank of England which allows them to enact any monetary policy they wish to invest in the economy and have the option of investing to create economic stimulus to move away from years of austerity.

The Scottish Government operates on a fixed-term budget set by London with limited borrowing powers and this filters down to our budgets for local government, the continued austerity from Westminster is preventing both the Scottish Government and local councils from properly investing in public services.

When the Chancellor announces the upcoming budget in November which Labour have admitted will be ‘’painful’’, remember all of the promises made on your doorstep for change and the further harm this will do to our already overstretched public services.

Scotland needs to run its own affairs, the promises of change from the London parties have proved to be made up of hot air, Scotland needs freed from the two party system and only independence for our country can deliver this and allow us to build public services worth the name.