Rhona Brankin
- Name:
- Rhona Brankin
- Party:
- Scottish Labour Party
- Constituency:
- Midlothian
- Election result May 2003:
- 11139 votes (47.29%), first of five candidates
- Election literature available in Aspect:
-
- Election policy statement:
- Rhona Brankin and Scottish Labour Delivering for Midlothian
HOSPITALS - New Edinburgh Royal Infirmary open and building of Midlothian Community Hospital to start in June 2004.
EDUCATION - New Dalkeith school campus with state-of-the-art facilities for sport, music and drama.
OLDER PEOPLE - Free personal care, free off-peak travel, free central heating - all delivered.
CRIME - Record police numbers locally and new measures to tackle drug dealing.
TRANSPORT - Rhona is continuing to push for a bypass for Dalkeith. Safety improvements have been made on the A68 and £2m of development funding has been delivered for the Waverley rail line.
ECONOMY - Local unemployment at a record low and Midlothian leading the world in biotechnology.
ENVIRONMENT - The National Waste Plan will increase recycling seven-fold by 2020, while Labour has also introduced new measures to tackle litter and dog fouling.
A vote for Labour on 1st May is a vote to put public services first. A vote for Labour on 1st May is a vote for strong local representation.
A vote for Labour on 1st May is a vote for:
- more investment in local schools
- a modern NHS for both patients and staff
- tough action on drugs, youth crime and anti-social behaviour
- safer streets and better public transport
Only Labour will make investment in public services the top priority for the next four years.
For better schools, more nurses and more police, for Midlothian, vote Labour on 1st May.
RHONA BRANKIN, YOUR LABOUR CANDIDATE FOR MIDLOTHIAN
It has been a great honour to represent the people of Midlothian in the Scottish Parliament over the past four years.
A lot has been done - we have delivered more local police, extra investment in local schools and hospitals, nursery places for all three and four year olds, free personal care for the elderly and hundreds more local people in work. But I know that the job isn't over.
With your support on 1st May, I will work to build on these achievements and help to build a better Midlothian and a better Scotland.
INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE
Labour has delivered a nursery place for all three and four year olds, and smaller classes in primary schools. Now Labour has promised Midlothian £50 million to repair and refurbish our local schools, money which comes on top of the £33 million invested in the Dalkeith Schools Campus. Labour has also delivered better pay and conditions for teachers and the abolition of tuition fees for students.
IMPROVING THE NHS
Labour is investing an extra £3.2 billion in rebuilding our NHS and making it fit for the 21st Century. Rhona Brankin has secured a commitment that work on the Midlothian Community Hospital will start in June 2004 and Midlothian people will soon benefit from the full transfer of patient services to the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary at Little France.
DELIVERING BETTER TRANSPORT
Labour has delivered free local off-peak bus travel for pensioners and will extend the scheme nationwide. Locally, Rhona Brankin has worked with the Scottish Executive and Midlothian Council to deliver better transport options for all parts of Midlothian. A supporter of plans to re-open the Waverley and Penicuik/Loanhead rail lines, Rhona warmly welcomed the recent announcement that money is available to take the Waverley project forward. Rhona continues to argue the case for a Dalkeith bypass and recently secured safety improvements to the busy A68 road in Dalkeith and Pathhead.
BUILDING BETTER COMMUNITIES
Labour introduced new powers to seize the assets of drug dealers with the establishment of Scottish Drugs Enforcement Agency and has delivered record police numbers in Lothian. Prudent economic policies have brought local unemployment to an all-time low, including the slashing of long-term unemployment by 90%. Labour has delivered better access to the countryside and has acted to protect our environment by increasing recycling seven-fold by 2020 and by bringing in new measures to tackle litter and dog fouling. Rhona Brankin helped to protect our local industrial heritage by obtaining funding to give the Scottish Mining Museum at Newtongrange a secure future.
- Personal details used in election:
- Rhona Brankin has been Midlothian's MSP since 1999. A former Minister in the Scottish Executive, Rhona is a member of the Scottish Parliament's Enterprise & Lifelong Learning and Audit Committees.
Rhona is a Trustee of the Scottish Mining Museum at Newtongrange and a member of the Management Committee of Volunteering First. In the last four years, Rhona has held surgeries right across Midlothian and has introduced home visits for the housebound. Since becoming your MSP Rhona has written thousands of letters, had hundreds of meetings and made thousands of telephone calls on behalf of local people.
- Further information:
-
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/rhona_brankin/