Sir Keir Starmer has been the leader of the Labour Party since April 2020, following the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn after his humiliating defeat to Boris Johnson at the Labour's defeat at the 2019 general election.
The former Chief Prosecutor is now preparing to fight his first election as leader, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Britain would be going to the polls on Thursday, July 4.
Here are 10 things he’s said about Scotland.
!["Seventeen years of SNP failure in Holyrood. Only Labour can provide the change Scotland needs. I mean, look around this nation. Drug deaths – off the scale. Schools – going backwards. Buses that cost a fortune. Those ferries, still not serving the Island communities who need them. A terrible crisis in our NHS. Ambulances – queuing up outside A&E. Patients who need treatment, waiting inside."](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/05/24/14/06/GettyImages-2020232293.jpg.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
1. Sir Keir Starmer on...the SNP
"Seventeen years of SNP failure in Holyrood. Only Labour can provide the change Scotland needs. I mean, look around this nation. Drug deaths – off the scale. Schools – going backwards. Buses that cost a fortune. Those ferries, still not serving the Island communities who need them. A terrible crisis in our NHS. Ambulances – queuing up outside A&E. Patients who need treatment, waiting inside."
!["The Labour Party is humbly asking for the opportunity to change the country. To serve the entire country. To be clear, there is no national renewal without a strong Scotland. There is no Labour without Scotland. There is no changed Britain without Scotland.”](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/05/24/14/02/GettyImages-2148266848.jpg.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
2. Sir Keir Starmer on...winning Scottish votes
"The Labour Party is humbly asking for the opportunity to change the country. To serve the entire country. To be clear, there is no national renewal without a strong Scotland. There is no Labour without Scotland. There is no changed Britain without Scotland.”
!["The nation that gave rise to our movement. That stood beside working people. Defeated fascism. Built, as part of our union. A welfare state out of the rubble of war."](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/05/24/14/18/GettyImages-2147738923.jpg.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
3. Sir Keir Starmer on...Scotland's political history
"The nation that gave rise to our movement. That stood beside working people. Defeated fascism. Built, as part of our union. A welfare state out of the rubble of war."
!["As prime minister, I would have respect for the Scottish Parliament and where there’s a decision for the Scottish Parliament to rightly make, I would have respect for them."](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/05/24/14/40/GettyImages-2149631632.jpg.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
4. Sir Keir Starmer on...the Scottish Governent
"As prime minister, I would have respect for the Scottish Parliament and where there’s a decision for the Scottish Parliament to rightly make, I would have respect for them."