LABOUR candidate Alex Rowley said "During this campaign my focus has been on jobs and public services for we must use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to invest in services and in Scotland’s greatest asset, its people.
"We need an industrial strategy for Scotland to support existing businesses and develop new ones. We are seeing jobs being lost in manufacturing at the rate of 100 a week and this will only get worse unless government is willing to intervene.
"We have a choice around what kind of economy we want, and for me it must be high skilled and high waged. That requires investment and a new partnership of business, industry, trade unions and government. It also requires a halt to the damaging college cuts our government in Edinburgh has been making over these last five 5 years and a new focus on lifelong learning, making full employment our goal.
"It is also the case that public services underpin a good society, whether that is health, education or the social and economic environment. I want to stop the cuts, and the choice at this election is investment with Labour or £3 billion of cuts over the next five 5 years with the SNP.

"I am supporting a small tax increase for those who can afford to pay a bit more because that enables the investment we need to create the kind of society we all want to live in and nowhere is that investment more required that in our NHS here in Fife.
"I have to admit I was shocked last week when NHS Fife announced £30 million of cuts from their budget: and I know from representing people in the Cowdenbeath constituency that this will have a massive impact on services, patients and staff. We must stop these cuts and stop them now".