AS MEMBERS of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), we fought hard for the election of a Labour government that promised change.

For over a decade, working-class communities across the UK suffered under the callous policies of the Conservative Party. The promise of a new dawn breaking with Labour brought many voters to the polls with hope — hope for dignity, fairness, and meaningful change in the lives of ordinary people.

Yet, here we stand on the eve of the first visit of a Labour Prime Minister to a Scottish Labour Conference in 15 years and just eight months after that momentous election win, and we are not just deeply disappointed, we are angry.

Seven months into this Labour government, any sign of the change that so many of us longed for remains elusive. Yes, the Conservatives were ousted, but beyond that, what has changed for the millions of traditional Labour voters who placed their trust in this party?

Traditional Labour voters have seen little evidence that anything meaningful has changed, unless in some cases, for the worse.

Shocking polling figures this week highlight the depth of the disillusionment caused by their failures to help working-class people, with the Scottish Labour Party at risk of slipping to third place, let alone contending for victory.

For the CWU this betrayal of working-class people’s hopes is both infuriating and unacceptable.

One of the starkest examples is the decision to cut eligibility for winter fuel payments. Despite supposed opposition from the Scottish Labour leader, the policy was implemented anyway.

The impact of this callous move will be felt most acutely by our most vulnerable citizens, particularly pensioners facing the prospect of cold homes and rising energy prices. This is not the compassionate, socially just Labour government that voters were promised.

Similarly, the decision to retain the punitive two-child limit on welfare support is an affront to social justice. This cruel policy, which forces families into poverty for the “offence” of having more than two children (at a time when Scotland needs more people), should have been scrapped immediately.

Again, the claim that the Anas Sarwar had called for its abolition seems at best, ignored.  But what of the thousands of families in Scotland who are also being ignored? They will continue to suffer as a result.

How can we claim to be a party of fairness and opportunity when we uphold policies that deepen inequality and drive up child poverty levels?

The injustice facing the Waspi women (Women Against State Pension Inequality) is another glaring example. Labour came to power on the promise of addressing their plight, yet now these women are being told that nothing will change.

These are women who have worked hard all their lives, only to be denied the pensions they rightfully earned. This broken promise will perpetuate hardship and inequality for an entire generation, leaving them abandoned by the very party they trusted to fight for them.

Morally these decisions are bad enough, but electorally they could prove fatal for Labour’s chances at the May 2026  election.  

An estimated 336,000 Waspi women live in Scotland — each will have a vote next year. To put that figure in perspective, that’s 69 per cent of Scottish Labour’s entire regional list vote at the last election — which delivered most of the party’s MSPs.  

The potential anger from Waspi women alone, never mind their friends, family members and the pensioners who have been robbed of their winter fuel allowance, could prove deadly for the group of 22 MSPs currently in Holyrood.

This week’s Scottish Labour conference is an opportunity for the party to stop whispering that it may disagree with Starmer’s direction as Anas Sarwar has done so far, and instead speak with a unified voice in setting out a genuinely new direction.  

We in the CWU are calling for nothing less than a transformative agenda. This includes:

• A wealth tax on fixed assets to ensure Scotland’s public services are adequately funded and able to meet the needs of its people. Wealth inequality has skyrocketed, and it’s time for those at the top to pay their fair share.

• An end to welfare austerity by scrapping harmful policies like the two-child limit and advocating for a humane, supportive welfare system that lifts people out of poverty rather than punishing them for it.

• The devolution of employment law to Scotland, enabling the creation of the safest and fairest working conditions in the UK. Scottish workers deserve stronger protections for their rights and conditions — and only a bold Labour vision can deliver this.

These policies are not just political talking points — they are the moral imperatives of our time. They represent the kind of bold, progressive leadership that traditional Labour voters have long demanded. Anything less is a betrayal of the trust placed in our party.

We at the CWU believe that Scottish Labour can still turn the tide. But doing so will require a decisive break from a Tory economic status quo seamlessly continued by the new government.  

The time for half-measures and broken promises is over. If Scottish Labour wants to rebuild trust, it must offer voters a genuine alternative to SNP mismanagement and Tory austerity.

Working people have waited long enough. We need a Labour government that delivers — not just in words, but in action. The stakes could not be higher, and failure cannot be countenanced.

It’s time for Scottish Labour to rise to the occasion and lead the fight for a fairer, more prosperous Scotland.

Craig Anderson is CWU regional secretary in Scotland.