General Election 2024: Stirling and Strathallan candidates discuss carer and green plans

The Observer team is putting questions important to the people of Stirling to all six candidates standing to become MP for Stirling and Strathallan in the run-up to the general election on July 4.

This week we asked them what they would do to support the thousands of carers, of all ages, in communities all over Stirling and Strathallan, financially and otherwise, and how they would improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.

And we also asked them how they envisaged Stirling contributing further to tackling climate change, both in terms of large-scale renewable energy projects or supporting individuals to make greener choices?

Alyn Smith, SNP

Carers, both paid and unpaid, do a power of work across Stirling and Strathallan to provide support to those who need it most.

Policy which impacts caring lies between Councils, the Scottish Government and the UK Government - we need a joined up approach.

Having met with the Stirling Carers Centre on numerous occasions, and hearing from unpaid carers who do so much for those they love, Westminster has unleashed real fear with awful rhetoric around folks with disabilities.

SNP MPs will vote to scrap proposed punitive welfare reforms for sick and disabled people which will take support away from some of the most vulnerable people across Stirling and Strathallan, and halt DWP repayment demands on Carer’s Allowance.

I’ve been inspired by rural communities here locally, who reap community benefits from nearby green power projects.

We need to go further and enable genuine community ownership of such projects, increasing the direct benefit communities can receive in terms of funding - and cheaper bills.

The National Grid has capacity issues for bringing online more green energy projects.

To expand industrial hydrogen usage for instance, the UK Government must invest more in grid infrastructure that will help drive forward our Net-Zero future.

Chris Kane, Labour

Labour is committed to an overhaul of social care, including a comprehensive review of the carers allowance system.

Unpaid carers will have a right to respite under Labour.

Labour will create a National Care Service that is worthy of the name and works with local communities to design services and improve quality of care across Scotland.

We want to see non-residential care charges abolished. Labour is calling for social care staff to be paid a wage of at least £15 per hour.

Labour introduced the Disability Discrimination Act in 2005 and the Equality Act in 2010 to protect rights.

The Tories chip away at rights, while the SNP have failed to improve them.

The choice at this election is more of the same, or change with Labour.

Under Labour, ‘green’ and ‘growth’ will go hand and hand as we work to bring the clean power jobs of the future to Scotland.

Labour will unlock Scotland’s potential as a clean energy superpower with a publicly owned GB Energy Company based in Scotland.

We can slash extortionate energy bills, create 69,000 new green jobs, and deliver energy security so that we are never again at the mercy of tyrants like Vladimir Putin.

Across the UK, Labour’s Warm Homes Plan will invest over £6 billion in upgrading homes, bringing investment and 16,000 jobs to Scotland.

Every vote for Scottish Labour is a vote to cut bills, create jobs, end the economic turmoil, and deliver a Labour government with Scotland’s voice at its heart.

Neil Benny, Conservatives

Families who care for relatives should be given our upmost respect and support.

That is why there should be a right to respite for everyone who cares for a relative.

A week off can be all the difference between coping and not coping and so it is essential.

We also need to ensure that NHS Forth Valley and Stirling Council are cooperating to ensure people can get the care packages they need quickly to get them out of hospital and ensure carers are supported.

Climate change will be a major priority over the next few years.

As well as building more renewable energy projects, especially large scale base load capacity like nuclear power, we will need to examine our transport policies to make sure people have the ability to make choices and change the way we insulate and heat our homes.

This has to be done in a way that helps people to adapt, rather than presenting homeowners with impossible financial burdens.

As your MP, I would support more local solutions to energy production, better public transport before more penalties on motorists and less regulation to allow homeowners to invest in better efficiency measures.

Hamish Taylor, Liberal Democrats

Lib Dems will fix the social care crisis – by increasing the number of paid carers with better pay and by improving financial support for the many unpaid carers.

In the future we can build a healthier society via better access to GPs, dentists and mental health professionals.

We remain committed to our policy for free personal care given according to need, and not the ability to pay.

The quality of life for families living with disabilities can be improved with respite care, giving everyone the chance of a much-needed break.

The Lib Dem Carers Bill already guarantees unpaid time off for carers. It is a start but there is so much more to do.

We will also deliver meaningful financial support for parental leave to look after children, doing so as a ‘Day One Right’ including support for the self-employed.

Given the urgent need to improve energy efficiency in homes, we are committed to funding a ten year emergency upgrade programme.

Delivering energy-efficient improvements to existing homes will reduce energy bills, helping people tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

We’re committed to achieve Net Zero by 2045 and to enable this we will invest in renewable power so that 90 per cent of the UK’s electricity is generated from renewables by 2030.

Bill McDonald, Reform UK

The people of Stirling have seen the legacy parties and career politicians fail us at UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament, and Stirling Council levels.

I am a Cowie man born and bred and a son of a miner, I am constantly raising funds for charitable causes and helping veterans. The NHS and veterans are my priorities.

I would support the raising of the tax threshold to £20,000, which would lift many unpaid carer households out of paying any income tax.

Helping people with disabilities is close to my heart, and I have already helped many veterans with disabilities.

I would extend my knowledge and experience to help people with all backgrounds and abilities to thrive not just survive.

It is known that good quality roads reduce greenhouse gases compared to pothole ridden roads.

I would therefore strongly advocate for Stirling Council to adopt a ‘Right First Time’ repair policy, advocating for central government to provide additional funding for road maintenance.

Roads in the UK are ranked abysmally compared to other developed nations.

I would support British farmers and encourage shoppers to buy British increasing food security, and reducing food miles.

Andrew Adam, Greens

Paid and unpaid carers are grossly undervalued - our society could not function without them.

They urgently need investment in training, salaries, respite care, and an improved Carer’s Allowance, supported by a Wealth Tax on households with £3.4m or more.

In the long term, a Universal Basic Income could transform the lives of carers and disabled people.

I’m disabled, and have been a carer - it can happen overnight. We all deserve dignity, and a safety net for difficult times.

Climate change is upon us. Government can and must work at pace and scale to insulate homes and protect our communities from extreme weather.

But we need to look beyond energy and heat, and change the way we buy and look after our assets.

I’m excited to hear about plans by Transition Stirling, Recyke-a-Bike and other partners to bring a revitalised Reuse Hub to central Stirling.

We need to reduce the amount of poor quality goods we buy, reuse what we have, and repair things that need them - rather than defaulting to recycling (or worse, landfill).

High street reuse hubs across rural Stirling could make it easier for us to share skills, save money, reduce waste, and boost footfall for independent retailers.