The Stirling Observer is publishing a series of statements from General Election candidates on set topics.  Here’s what Chris Kane had to say on TOURISM:

“Stirling is blessed with world class heritage, a stunning environment and a thriving tourist industry.   Two nearby international airports help bring 15 million tourists each year to Scotland.  686,000 people live within sixty minutes of Stirling.  We need a strategy that maximises both day trippers and tourists.  There is much to be proud about including 500,000 visitors each year visiting Stirling Castle.  Doune Castle has seen a 30% visitor increase thanks to the “Outlander” effect. I want Stirling to be more than a ‘must visit’ destination. I want Stirling to be a ‘must stay’ destination with heritage, culture, landscape, tourism and business working deliver the concept of a ‘three day Stirling’. I want to see cultural and economic policies which revitalise all of Stirling’s communities with more shops and restaurants.  I want all of Stirling’s communities marketed in a joined-up way.   We can achieve great things with the “City Region Deal”.  I’m excited by elements including a new park to rival Falkirk’s Helix, built in the shadow of Stirling Castle.  Stirling is one of the only places in Europe that is built on a river but has very limited interaction with it.  The City Deal promises to change this with an ambitious plan to get us on the water.   We need more events like the Stirling Marathon.  Events that punctuate the year and create a buzz.  Events that bring people.  Events that bring focus.  Events that showcase Stirling’s people as well as its environment.  Events that bring money into our local economy.  Events that enrich our cultural experience.  Events that give one more reason to proclaim this is Stirling and we are proud.  As your MP, I’ll be an Ambassador for all our communities wherever I go.  I’m a proud Son of the Rock and I’ll work hard as your MP to deliver for the many, not the few.”

Read more in Scottish Labour’s manifesto here.

The Stirling Observer is publishing a series of statements from General Election candidates on set topics.  Here’s what Chris Kane had to say on RURAL BROADBAND ACCESS:

“It simply is not acceptable that fast, stable broadband speeds are not available to everyone. Our communities need to be swept along in the digital revolution, not swept aside by it. Labour has committed to deliver universal, superfast broadband availability within five years.  Labour will improve mobile internet coverage and expand provision of free public wi-fi.  A Labour government will instruct the National Infrastructure Commission to report on how to roll out ‘ultrafast’ (300Mbps) across the UK within the next decade.  We need innovative solutions and creative thinking. The public purse is all too often funding the roll out of fibre broadband and then letting private companies decide who gets it, how they use it and what price they pay for it.  Our rural communities are being let down with the current system.  So let’s change it.  Broadband should be delivered to community not commercial priorities.  That’s why I want to see a people’s broadband company.  Not just for internet services, but for green energy and public transport. We need to support great ideas when we see them. I’m in awe of the villagers of Balquhidder who were so fed up of poor broadband that they said stuff it and began digging trenches and laying cables.  I was also disappointed and a little angry that they were forced rather than helped along that path.   We need to ensure our communities benefit from the transformational opportunities of the digital age.  The Labour-led administration on Stirling Council signed a deal earlier this year to see a Gigabit internet connection brought to Stirling.  A huge part of the City Region Deal involves creating an infrastructure to allow Stirling to grow a digital economy.   Labour wants high tech jobs flowing into the city and surrounding communities.  I want our children to have every opportunity to flourish in a digital world without having to contemplate leaving their community to achieve their dreams.   If elected as your MP, I’ll work hard for the many not the few – and that means communities as well as people.”

Read more in Scottish Labour’s manifesto here.

the Stirling Observer is publishing a series of statements from General Election Candidates on set topics.  Here’s what Chris Kane had to say on the CITY REGION DEAL:

“Labour priorities are to see skilled jobs, warm homes and vibrant communities across this constituency.  As your Labour MP, I’ll work tirelessly to help realise the potential of the City Region Deal.  It is a once in a generation, truly transformational moment in Stirling’s long and proud history.  By embracing the digital economy as a key element, we are staking our claim to be the centre of this growing economy in Scotland.  I cannot wait to see what potentially world changing apps and programs emerge from the digital business incubator Codebase who have recently moved into Stirling’s Municipal Buildings.   I cannot wait to see all of our children given the opportunity of high paid, highly skilled jobs here at home.  The City Region Deal puts us on the starting line of a green energy revolution. From the tidal power of the River Forth to the geothermic properties of the ground under our feet, we have the natural and human resources to create community owned green energy solutions.  Warm air brought up from the ground to heat our homes instead of burning natural gas.   Greatly reduced fuel bills with prices fixed for decades, helping to reduce fuel poverty, with profits ploughed back into our communities.   With the jobs and new economies will also come visitors, bringing opportunities for tourism growth and more jobs.  As your Labour MP, I’ll work hard to ensure these jobs are well paid and workers are respected.  It is vital that the many, not the few, benefit from the City Region Deal. People from Balfron to Bannockburn need to see the benefits £600 million will bring to them.  As your Labour MP, I’ll ensure the City Region Deal realises its potential so we can continue to say to the world, this is Stirling and we are proud.”  

Read more in Scottish Labour’s manifesto here.

The Stirling Observer has been running a series of statements from General Election candidates on set topics.  Here’s what Chris Kane had to say on RURAL TRANSPORT:

“As your MP I’ll work hard to ensure public transport works for the many, not the few. Cash strapped Local Authorities are left to try to address the issues raised by social and economic isolation with  supported/subsidised services and DRT (Direct Response Transport), but this is far from ideal.  We can learn a lot from Edinburgh’s Lothian Buses, which is recognised as the model of good practice throughout Europe. In Stirling Labour’s “Local Government” manifesto are commitments to a municipal bus company; I’ll help deliver on this promise from Westminster. Labour will reregulate the busses to ensure that commercial operators cannot cherry pick the routes that make the most money. Labour would extend public ownership to the railways; profits from Scotland’s trains should be put back into improving the service, not flowing into the pockets of shareholders.  Sometimes the solution to a transport problem is to take away the need to make a journey in the first place.   Stirling is embracing the digital economy as part of the City Region Deal.  We need to ensure Stirling’s workers are swept along by the digital revolution, not swept aside by it. I want all our kids to be able, if they choose, to enjoy life in our remarkable environment while working remotely for games companies in San Francisco or IT companies in Melbourne.  We need to encourage all employers to welcome flexible working from home;  it would help parents juggle childcare and it would ensure a decent work/life balance.  Transport solutions extend beyond public transport.  We need to do more to make cycling safer and more appealing.  We need to ensure paths within communities are of a standard to encourage walking.  We need to invest in our roads and in making cars safer and cleaner. As your MP I’ll do everything I can to help deliver ambitious and common senses solutions to many of our rural transport issues.” 

Read more in Scottish Labour’s manifesto here.

The Stirling Observer has been running a series of statements from General Elections candidates on set topics.  Here’s what Chris Kane had to say on HOUSING:

“There is a housing crisis in Scotland.  With overcrowding and a lack of suitable accommodation for families and people with disabilities, Scotland not only needs more homes but more of the right homes.  It doesn’t have to be like this.  For Labour, housing is a social justice issue.  Housing costs can push many people into poverty.  Providing access to good quality, affordable and stable housing is a crucial factor in achieving the conditions necessary for equality of opportunity. A UK Labour government will oversee the most radical, and the largest, housebuilding programme since the war, investing to build over a million new homes across the country.  Labour will not only build more homes, we will build better homes.  We will insulate more homes to help people manage the cost of energy bills.  We will consult on new rules to prevent ‘rabbit hutch’ homes and on new modern standards for building zero carbon homes.  Labour would prioritise brownfield sites and protect the green belt.  Labour will guarantee ‘Help To Buy’ funding until 2027 to give long term certainty to both first time buyers and the housebuilding industry.  Labour will increase the number of affordable homes across all of Stirling’s communities.  We will also give local people buying their first home priority; you should have the option to live where you grew up, not priced out of the market by rising property prices. Labour would end insecurity for private renters by introducing controls on rent rises to protect tenants from rip-off rents.  Labour would consult on introducing a charter, similar to that in the social rent sector, to drive up standards in the private rental sector.  We will reverse the Tories cruel decision to abolish housing benefit for 18-21 year olds.  We will scrap the punitive ‘bedroom tax”.  Labour will always work to deliver skilled jobs, warm homes, caring communities and great schools.   A vote for Labour on Jun 8^th is a vote for the many, not the few.” 

Read more in Scottish Labour’s manifesto here.

Scottish Labour have chosen Chris Kane to be their candidate in the General Election for the Stirling Constituency. Chris was born in the constituency and has lived here all his life.  A local businessman and Stirling Councillor, Chris stays in Stirling with his wife and young children.

Commenting on his selection, Chris says,

“It’s a huge honour to be selected as Labour candidate at the General Election for the constituency where I was born and have lived all my life. The next few weeks are important for the future of both Scotland and the U.K. As the Labour candidate, I will be working hard to take my campaign around the Stirling constituency.”