28/09/2016 Scotland 2016

Plenty for Labour supporters to like, but what was there to woo

Complimented for his delivery of the speech, but is Jeremy Corbyn

doing enough to deliver Labour the next General Election?

And steel production returned to Lanarkshire today -

is it a good omen for the rest of the Scottish economy?

Many observers seemed to think Labour's leader delivered one

of his best Conference speeches to date this afternoon.

For Labour supporters, particularly those on the left

of the party, there was a great deal to like, but what about the rest?

And more importantly, was there anything there that might

tempt one-time Labour voters who switched to the SNP,

Tories or UKIP at the last General Election back into the fold?

Having won the battle to lead his party, Jeremy Corbyn now needs to

win the battle to lead his country and that means policies which voters

will buy. Before that, a quick reminder as to who is in charge. I

am honoured, deeply honoured, to have been re-elected by our party

for a second time with an even bigger mandate. And then on how

Labour can an election. At the heart of that were ten key pledges. For

full employment, a home is guaranteed, security at work, a

strong, public National Health Service and social care. A national

education service for all. Action on climate change. Public ownership and

control of our services. A cut in inequality of income and wealth.

Action to secure an equal society and peace and justice at the heart

of our foreign policy. Ben Mr Corbyn said voters needed to be convinced

that the two divisions within Labour were a thing of the past. We all

agree on that. So I asked each and every one of you to accept the

decision of the members, end the trench warfare and work together to

take on the Tories. He devoted much of his speech to attacking the

Conservatives. There was no reference to the SNP, and only a

brief mention for Scottish Labour. We know there will be local

elections next May in Scotland, where we won three council

by-elections in the summer, in Wales. Thank you Labour Scotland.

The key message of Jeremy Corbyn's speed was to prepare Labour for a

snap election. Conference, United we can shape the future and build a

fairer Britain in a peaceful world. Thank you. So what did party members

make of the speech? He says the right things and the people

responded to that very positively, so keep fingers crossed. In

Scotland, we have the SNP, but I do believe Labour has such a broad

spectrum within it that if we can unify it, we can turn into any

member and convince them. There was a lot of saying we should change

that and why but I am still waiting to hear how. That is a concern that

was put to Jeremy Corbyn's highest profile Scottish supporter. Politics

across the western world at the moment is very unpredictable. And I

have already seen some newspaper columnists today saying that very

thing and letting people to not be writing of the Labour Party because

of the state of the economy at the state of politics across Western

Europe. So I think it would be a very foolish person to write us off.

Jeremy Corbyn says his party can climb the electoral mountain. That

seems like a rocky path, but one Labour supporters are willing to

take. Well, our Westminster Correspondent

David Porter has been in Liverpool throughout and earlier this evening

he sent us his assessment of events from a dismantling

Labour conference. Here in Liverpool, the Labour

Conference has now ended and as you can see, the clearing up is now well

underway. That read you can see behind me is not blot on the waltz,

although there has been disagreement this week, it has perhaps not been

as bad as some people feel. Yes, there are big differences of

opinion. There are almost two sections to this party now. The

membership that supports Jeremy Corbyn likes what he has been saying

here this week and likes what he has been saying over the past year. They

are the ones who voted for him and they are the ones who are

instrumental in his re-elections. Those who perhaps do not have such a

high view of Jeremy Corbyn argues he works with by and large in

Parliament. The vast majority of his MPs still do not necessarily think

that he is the right man for the job, but he has put his party on

election footing and he has called for unity. In his speech today, he

said there must be an end to the trench warfare. That idea of putting

his party on an election footing I think is probable and also a tactic

to try to get some discipline among party members and MPs. The old

argument that divided parties never win elections will stop he made that

claim in his speech today. As far as the party in Scotland is concerned,

they will probably feel a little bit happier at the end of this week than

they did at the beginning of the week. They are, of course, the third

party in Hollywood politics. They felt that position last year. Kezia

Dugdale will be very pleased that the party is now going to get more

autonomy in Scotland than it will have a say over candidate's election

and how it organises its up and also that she will now be taking a seat

on the all-important national executive committee. To some people,

that sounds esoteric, but other people recognise that it is quite

important because it is the make-up of the National executive committee

that have stood aside as well be policies or the Labour Party

throughout the UK. Kezia Dugdale is no fan of Jeremy Corbyn. The fact

that she is now sitting on that committee will mean that Scotland

has a voice at the top table. As we leave this Conference, is Labour

more united than it was? Well, that is a moot question in that famous

way of phrasing it, only time will tell. The whole election and the

Conference bandwagon now moves on to Birmingham for the Conservatives.

They too have their divisions, those divisions by an order over one

thing. That is directed. I'm joined now by Catherine Macleod,

political commentator and former adviser to Alasdair Darling

and Stephen Low, Kathryn, a good speech? Yes, it was

a great speech. There were a lot of people wishing him well and wishing

him on. I am not sure about whether it was a great speech for the

country and I don't know whether anyone who voted SNP or Tory last

time we'll have changed their minds today, but as David Porter said,

time will tell. Stephen, what did you think? Was his body language

more confident this time? He has perhaps been working on his

delivery. I did what -- I thought it was a very well delivered speech and

I thought it was a speech for the country. It was all about investing

in housing and infrastructure. It was all about an expansion of the

project of investing in technology and our country -- and the great

line that if the country has given up on investment, it has given up.

So I thought it went down very well. In terms of the content and is talk

about going to the Tories, the possibility of a snap election next

year, do you think that is what he wants? I think he wants rid of the

Tory Government. And there's never a bad time to get rid of a Tory

obviously. The psychology of this, I don't know. I think he's quite

serious about the idea of an election and I think he is quite

right to be. Whether it is as much of a possibility as some people seem

to think, I do not know. But you have to be prepared. Kathryn, had

you think Labour would perform in an election in 2017? I think it is

quite wise saying that there could be an election because that will

galvanise the backbenchers that the part of a general election, but when

I say that I did not think it was good for the country, I think

Stephen is right that it is good to talk about in the Doctor and

education, but he now -- but he did not give as an indication of how he

will do this. I do not want the hour contracts. I want more money in

education and more money into editing else, that he has to be able

to tell is how he is going to do it if he is going to be Prime Minister.

In practice it, I thought it was the best part of his speech was him

standing up for the migrants and the people that keep our hospitals and

public services on the road. I did not think he handled wrecks it well.

-- Brexit. There are a lot of people who voted for Brexit you are not

racist. I think he made an easy call on the war in Iraq. He did not talk

about Syria. We have thousands of migrants in Calais waiting to come

to the UK and he did not speak about them. So although I think Stephen is

right that he spoke about things that people want, need to hide away

from the hard issues that people need reassurance about. We are

living in a very uncertain world. On the topic of migration, do you think

that Labour through the Conference came across united on migration?

Andy Burnham talking about the idea of a pre-Maastricht attitude would

be but would only be able to come here they had a job established. I

think, by some measure, the high point of the speech on migration was

Jeremy's speech when he was resolute in tackling the prejudice and

resolute in saying that the problem around migration is not caused by

migrants. They are caused by governments. That force people out

of places. They are caused by governments like the one that we

have got that does not invest in housing, that allows pressures put

on local services, that allows employers to exploit people. He

dealt with... Because immigration is by and large a proxy for other

issues, and he was absolutely correct in saying that the poor are

not the problem, that we cannot have an attitude where we are building

fences for workers. I thought that was superb on his part today and it

really showed that he has got above a great many people who would argue

that they are more competent than he is. He also raised anti-Semitism,

which has been an issue for the party. Was he right to do that,

Kathryn? I think he was right. I think he should have gone further

and talked about article issues. I think the misogyny in the party, I

think he should probably have addressed, on behalf of the Labour

Party. I don't think he is a racist at all. I do think you should bring

it up. I do think you should have condemned from the Parc platform the

people whom it was an issue. Do you think the party is emerging from

this Conference more united or do you think cracks remain? I think in

policy terms, the party is incredibly united. If you think, a

year ago, we had a situation where 15% of people were voting for a

candidate that favoured investment and expansion of public ownership.

On Saturday, 100% of the party voted for candidates that were standing

for investment in public ownership. So in policy terms, there is very

little gap to be bridged. I think where there is an issue of dented

egos, I think that is something that they need to think about and they

need to reflect on any democracy. Away from the Conference and away

from the party membership, who are the party now speaking to and how

are they going to actually win back the voters that they have lost, many

of whom will be voting Tory, and of course you're in Scotland, will have

gone to the SNP? This going by the speech today, the party speaking to

people who are struggling to get decent housing, struggling to find

decent work. The parties speaking to people who are self-employed, who

are denied Social Security benefits. The party is speaking to the

research community and the high-tech industries by selling we will

improve investment and bring up research and development. The party

is speaking to everyone that realises that our economy is not

delivering particularly well and that improvement are both possible

and necessary. Kathryn, do you think Jeremy Corbyn is aware of the

problem he has in Scotland? He is one Labour MP. Do you think he is at

least acknowledging that? There was virtually no mention of Scotland in

the speech to date and no mention of Kezia Dugdale? Does he have a

Scotland problem? He certainly has a Scotland problem because he only has

one Labour MP. But if the acknowledging that in doing anything

about it? Well, what can he do. This is where I disagree with Stephen. I

don't what he said anything to the million people in Scotland that

voted for Brexit or the people in the North East of England or the

north-west of England. I don't like the change their minds today. I

think an Kezia Dugdale and what happened, I don't think it was

particularly personal to her, what happened in the end EEC, that was

very important, and I do not agree that the party are united in policy.

So he now has a national executive council where he does not have a

majority is all I think it is very difficult. I think on foreign policy

committee has huge problems. The reason that Hilary Benn was sacked

or left or whatever he did at the end, these problems still exist and

I do not think he addressed them today.

What to think on his topic of Ken's I/O

. He did talk about Scotland, Scottish people use broadband, they

get on trains. These things apply in Scotland. As regards the autonomy of

the party in Scotland, that is quite arcane, most people don't care.

Famously something not raised on the doorstep, to use the cliche. The

party does have a problem in Scotland. The radical and

transformative agenda Jeremy is laying out is the best way back in

Scotland. Do you think, going forward is relationship with the

Parliamentary party might start to improve, with this fresh mandate? I

think it will have two. They will be quite a lot of people hoping he

would not survive. He's there, we have to support him, he will be

there until the general election. Superficially, certainly improved.

If it is anything more fundamental, I don't know.

Scotland's last major steelworks, the Dalzell Mill in Motherwell

It was moth-balled last year, along with the nearby Clydebridge plant.

It's a positive story for Scottish industry but is this being reflected

Our Business and Economy Editor Douglas Fraser was at the plate mill

They are just packing up the marquee, the dignitaries have gone,

the First Minister has been and gone. Reopening the plate mill in

Motherwell. Big day for the Lanarkshire town, and the Scottish

economy. The problems in the last couple of years, the oil and gas

slump, brought on by the fall in the oil price. The uncertainty in

constitutional decisions for Scotland, as well as the European

Union. What we get is up to 200 jobs, when they are at full

capacity. They need to source from different places. They need to find

new customers, take slams of red-hot steel, process them, so they are

ready to fabricate girders, construction, sheets for heavy

vehicles, ships sometimes. They need to find new customers, compete

internationally, maybe even export, according to Liberty, the new

owners, after five months of taking it from falling into production,

employing 120 people. Good news story for the First Minister to

celebrate. Good news coming out of a survey published by The Royal Bank

of Scotland, the quarterly monitor, asking 450 firms in Scotland how

things look in the past three months, also the six months to come.

On balance, a positive message right across the economy, particularly

tourism, very important to remote and rural areas. Big employer in the

cities as well. What seems to have made the difference, the weakening

of sterling, more attractive for foreigners to come here. More

attractive for British people earning money in sterling to go on

holiday there, overseas has become more expensive. That signals, if the

survey is right, a modest amount of growth in the second half of the

year after very weak growth figures over the past year. Another positive

sign, the First Minister can take away from Motherwell.

Joining me to discuss the day's big stories

are Professor of Global Security at Glasgow University, Peter Jackson

Good evening to you both. New life breathed back into the plate mill,

good news. First of all, do you think we have a romantic idea about

our heavy industry? We may be need to re-examine? I suppose it depends

on whether or not to have a job dependent on heavy industry. In

general, very difficult for Scottish or British steel firms to be

competitive in the kind of free trade future, projected by Brexit.

With places like China, you will remember, from 's recent six months

ago, dumping cheap steel on the UK market. Still quite a lot of

uncertainty, in terms of the long-term future of British steel

production. Liberty are if early modern company, taking in modern

attitude. That is the impression I got. Talking about recycling scrap

steel, rather than smelting new iron ore. Also using very green,

efficient ways of doing it. So that, in their own words, they talk about

being sustainable and competitive. It is a tricky one, I have sympathy

with what Peter is saying. Other industries, the coal industry, ship

building. Those have really died. Equally, as a country, we need to

keep skilled workers. There will always be a requirement,

particularly for high-quality steel. In aero engines, and seven they are

placed. Whether the market, it is flooded, the north-east has not have

a happy outcome. It will be tough times ahead. Good news for

Lanarkshire. Should we fight harder for these jobs? To keep the skills.

Yesterday the makers of Irn-Bru, 90 redundancies. Does not have much

impact, but we fight for jobs in shipbuilding and steel. Without

question, important. Not least in the realm of defence, for the nation

to have a thriving steel industry will not be dependent on steel

production from elsewhere. Another big story, in Russia. We got the

report into the downing of the flight. The downing. What did

you make of that? Well the mass of evidence, it is irrefutable. They

were able to accumulate heart and put up 150,000 intercepted telephone

messages. 3900 translated in their entirety. Social media, billions of

some media, tracing the route taken by the lorry which transported the

ground to air missile system. Into the area from which the separatist

Russian Ukrainian rebels were fighting. When it is clear the

Malaysian aircraft was shot down, from ten kilometres's surface. The

evidence is overwhelming. The suspicion has been there, now there

is evidence, what do you see happening now? Russia denying any

direct link. Denying allegations of atrocities is, interesting seeing

the relationship, and the development and shall race in the

states. Flaming close ties repeating -- trump

SFA again to suspend peace talks. Two charities saying they were

bombed simultaneously. I was reflecting on that. I in fact

checked out, I want to read it, I want to be sure of the wording.

Article 147, the Geneva Convention, defining war crimes as extensive

destruction, and property not justified by military necessity,

carried out wanting to leave. It seems that Russia has crossed the

line in Syria. -- wantonly. What is the point of having international

criminal court, the Geneva Convention, if people are seemingly

going to cross that line? War crimes being talked about. The Pope also

spoke about this today. A new intervention. Will it remain about

diplomacy? There will be a reluctance for any kind of military

action can make even the lessons of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

President Obama reluctant to enter into anything, about to leave

office. No prospect of serious military intervention in Syria, to

halt the conflict. And fight Syrian troops. We are in the middle of a

very tense presidential election in the United States, a very fraught

election campaign. For the lessons from a public discussion over the

last year, no appetite in this country for intervention. It is

true, other states like France have waded in, using strong language. The

British Foreign Secretary, accusing Russia openly of war crimes. The

language used by John Kerry, the American Secretary of State, saying

Russia is morally responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians.

Language we have not heard since the depths of the Cold War. Very

interesting, but on the other hand, the only thing I can see happening,

international pressure ratcheted up on the Russian government. The

evidence we have suggests Putin is still impervious to this kind of

pressure of public opinion, very depressing. In the meantime, Eastern

Aleppo, a tragedy unfolding. Absolutely a tragedy, totally

unconscionable. We saw in the Second World War, millions of Jews and

others went to their deaths, nobody lifted a finger. Very complex, there

are nuances, of different groups, diplomacy must be used, absolutely.

Surely there comes a point when a line is crossed, something has to be

done. Temporary ceasefire the answer in the short-term? I hope that the

international pressure being brought to bear on the Putin government will

induce it to come back to the table and restore the ceasefire that was

agreed about ten days ago. At least age will get back to the people in

Aleppo, in particular. Many thanks to both you for coming in.

I'm back again tomorrow night, usual time.

So do please join me then, bye bye.

We look ahead to the weekend's fixtures,

For me, what I've seen of him, he's a good player.

And we go behind the scenes with some of