05/07/2011 Newsnight Scotland


05/07/2011

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Huffington Post. That is it, thank you very much. Tonight on Newsnight

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Scotland. Is the Labour Party having an identity crisis? Should

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its new vision be more Scottish or more unionist? Should its new

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leader come from Westminster or Holyrood? And isn't it time for the

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politics of aspiration to replace those of traditional tribalism. And

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with the M8 closed today for over four hours, we ask what can be

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learnt from emergency services in other countries when it comes to

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death dealing with unfor seen events. It's been two months sipbts

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Labour were defeated at the Scottish elections. Some say the

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fightback has gun. What is happening within the party? Do

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people know what they stand for? Will their new leader be from

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Holyrood or from Westminster? All of these questions are supposed to

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be naend a review being led by Jim Murphy. With local council

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elections around the corner is Labour acting fast enough or are

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they being left behind? A moment for Labour to Saviour. Welcoming

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the new MP to Westminster that is one they won. It wasn't that close.

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Are people in Scotland really sure what Labour stands for? I think the

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party has to show it speak for the people of Scotland and it has a

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vision for the people of Scotland. I know that is the task which all

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of our members of the Scottish Parliament and members of

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Parliament and councillors are focused on. Back in 1997, and look

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at this political party. All to celebrate the success of Tony

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Blair's New Labour. In Scotland, the party had clear leadership.

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Could personality be part of the reason Labour are losing their way?

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One of the problems is we under estimated the importance of

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personality up until now. We saw that with Donald Dure a forceful

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personality who helped us towards success in Scotland. We have seen

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it with the SNP, it's been as much a victory for Alex Salmond as it

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has for the SNP. The current crisis in the Labour Party would have been

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unthinkable to Scotland's first ever First Minister. I have been

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speaking to several senior party sources today. What they are

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telling me is that this current review can't happen quickly enough.

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Some don't have confidence in the process. One told me that, actually,

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this written branch review has yet to get to the root of the problem.

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Should it be a party based in Scotland with a future First

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Minister as leader? Should we keep the status quo where the leader is

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based in Westminster? One source told me unless we have a uniquely

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Scottish party Labour will not begin the fightback here in

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Scotland. Back in 1999 a young up- and-coming MSP, Pauline McNeill was

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But this year she knew she had a fight on her hands despite a

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vigorous campaign, she was a victim of her party's's failure to connect

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with the voters. She's believes it's now time to have a separate

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Labour Party in Scotland. There has to be clear to the electorate we

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will stand up for the interests of people in Scotland. That means we

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have to make our own decisions. People need to be able to see with

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making our own decisions. The SNP has successfully appealled to

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aspirational Scots. They say they will put this country first. So has

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Labour lost its voice here? Who are they trying to speak to anyway?

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cannot just rely any longer simply on speaking to our core vote. It's

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clear that we've got to reach beyond the people that we

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historically represented. That's not to say we don't think we have a

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job to do for them, we have to broaden our outlook now. I think,

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look beyond what would be regarded as the traditional Labour vote.

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Change is a difficult process. It requires unity and faith. Something

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the Labour Party may need to work on. I'm joined from Millbank by the

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Labour MP Michael Connarty and in Dundee by the former Labour First

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Minister, Henry McLeish. Michael Connarty, do you think, in choosing

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a new leader, that Labour should look to your ranks of MPs or should

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they lay-down that it has to be someone in the Scottish Parliament?

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That is the problem to define it in that sort of by cam ral way. The

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Labour Party should look for a leader who represents best what the

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Labour Party is about. Which is about representing the people of

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Scotland. If that is someone who is also in the Scottish Parliament,

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that is fine. If it is someone who happens to be in the United Kingdom

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Parliament, that is also fine. If it's somebody not in either but is

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leader of a community or a leader of trade union, they are also the

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people we should look to. We are looking for people to come forward.

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I hope we are looking for people to come forward who are not on any

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particular ka ral. Someone who actually represents the Scottish

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people, in Scotland, in the things that the Scottish people want to

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hear. If they also represent the Scottish people in the UK

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Parliament, as I do, there is nothing wrong with that. When you

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look at the Labour representation in the Scottish Parliament, after

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this election, do you see anyone there who you think is good enough,

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frankly, to lead the Labour Party in Scotland? I don't think on it in

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those terms. I see a number of colleagues in the Scottish

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Parliament who are excellent politicians. If they think they can

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develop leadership qualities and demonstrate those leadership

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qualities put themselves forward. Don't exclude anyone. That is the

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point. We have to reconnect with the Scottish people. We need the

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right policies and right motivation to speak to the people of Scotland

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and also to the UK government and beyond. That doesn't - to me it

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doesn't actually take anyone out of the frame. I'm not prejudice

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against anyone because of the parliamentary or local government

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elections they have stood for. you agree with that the ex-leader

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of Labour in Scotland could be an MP, it depends who is best? I agree

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with what Michael has said. For what it's worth, I think we should

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have a leader of the Labour Party in Scotland who is not just a

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leader in Holyrood. My suggestion, it's only part of the debate would

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be, it would be best served by an MSP from Holyrood. I think maybe an

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in an ideal world we would want to have somebody outside both

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Westminster and Holyrood. That will not happen. The two key issues

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linked to that are, the party needs to be autonomous in Scotland it

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needs a credible brand. That is why the SNP do so well. What you need

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is a transformation of the relationship between the Scottish

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party and the UK Labour Party. So, I think there are party issues. I

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don't think the party need get bogged down in where the next

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leader is coming from. There are more important tasks to be tackled

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in the interim period. You need to select a new leader? That is right.

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If we carry on with the current procedure we will elect someone who

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will elect the party at Holyrood - You would prefer an MSP. You also

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think it's important there should be an autonomous Scottish Labour

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Party? The party after May 5th and after the 2007 election faces

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formidable challenge. You talked about vision and about direction

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and purpose. What the Labour Party stands for. These are vitally

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important. We are right to concentrate and talk about the

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leadership. Frankly, Michael Connarty made a good point that the

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Labour Party leader has to be selling something. What is the

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vision? What does Labour stand for? It's right to put it in context.

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The review should be concentrating on a whole host of issues. In the

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autumn or beyond that we will be electing our new leader. Michael

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Connarty I want to establish from you, do you agree with heny ri that

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the party in Scotland should have new leader over MPs as well as

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MSPs? What, in practical terms, does that mean? Henry and I come up

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through the same school. We were leaders of a council fighting

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against thatcher speaking for Scotland against one of the worst

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governments we ever had. The people want to see us focus on their needs

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and wishes. I think that can only be done if the party is seen as

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autonomous unlike my good friend I do not agree it should be separate

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or independent. It must speak for Scotland, to Scotland and to the UK

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government for Scotland. It must do both things. It must speak about

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Scotland's aspiration in the UK and beyond. We are not a nationalist

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accept rattist party. We are the party of the United Kingdom. People

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of Scotland is who we are sent to represent. The party leadership

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must represent. That I agree with him entirely. It's time for a party

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in Scotland to speak for Scotland. The UK party leadership to accept

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we need and we deserve that aatomy. It's not a threat it's addition to

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You mention the word aspiration. There is a few that the Labour

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Party has ceased to be a party in Scotland. That the SNP has been

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better. I am curious as to why you think Labour has got itself into

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this position. I think the reason was partly

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because the Labour Party seemed to... I am looking at this from an

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outside position because I am not in the Executive. We did not seem

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to have a separate programme that was a Labour programme for Scotland

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that people could aspire to. That is something that came about

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because there was possibly a process whereby there was too much

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subservience to the interest of the UK party. Maybe if they repeated

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the formula for the parliamentary elections, it would win for the

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Scottish Parliament. That has not been the case. When you are in your

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own environment, people want to see what you are saying about their

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lives. Maybe we forgot that and did not have a genuine programme.

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Is there a broader issue, which might apply to the Labour Party in

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the UK as well, Alex Salmond appeared to speak for poor people

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and for deprived areas. He could also speak to where people wanted

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to be and not just where they are. Somehow, Labour comes across as if

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it is directing at deprived areas and poor people, which is important,

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but it has to be more than that. It has. I raised the issue of

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justice and fairness, and it means talking about social mobility. The

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politics of Westminster and Holyrood are diverging. We have

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failed to adapt. I in greed, this - - I agree. We thought being

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Scottish was a threat to the union but we cannot think about that. The

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question of sentiment and the symbolism, this is not the monopoly

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of the SNP. These are issues for us. If we fight elections at Holyrood,

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we need to fight on a vision for Scotland. The SNP stands for

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nationalism and independence. Labour should stand for nationality

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and identity, which makes a difference between the two. If we

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adopt those positions, we can compete with the SNP.

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We have to leave it there. We will continue this in the future.

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There was a reminder today of how vulnerable the transport system can

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be when a lorry crash caused the closure of the main motorway

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between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Shades of last winter when snow

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brought chaos. What is said in the aftermath of the disaster is almost

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as important as during. It does not take much to block a

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motorway and bring Scotland's busiest road to a standstill. This

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lorry crash on the M8 left one man dead and thousands of commuters

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stranded. The road partially reopened four hours later. It was

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not trouble on the same scale as winter, when traffic ground to a

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halt for days. But it would have sent a shiver down the spines of

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those who plan for emergencies. Yet again, it begged the question, is

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Scotland resilient in the face of adversity? Good timing for an

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international conference on emergency planning held in Glasgow.

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It attracted experts from around the globe, including Christchurch

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in New Zealand. The city was devastated by earthquakes and

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aftershocks. The mayor of Christchurch is a keynote speaker.

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It is the overwhelming emotion that people first feel. Information is

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the pathway that can take them from that place to getting controls back.

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People can get that feeling of control back to some degree and to

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know what to do, where to go. It makes a difference to their ability

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to survive physically and mentally. For the high-tech equipment on show

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here, the human dimension matters more than ever. Do those affected

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stay on board after the ship hits the rocks? Emergencies present a

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challenge to all people. individuals affected by them and

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two governments. The Government message, if it proves toxic to the

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public, it can leave them in need of the contamination. Of course,

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what happened in Scotland last winter was not on the same scale as

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Christchurch, or other disasters. But the same issues arise. Some of

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the anger aimed at the Government came from frustration of the

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official line. What we have done today, bringing resources from

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elsewhere in Scotland and ensuring we are responding to this

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widespread snowfall that caught Scotland during the rush hour this

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morning, that has been a first- class response. Today, one of the

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experts tell me that the lesson from Christchurch is that people

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are remarkably tolerant in emergency situations as long as

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they are kept informed. People are more forgiving with the truth,

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however bad it is, than people who cover up things. Not knowing what

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is happening is not weakness, it is the reality of disasters. No

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minister will ever know what is happening. It is about being honest

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about what we do know and keeping communication open for the public.

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The Japanese tsunami and devastation it brought a shows that

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governments are one voice in an emergency. The internet has

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influence. The power of Twitter was really big. People were tweeting

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all over the place. Saying there is a risk their, we need to send teams

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there. And they were giving information. The social media is

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important. It plays a role in emergency response. Information is

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key, but, today, a word of warning. The response to an emergency is a

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one thing, but preventing one is another. It is about money. That is

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the fact. It needs to be made available. To be more resilient we

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have to spend money. These guys are constantly telling mean they are

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fighting for budgets. They know they need training. They know what

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to do now. They have to have money to do it. And, with government

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budgets being squeezed, there is a dilemma. Nobody wants to spend more

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on things that might not happen. Then, again, can we afford to take

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