LABOUR candidate Alison Taylor is confident her party can bounce back in Paisley and Renfrewshire North, despite some difficult times over the past decade.

The chartered surveyor admits she feels some confusion as to why the party has lost so many seats in Scotland in recent years but thinks people will see change is needed after constant wrangling over Brexit.

Mrs Taylor said: “It puzzles me to be honest [why Labour have struggled].

“I think we’ve got some great elected representatives that do care very deeply.

“I do not really understand it. People have got the impression that Labour in Scotland is a branch office of Westminster and we’re told what to do by the head office in London but I do not see that myself.

“There was a dramatic improvement in our vote in 2017 and I do think people are starting to come back to Labour from the SNP because they realise there’s a lot of things that do need addressed.

The Gazette: Ms Taylor praised the Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard Ms Taylor praised the Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard

“A lot of people have said to me they did vote for independence in 2014 but they just don’t want another referendum right now.

“I think it’s really unhelpful, the constant downplaying of the Labour party in Scotland, because Richard Leonard has been out with me a lot and he’s a good guy.

“Labour have not been in power for 10 years in Westminster or Holyrood and it’s time for a change. Something needs to give here. People will start to see that, I think.”

Mrs Taylor also told The Gazette that the idea of another independence referendum concerns her ahead of voters heading to the polls tomorrow.

She said: “I don’t want us to be going into another independence referendum because nothing would get done and there would be all this uncertainty and, meanwhile, nothing else is being addressed. The SNP MPs could be airing issues for Scotland but their time is taken up by constantly mentioning independence.”

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