:00:00. > :00:00.Is Tory still a toxic brand in Scotland?
:00:00. > :00:07.And what can they do to win back Scottish voters
:00:08. > :00:29.before the next general election in just seven months' time?
:00:30. > :00:31.At the Tory Party conference in Birmingham, the party faithful are
:00:32. > :00:34.lapping up promises of of benefit freezes and more austerity to come.
:00:35. > :00:44.Is this any way to try and win more than one Scottish Westminster seat?
:00:45. > :00:47.UK air strikes in Iraq were approved by a huge majority of MPs,
:00:48. > :00:52.What do they think we should do to oppose the Islamic State's
:00:53. > :00:59.And we may soon have our first female first minister - but do we
:01:00. > :01:07.need to take action to get more women into the Scottish Parliament?
:01:08. > :01:09.The Conservatives have pledged to win back their popularity
:01:10. > :01:13.They believe the referendum has given them a new voice
:01:14. > :01:16.But will that translate into more seats
:01:17. > :01:19.Our political correspondent Lucy Adams reports
:01:20. > :01:34.The Conservatives are determined to get back in the game and they've got
:01:35. > :01:37.a number of seats in their sights. Better known for its golf courses,
:01:38. > :01:44.coffee bars and leafy suburbs than working men's clubs, East
:01:45. > :01:50.Renfrewshire was a Conservative seat for decades. This used to be the
:01:51. > :01:56.safest Conservative seat in Scotland. That was until the 1997
:01:57. > :02:01.Westminster general election, when Labour took it from them. The
:02:02. > :02:04.question is, what will it take for the Conservative party to win back
:02:05. > :02:10.this former heartland and others like it? Times have changed but the
:02:11. > :02:16.Tories say they've raised to their profile and popularity as a result
:02:17. > :02:19.of the referendum and the work of Scottish leader Ruth Davidson. This
:02:20. > :02:24.is a new political age and we've got to have new ideas to take the
:02:25. > :02:27.country forward and I think Ruth has shown that. With the devolution
:02:28. > :02:30.proposals, we've seen a lot of innovative stuff and that's going to
:02:31. > :02:36.be good for us. Importantly, that means we can reach out to those
:02:37. > :02:41.voters who, perhaps, have been supporting us the last 15 years but
:02:42. > :02:45.are natural Conservatives in areas like East Renfrewshire. Those are
:02:46. > :02:49.the areas we are trying to get back. On the green, a sense of optimism
:02:50. > :02:52.for the party. They'll struggle a wee bit early doors but I think
:02:53. > :02:57.they'll do it. You think they'll win it back? Do you think the referendum
:02:58. > :03:06.has made a difference? It helped, big-time. The fact that Alex Salmond
:03:07. > :03:10.isn't going to be there any longer... I think it will be a great
:03:11. > :03:15.competition. I hope the Tories get back in again. But on this high
:03:16. > :03:21.street, there were mixed views about whether the Tories have changed
:03:22. > :03:27.enough to win people over. They're not the Conservative Party I once
:03:28. > :03:33.knew. They've changed totally. And I blame one lady for that. Who do you
:03:34. > :03:38.blame? Mrs Thatcher. She changed it so badly that really, there's no
:03:39. > :03:42.natural relationship with the Scots. I think it will go back very much to
:03:43. > :03:48.Conservative. Even our children and their children. At their party
:03:49. > :03:53.conference South of the border, their only Scottish MPs said they're
:03:54. > :03:57.on the up. What Ruth has done has been able to open people's eyes to
:03:58. > :04:01.the Conservatives and they are willing to consider voting
:04:02. > :04:05.Conservative. They've seen a young, dynamic woman leading our party,
:04:06. > :04:10.setting out a passionate case for the UK, but also talking about
:04:11. > :04:14.Scotland's future. They can see that Ruth is committed to Scotland,
:04:15. > :04:19.building a better Scotland, and I think they're open to voting for us
:04:20. > :04:22.but we're going to seal the deal. The referendum may have boosted
:04:23. > :04:27.their profile and they've changed their logo but have they done enough
:04:28. > :04:31.to set out new policies and redefine their brand? It's difficult to say
:04:32. > :04:35.whether the referendum will help them in the general election or in
:04:36. > :04:38.future elections. I think in coming out so strongly for more powers for
:04:39. > :04:42.the Scottish Parliament, that helped one element of their platform but
:04:43. > :04:46.the Conservative party in Scotland also needs to think about how it
:04:47. > :04:49.plays itself on the political spectrum, so instead of placing
:04:50. > :04:51.itself on the centre-right of the British political spectrum, they
:04:52. > :04:54.need to think about basing themselves on the centre-right of
:04:55. > :04:57.the Scottish political spectrum, which looks into things like image
:04:58. > :05:02.and policy, which I need to think about in advance of the elections.
:05:03. > :05:06.But in East Renfrewshire, the Tories will be working to win everything
:05:07. > :05:10.they can. The party says it has a new voice and a new profile, but
:05:11. > :05:12.many think they've still got a fair way to go.
:05:13. > :05:13.Earlier, I spoke to Conservative politician
:05:14. > :05:19.and member of the European Parliament for Scotland Ian Duncan.
:05:20. > :05:25.George Osborne has been laying out his plans for further austerity if
:05:26. > :05:31.the Tories win the next election, talking about freezing benefits and
:05:32. > :05:37.?25 billion of cuts to come. Is that going to win you any votes in
:05:38. > :05:42.Scotland? I think what we've got to do now is make sure the recovery
:05:43. > :05:46.which we are witnessing is safe. We got to make sure it continues and
:05:47. > :05:50.delivers the people of Scotland. The policies being set out today are
:05:51. > :05:54.broadly sensible policies and I think they will help them avert, and
:05:55. > :05:59.make safe, that recovery. -- help them deliver. The benefit freeze
:06:00. > :06:03.will severely affect a lot of families who are poorly paid and
:06:04. > :06:07.survive on working tax credits. There will be a fair amount of pain
:06:08. > :06:11.felt from these policies in Scotland, which isn't going to adapt
:06:12. > :06:18.the book to vote for you, is it? I think when it comes to that
:06:19. > :06:23.election, there will be a number of things people will be asking. One
:06:24. > :06:27.is, are you safe in the Conservatives' hands in terms of the
:06:28. > :06:30.economy or not? Do you want to give the keys to the car back to those
:06:31. > :06:35.who crashed the car? I don't think the people of Scotland want that.
:06:36. > :06:38.There was some hostility about Scottish MPs with Eric Pickles and
:06:39. > :06:42.Digby Jones talking about how unfair it was that Scottish MPs could vote
:06:43. > :06:49.on English matters in a pretty hostile fashion. I think the reality
:06:50. > :06:52.is, we've spent nearly two years talking about Scotland and how
:06:53. > :06:56.Scotland should be covered - that's right, but the rest of the UK hasn't
:06:57. > :06:59.had that same debate. They've watched from afar and I think it's
:07:00. > :07:03.time the England and Wales to catch up. That's a debate that has to be
:07:04. > :07:09.had. We've settled the situation in Scotland but we haven't settled at
:07:10. > :07:12.yet in the rest of the UK. There is concern that as the Prime Minister
:07:13. > :07:18.tipped the English question into the pot early last Friday morning, that
:07:19. > :07:24.is going to hold up the process of devolution and more powers in
:07:25. > :07:27.Scotland. No, it won't. I spoke with Mr Cameron tonight and he made it
:07:28. > :07:30.very clear to me and to the audience later that that would not happen.
:07:31. > :07:38.The powers which were promised will be delivered. It will happen. That
:07:39. > :07:42.is the pledge that was signed alongside Labour and the Lib Dems
:07:43. > :07:45.and the Tories in Scotland have been campaigning with Labour and the Lib
:07:46. > :07:50.Dems for the last few months, all of you sharing a platform. Do you think
:07:51. > :07:54.that has changed voters' views of Tories in Scotland? As it helps to
:07:55. > :08:02.detoxify the brand a bit, having campaigned with other parties? --
:08:03. > :08:05.has it helped. The number of people signed up to the Conservative
:08:06. > :08:08.friends of the union is around 80,000. An extraordinary figure of
:08:09. > :08:11.individuals who gave up their time freely to do around the doors and
:08:12. > :08:16.talk to people and to fight for what they passionately believed in, which
:08:17. > :08:19.was the UK and Scotland's place in the UK. That is an extra ordinary
:08:20. > :08:23.basis on which to fight a general election and I think it will make a
:08:24. > :08:28.difference. We know there are a considerable number of Tory voters
:08:29. > :08:32.in Scotland, just shy of 500,000, but you don't tend to do very well
:08:33. > :08:36.in Westminster elections, having won just one MP at the last couple of
:08:37. > :08:43.elections. Have you done enough this time to win back seats like East
:08:44. > :08:47.Renfrewshire and increase your representation in Westminster? I
:08:48. > :08:49.think we have done two things. We've energised our debate and reminded
:08:50. > :08:53.people of why they vote Conservative in the first place, which is to
:08:54. > :08:56.deliver things they want to see on the ground. The second thing is, you
:08:57. > :09:00.can't look at this in isolation from the other parties. Right now, the
:09:01. > :09:08.Labour Party vote is flaccid. I think it is haemorrhaging and, in
:09:09. > :09:11.some places, directly to the SNP. In places like Renfrewshire, it remains
:09:12. > :09:15.to be seen whether the Labour vote will hold about all. In that
:09:16. > :09:19.situation, we're in a very strong position to remind people why not so
:09:20. > :09:23.long ago, they returned a Conservative MP to Westminster. How
:09:24. > :09:26.many Tory MPs will be going to Westminster in 2015 from Scotland,
:09:27. > :09:31.do you think? I would certainly say more than we're sending right now,
:09:32. > :09:35.as a minimum. But there are whole parts of the country now, in this
:09:36. > :09:40.referendum, that voted very strongly no. We saw a significant number of
:09:41. > :09:43.people who voted SNP at the last Scottish election and the last
:09:44. > :09:47.general election voting no. I believe those individuals will
:09:48. > :09:51.return to the party. There are parts of the country - where I come from
:09:52. > :09:53.my southern Perthshire - where people will be looking very
:09:54. > :09:59.seriously at the Conservative party. The same is true in the
:10:00. > :10:03.Borders, Galloway, and Argyll. There are a number of places where we will
:10:04. > :10:06.see our vote go up and we will have more seats than we do at present.
:10:07. > :10:09.Earlier, I spoke to our political correspondent at the conference Tim
:10:10. > :10:17.I asked him how confident Scottish Conservatives scene of improving
:10:18. > :10:26.their Westminster performance. I think they see their chances a lot
:10:27. > :10:30.better than there -- that they have recently. There has been more of a
:10:31. > :10:33.spring in their step and from the event David Cameron attended where
:10:34. > :10:39.there was a lot of jollity and optimism and hope that they will be
:10:40. > :10:43.able to do better given the no campaign and the referendum result,
:10:44. > :10:47.they hope that they could capitalise on that in the areas where the SNP
:10:48. > :10:51.had hoped to win a yes vote and it turned out to be a no vote. David
:10:52. > :10:55.Cameron mentioned that in his speech and said that they should capitalise
:10:56. > :10:59.on that, go out and do what they had not done in previous years and try
:11:00. > :11:07.to win more Westminster seats. This is what he had to say. We've got the
:11:08. > :11:13.message, we've got the leader. Now I think we can really turn the next
:11:14. > :11:16.200 days into an opportunity to deliver more Conservative seats in
:11:17. > :11:20.the Westminster parliament for Scotland. That should be our aim,
:11:21. > :11:22.that should be our goal and please, my friends, let's do everything to
:11:23. > :11:27.bring it about. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
:11:28. > :11:32.And you know a bit more about how David Cameron felt as he watched the
:11:33. > :11:35.referendum result come in? Yes, he was on very good form tonight when
:11:36. > :11:40.he addressed that perception of Scottish delegates. It is usually
:11:41. > :11:44.very well attended and was extremely well attended tonight, submit
:11:45. > :11:48.because of that no result, but he was keen to explain to people how
:11:49. > :11:56.relieved he was at that outcome on the 18th. We know he's already got
:11:57. > :12:00.into trouble with his explanation of how the Queen reacted. He was in his
:12:01. > :12:06.Downing Street press office and his two sons came down, one of them in
:12:07. > :12:09.his tartan pyjamas, and they sat and watched the results coming in and he
:12:10. > :12:15.said he was very happy to go to bed as Prime Minister of the UK and also
:12:16. > :12:16.to wake up as Primus of the UK. Thanks very much for talking to us
:12:17. > :12:18.from Birmingham. British fighter jets are back flying
:12:19. > :12:20.over Iraq, The motion was carried
:12:21. > :12:23.overwhelmingly at Westminster on Friday to support
:12:24. > :12:25.the coalition against Islamic State But SNP MPs were amongst those who
:12:26. > :12:30.voted Do they reflect a different
:12:31. > :12:49.attitude among Scottish voters British Tornado fighter jets are
:12:50. > :12:53.once again engaged in military activity over Iraq. It's the UK's
:12:54. > :13:00.third military intervention there in 25 years, this time against Islamic
:13:01. > :13:04.State targets. It's why the Prime Minister recalled parliament last
:13:05. > :13:08.Friday. It is inevitable that the shadow of the UK's last military
:13:09. > :13:12.involvement in Iraq hangs heavy over this chamber today, but the
:13:13. > :13:16.situation we face today is very different. We are acting in response
:13:17. > :13:20.to a direct appeal from the sovereign government of Iraq to help
:13:21. > :13:31.them deal with this mortal terrorist threat. It's a threat to Iraq and to
:13:32. > :13:37.Britain. The eyes to the right, 534. The nose to the right, 43. Those
:13:38. > :13:41.against, ten were from Scottish constituencies, half to the SNP. It
:13:42. > :13:44.was not a long-term plan for dealing with the Islamic State but there are
:13:45. > :13:49.concerns that there is no long-term plan. Since Friday's vote, UK planes
:13:50. > :13:55.have returned to base without dropping any bombs, but locating and
:13:56. > :14:03.confirming targets may not be an easy task. The CIA estimates that
:14:04. > :14:07.ISPs has 30,000 soldiers stopped -- that Islamic State has 30,000
:14:08. > :14:10.soldiers. It is believed to have changed tactics to counter the
:14:11. > :14:14.effects of air strikes, breaking into smaller units, more difficult
:14:15. > :14:19.to locate. Tonight, Islamic State are very close to Baghdad, raising
:14:20. > :14:23.questions about the effectiveness of US led air strikes so far. Concerns
:14:24. > :14:29.about mission creep are also apparent. At the moment, the UK is
:14:30. > :14:32.involved in air strikes only but critics fear that soldiers could
:14:33. > :14:37.once again find themselves on Iraqi soil.
:14:38. > :14:41.Earlier I spoke to the SNP MP Stewart Hosie in Dundee.
:14:42. > :14:44.He voted against the air strikes. And, from London, Labour MP
:14:45. > :14:46.Gemma Doyle who voted yes. I started
:14:47. > :14:51.by asking Mr Hosie why he's opposed to military intervention in Iraq.
:14:52. > :15:00.First of all we share the same revulsion of Islamic State as
:15:01. > :15:06.everyone else. The concerns we had where we seemed to be being asked
:15:07. > :15:10.rather less to support targeted action against Islamic State is now
:15:11. > :15:15.in Iraq, rather it seemed to be an opening salvo into yet another
:15:16. > :15:23.open-ended middle east conflict and one which as usual, the UK
:15:24. > :15:28.Government had no exit strategy, we were not prepared to vote for
:15:29. > :15:35.something like that again. But the Iraqi government themselves asked
:15:36. > :15:40.for UK help. They did and we did recognise that. But the Prime
:15:41. > :15:45.Minister said during that debate he wants to do something with Syria, he
:15:46. > :15:50.said not today but soon. This is a country that he wanted to bomb a
:15:51. > :15:55.year ago and now the regime of President Assad is almost an ally in
:15:56. > :16:00.the fight against Islamic State. The whole plan seemed to be confused and
:16:01. > :16:04.contradict jury. Almost an open-ended conflict. Without an exit
:16:05. > :16:09.strategy or plan to win the peace, we might find that we are backing --
:16:10. > :16:16.that we are back in the same position in a few years time. Do you
:16:17. > :16:22.share the concerns of the SNP that there is not an exit strategy? I
:16:23. > :16:27.think Stewart must have been attending a different debate to me
:16:28. > :16:31.last week. The Prime Minister and leader of the opposition could not
:16:32. > :16:37.have been clearer that they were putting before Parliament a very
:16:38. > :16:41.specific proposal which does not involve British books on the ground,
:16:42. > :16:46.it involves targeted air strikes. Islamic State are murderers and
:16:47. > :16:54.barbaric as a regime and we do not challenge them at our peril. They
:16:55. > :17:00.are destabilising the entire region. And they're a threat to our security
:17:01. > :17:05.here in the UK as well. Therefore I think given there is a legal basis
:17:06. > :17:11.and this was a request of the Iraqi government, it is the right thing to
:17:12. > :17:14.do at this time. You must agree with that assessment of the threat that
:17:15. > :17:23.Islamic State polls in the region and to the UK? -- pose. I have no
:17:24. > :17:30.difficulty agreeing with the barbarity of this organisation. And
:17:31. > :17:33.had the UK Government said they intended to properly armed the
:17:34. > :17:37.Kurdish military or to properly train and equip and prepare the
:17:38. > :17:42.Iraqi army to take the fight to Islamic State on the gates of
:17:43. > :17:47.Baghdad we would have agreed without any difficulty. These things can
:17:48. > :17:50.still happen but what we were faced with was a conflict which would be
:17:51. > :17:55.open-ended and may last for many years. It seemed rather less about
:17:56. > :18:00.targeted strikes and more the opening salvo potentially of another
:18:01. > :18:05.open-ended Middle East war. We have seen what happened in the past, and
:18:06. > :18:09.destabilisation that happened with the last war and the last thing we
:18:10. > :18:16.want is limited success against Islamic State and the possibility of
:18:17. > :18:22.them emerging a few months later with a new name and straight back to
:18:23. > :18:28.square one. The solution will have to be Muslim lead. It is with the
:18:29. > :18:35.Iraqi army, arming them and training them that Islamic State will
:18:36. > :18:41.properly be tackled? That work is already going on and is part of how
:18:42. > :18:46.Islamic State must be defeated. The air strikes which the UK are
:18:47. > :18:50.participating in our part of a larger strategy and there is a real
:18:51. > :18:55.international coalition here are Arab countries involved, I think in
:18:56. > :19:01.some of the air strikes of the last week there were more Arab than US
:19:02. > :19:06.troops participating. So it is part of a wider strategy and is important
:19:07. > :19:10.that the UK plays are part and work with countries around the world to
:19:11. > :19:20.tackle this really horrendous threat. Bus to ourselves and people
:19:21. > :19:26.in the middle east as well. -- both. It is clear from our participation
:19:27. > :19:29.so far that were not needed militarily to take part in the air
:19:30. > :19:35.strikes. It is for diplomatic reasons? The Defence Secretary has
:19:36. > :19:40.said we are providing some specialist capabilities so it is
:19:41. > :19:43.important to do that. But it is about countries around the world
:19:44. > :19:49.thing we do not accept the values of this brutal and murderous regime and
:19:50. > :19:55.we are standing up against them. And countries in the region I think have
:19:56. > :20:04.looked to us for support to do that. It is important that we all work
:20:05. > :20:10.together. I think this is, the SME P has an isolationist policy. That's
:20:11. > :20:26.the SNP. I think we'll have two work together to us safe. The Scottish
:20:27. > :20:34.medical class are engaged in discussion calling for legal quotas
:20:35. > :20:37.to achieve a 50-50 ratio of females to males at Holyrood and across
:20:38. > :20:52.Scottish public life. A recent report, "Sex Power:
:20:53. > :20:54.Who Runs Britain in 2014" from The Fawcett Commission shows
:20:55. > :20:57.only 35 percent of our MSPs are women and less than
:20:58. > :21:11.a quarter of councillors female. Labour MSP for
:21:12. > :21:16.Edinburgh Kezia Dugdale is among those campaigning and joins me now.
:21:17. > :21:23.What we want is the power to legislate for gender quotas to be in
:21:24. > :21:29.the Scottish Parliament. That would require all political parties to
:21:30. > :21:34.have 50-50 candidates for every election going forward. Also across
:21:35. > :21:41.councils and public bodies. That would be a fantastic legacy for the
:21:42. > :21:46.future of Scotland. The Labour Party already operate female short list in
:21:47. > :21:54.some circumstances but you cannot oppose this on parties that do not
:21:55. > :21:58.want to go for 50-50 representation with Mac if you look across Europe
:21:59. > :22:06.many countries already have this kind of mechanism. They recognised
:22:07. > :22:09.that it gives better policies. It is a tremendous opportunity to learn
:22:10. > :22:24.the lessons of the referendum and to do Pollux dashed to do politics
:22:25. > :22:30.differently. Now the headlines from around the world.
:22:31. > :22:35.The Wall Street Journal reports that the Spanish government's move to
:22:36. > :22:39.block our referendum on Catalan independence by asking the
:22:40. > :22:43.Constitutional Court to declare the vote illegal. The New York Times
:22:44. > :22:48.leads with the umbrella revolution in Hong Kong. Protesters are
:22:49. > :22:51.demanding more democratic elections and continue to defy the police
:22:52. > :22:57.crackdown and calls from the authority to disperse. In the South
:22:58. > :23:01.China morning Post covers the same events in Hong Kong and reports that
:23:02. > :23:02.the mood has turned festive amongst protesters as police are keeping a
:23:03. > :23:12.low profile. Joining me to talk through
:23:13. > :23:15.the rest of the day's news, Susan Stewart
:23:16. > :23:16.founder member of Women for Independence and Labour Party
:23:17. > :23:21.Scottish Parliamentary candidate Catriona Headley.
:23:22. > :23:29.The Tory party conference dominating the news. And all rather embarrassed
:23:30. > :23:35.about one defection and the resignation of Brooks Newmark
:23:36. > :23:38.yesterday after sending some unfortunate photographs of himself
:23:39. > :23:44.to a journalist posing as a young party worker. But there is a bit of
:23:45. > :23:49.buzz about the press. Mark Pritchard was also contacted by this fake
:23:50. > :23:56.party PR and sent a letter to the police today and the new press
:23:57. > :23:58.complaints commission to make complaints about the Sunday Mirror
:23:59. > :24:05.and the tactics they used to try to interact Tory MPs. I do not see that
:24:06. > :24:09.there is any public interest in this story. There is no fool like an old
:24:10. > :24:13.fool and that does not deemed to be a story to me. The tactics and
:24:14. > :24:19.deployed and the ethics behind it have to be questioned. Whether it is
:24:20. > :24:27.a fishing expedition or entrapment, whether there was suggestions that
:24:28. > :24:35.it could be amounting to a criminal offence even. The women involved in
:24:36. > :24:37.this have had their photographs used without their consent and knowledge
:24:38. > :24:43.and they could have civil claims open to them. I felt it was a story
:24:44. > :24:50.from a bygone age and I thought we had left all this behind. I am for a
:24:51. > :24:53.free and robust press and that might feel uncomfortable for people in the
:24:54. > :24:59.public eye but there has to be public interest and I do not see
:25:00. > :25:05.that here. It will be the first real test for the new press complaints
:25:06. > :25:11.commission. People will be watching carefully to see how they operate.
:25:12. > :25:15.Absolutely. The old saw about what the public would be interested in
:25:16. > :25:21.not equating with public interest is a very good one. I think we did not
:25:22. > :25:29.need to know about semi-netted photographs! Dashed semi naked. I
:25:30. > :25:32.wonder if newspaper editors look at the stories that they're running and
:25:33. > :25:36.think, could I explain that story to my nine-year-old daughter or son. If
:25:37. > :25:43.the answer is no then think twice. I think the story was prurient and not
:25:44. > :25:47.in the interests of everyone. There was no allegation of hypocrisy and
:25:48. > :25:55.there has been a lot of cross-party revulsion. Well a more serious
:25:56. > :26:01.matter in Birmingham, George Osborne promised more austerity, benefit
:26:02. > :26:08.freezes, also talking about Scotland being given more control over income
:26:09. > :26:12.tax powers. He says when Scotland gets greater control over its taxes
:26:13. > :26:18.he suspect they will choose to put them down instead of up. I think the
:26:19. > :26:24.story -- I think the Tories have been clever. Income tax is just one
:26:25. > :26:28.economic lever and is somewhat limited in terms of kick-starting
:26:29. > :26:34.employment for example. So the Scottish Parliament, while
:26:35. > :26:37.implementing Tory and indeed Labour Uncut, is something of a
:26:38. > :26:42.double-edged sword. Given the current public opinion in Scotland,
:26:43. > :26:45.I think it would be unlikely that any Scottish political party at this
:26:46. > :26:51.stage would choose to lower income tax in and of itself. But without
:26:52. > :26:55.the kind of full powers over a range of taxation and especially welfare
:26:56. > :27:01.because they ought to be linked. I'm not sure that even the Tories and
:27:02. > :27:05.their plans for enhanced ablution, which are considerable and go
:27:06. > :27:12.further than Labour, they're not nearly enough however and I think it
:27:13. > :27:18.goes towards more extensive powers that can make a real difference to
:27:19. > :27:29.people 's lives. And once those powers are agreed, TUC attacks being
:27:30. > :27:37.cut here? Dashed TUC taxes. Dashed to you see taxes. We are at a stage
:27:38. > :27:42.where if we cannot have a discussion about the kind of Scotland we want,
:27:43. > :27:45.then when can we do it. People need to come to the table and have a
:27:46. > :27:51.strong discussion about the powers we have. We had their dashed varying
:27:52. > :27:57.powers since the return of the Scottish Parliament and we need to
:27:58. > :27:59.remember that. The parties cannot shirk from the responsibility in
:28:00. > :28:06.terms of the expectation of the Scottish people now. It is going to
:28:07. > :28:11.be a big expectation to meet. I just want to play you one short clip from
:28:12. > :28:18.Eric Pickles who also spoke about Scotland today and the idea of
:28:19. > :28:24.English votes for English laws. In the mother of parliaments we cannot
:28:25. > :28:32.have platinum card wielding Scottish MPs who can vote for measures in
:28:33. > :28:37.England, in English constituencies, but not in their own Scottish seats.
:28:38. > :28:42.If I vote for a change in the NHS, or schools or housing, I had to bear
:28:43. > :28:50.the consequences of my vote. I have to look the red of Essex in the eye
:28:51. > :28:54.and justify my actions. -- the electorate. Not so Scottish MPs who
:28:55. > :29:03.have power without responsibility in England. If it making light --
:29:04. > :29:08.waking life difficult for Scottish politicians when you hear the
:29:09. > :29:11.English MPs talking like that. I think it is an easy slogan but the
:29:12. > :29:17.reality is in no way simple. Having just had the endorsement of the UK
:29:18. > :29:19.with the referendum, we need to be working together in order to
:29:20. > :29:25.strengthen the union and not weaken it. I think these kinds of political
:29:26. > :29:34.point scoring things are not helping matters. I'm enjoying watching a
:29:35. > :29:38.union parties arguing about this? Not at all. I think the more they
:29:39. > :29:45.argue, the more distant powers become. Eric Pickles represent not
:29:46. > :29:51.the minority view amongst the Tory party, a view that was well hitting
:29:52. > :29:53.within the referendum campaign. But democracy cannot be delayed in
:29:54. > :29:59.Scotland because England still have to have a more comprehensive debate.
:30:00. > :30:40.That's all from us tonight. Thank you for watching.
:30:41. > :30:46.Party conferences in the run up to a general election usually lack edge,
:30:47. > :30:48.they are dull, stage managed affairs.