:00:36. > :00:41.Politics. It's the big Euro referendum vote
:00:41. > :00:46.next week. No, not for us. For MPs. So how will Euro-sceptics in the
:00:46. > :00:49.Cabinet vote? We'll ask Defence Secretary Philip Hammond. Will Mr
:00:49. > :00:54.Hammond's plan to make up for cuts in regular troop numbers by doubling
:00:54. > :00:58.the number of reserves work? And if it doesn't, what then? The Defence
:00:58. > :01:02.Secretary is our Sunday Interview. It's the big idea the government
:01:02. > :01:06.thinks will be a game changer for the economy: so is help to buy a
:01:06. > :01:10.Thatcherite master stroke or a recipe for sky high house prices?
:01:10. > :01:13.Labour and the Tories go head to head. And on Sunday Politics
:01:13. > :01:17.Scotland: Will the lights go out? The outgoing chairman of leading
:01:17. > :01:27.power company SSE tells us about the uncertain future in the world of
:01:27. > :01:27.
:01:27. > :31:31.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1804 seconds
:31:31. > :31:34.built. You didn't build enough houses when you were in power.
:31:34. > :31:37.What's the Tories have managed to achieve is the lowest record in
:31:37. > :31:42.peacetime years since the 1920s so they really have nothing to boast
:31:42. > :31:48.about. People who are out there and went on to the housing ladder are
:31:48. > :31:52.desperately looking to get into a housing association. They want to
:31:52. > :31:55.see housing Bill and it is interesting that the Treasury Select
:31:55. > :31:59.Committee report very clearly states that that should be the focus of
:31:59. > :32:08.looking at the supply as well as the demand. There are real concerns that
:32:08. > :32:18.have to be addressed. Are you going to vote for this EU referendum and
:32:18. > :32:26.
:32:26. > :32:30.maintenance to the Queens speech? Yes I am. Thank you very much.
:32:30. > :32:33.Welcome to Sunday Politics Scotland. Coming up on the programme: Sparks
:32:33. > :32:42.fly in the energy debate - as Ian Marchant's leadership of SSE draws
:32:42. > :32:46.to a close - he says policy-makers have created an uncertain future.
:32:46. > :32:52.Who would start building a gas pump today on the basis of the market
:32:52. > :33:00.recovering and the government to get its policy right. They are going to
:33:00. > :33:04.see, let's wait until one of those has happened. And I'll be looking
:33:04. > :33:09.ahead to the by-election. You use it, we use it - governments
:33:09. > :33:12.stand or fall depending on the supply of it. The cost - and use of
:33:12. > :33:15.- energy is always at the centre of political debate. In a
:33:15. > :33:17.straight-talking interview, the outgoing chairman of SSE has been
:33:17. > :33:20.speaking to us about his predictions for rising costs, increasing
:33:20. > :33:30.conflict with policy makers about investment and the eventual need for
:33:30. > :33:34.
:33:34. > :33:37.new nuclear power stations. Edinburgh by night. Beautifully
:33:37. > :33:41.illuminated, unlike large parts of the industry which power that. And
:33:42. > :33:49.all these lights cost. The average household Bill has gone up 47% since
:33:49. > :33:55.2008. According to the outgoing chairman of SSE, that is not going
:33:55. > :34:01.to change any time soon. The most likely scenario is the unit price of
:34:01. > :34:09.energy will continue to go up. But it is the unit price. You control
:34:09. > :34:12.the other bit of the equation, the unit you use. I think the real price
:34:12. > :34:18.of smart metering is that it will tell you what you are using and you
:34:18. > :34:24.can then take control and make reasonable decisions about how much
:34:24. > :34:30.energy you are using. I think that will actually restore some trust in
:34:30. > :34:35.the industry. Smart metering may create some transparency but its
:34:35. > :34:39.introduction has just been postponed for one year. In he believes that
:34:39. > :34:42.politicians need to be more honest. He says the cost of successive
:34:42. > :34:46.governments policies to make the UK greener and more energy-efficient
:34:46. > :34:53.have been passed straight to the industry. And therefore on to us,
:34:53. > :34:56.the consumers. The Generation Game as lucrative. SSE returned 1.3
:34:56. > :35:00.billion and profits last year. But most of the country 's power
:35:00. > :35:05.stations are nearing the end of their working life. Replacing them
:35:05. > :35:11.is going to prove costly. government has said that they will
:35:11. > :35:16.introduce new policy. But they haven't actually introduced new
:35:17. > :35:21.policy and to quote Donald Rumsfeld, they have created a known
:35:21. > :35:26.unknown. They have said that they will intervene but you have to
:35:26. > :35:31.wait. So what do you do? You wait. Who would build a gas plant and
:35:31. > :35:36.start building a gas plant today on the basis of the market will recover
:35:36. > :35:39.and the government will get its policy right? They are going to
:35:39. > :35:43.say, let's wait until at least one of those has happened. In the
:35:43. > :35:46.meantime, he says that other solutions are needed. More
:35:46. > :35:51.investment in demand management technology and greater use of
:35:51. > :35:55.renewables like hydropower. already generates 10% of Scotland's
:35:55. > :36:00.energy needs and this month marks its 70th anniversary. Just this
:36:00. > :36:05.week, SSE unveiled plans for a �30 million scheme in Ross shire. But
:36:05. > :36:10.that doesn't mean there is no place for nuclear and the long-term. My
:36:10. > :36:14.objections to nuclear at the moment are that it is the wrong technology
:36:14. > :36:19.at the wrong place for the wrong company but we should wait. We can
:36:19. > :36:28.afford as a country to wait. There is a lot of interesting technology
:36:28. > :36:34.in nuclear going on. And in the US where they are looking at generation
:36:34. > :36:41.for technology and smaller reactors. They are easier and quicker to
:36:41. > :36:45.build. The UK should wait. He admits that SSE let its customers down. He
:36:45. > :36:49.has apologised and is adamant that the company has made changes and is
:36:49. > :36:52.now in much better shape. But can the same be said for the rest of the
:36:52. > :36:55.industry? Energy's global, policy's reserved
:36:55. > :36:58.to Westminster and planning is an issue for Holyrood. So how does the
:36:59. > :37:01.industry and politicians address the various issues? I'm joined here in
:37:01. > :37:11.the studio by the Scottish Government's Energy Minister Fergus
:37:11. > :37:13.
:37:13. > :37:16.Ewing and by Labour's Shadow Energy Minister, Tom Greatrex. The cost of
:37:16. > :37:19.bills, that is the most important thing for people. How much power do
:37:19. > :37:23.you have in the most important thing for people. How much power do you
:37:23. > :37:28.have any Scottish Government to get them down? We don't have the
:37:28. > :37:31.influence we would like to have but industry
:37:31. > :37:37.industry and with the UK government to bring forward the system of rules
:37:37. > :37:40.that is going to be necessary to meet the electricity needs for the
:37:40. > :37:46.future. Ian Marchant is quite right to say that at the moment, there are
:37:46. > :37:50.no rules to stop therefore, there is an investment hiatus. But we want to
:37:50. > :37:54.move swiftly on to concluding a camcorder with the UK government
:37:54. > :38:03.about Scotland's role and we do have power to set rocks at the moment.
:38:03. > :38:12.Your clips showed a new hydro scheme in Ross shire worth 30 million. SSE
:38:12. > :38:16.said that one of the reasons for that is obligation certificates. In
:38:16. > :38:22.England, they have just the incentive for hydro. We want to see
:38:22. > :38:25.more idle but we want to see a variety of electricity is. When it
:38:25. > :38:30.comes to generation, what is required as variety and variety
:38:30. > :38:35.alone. Therefore, we will require a continuation of nuclear for some
:38:35. > :38:39.time. We are expanding our renewables and that includes onshore
:38:39. > :38:44.wind, hydro and pump storage as well. I have been very pleased that
:38:44. > :38:49.in the Scottish Parliament, we can debate these matters on the basis of
:38:49. > :38:55.rationality and with a fair degree of consensus across the parties.
:38:55. > :39:05.Sadly, the process is taking far too long to sort out the MR and get the
:39:05. > :39:07.
:39:07. > :39:11.straight prices. The risk is that of Jim has identified that the lights
:39:11. > :39:17.will go out and England because the spare capacity as 4% or less and
:39:17. > :39:27.that could happen by 2015. We do really require to make progress as
:39:27. > :39:29.
:39:29. > :39:37.quickly as possible. We are talking about the lights going out and
:39:37. > :39:44.rising energy bills. How much labour to blame after 13 years in power?
:39:44. > :39:54.Alistair Buchanan has been very critical of Labour's policy and
:39:54. > :39:54.
:39:54. > :39:58.power calling it a car crash. we have is a situation where we have
:39:58. > :40:03.a number of power stations that are due to go off-line in the near
:40:03. > :40:08.future and we have a need to replace that generation capacity. The thing
:40:08. > :40:14.that's happened in the retail market is that over a period of time, we
:40:14. > :40:20.have had consolidation of companies. The problem has been that what has
:40:20. > :40:25.happened as the generates the power and then sell it on to the consumers
:40:25. > :40:30.and businesses across Britain and in Scotland. It is very hard to see
:40:30. > :40:32.exactly where the profit is being made. There is a lack of trust
:40:32. > :40:37.because people see the high profit figures and we also see their bills
:40:37. > :40:44.going up to stop we need to have a reform of the regional part of it
:40:44. > :40:47.which isn't covered in the electricity legislation. We need to
:40:47. > :40:53.have transparency because you won't have the trust that Ian Marchant was
:40:53. > :40:56.talking about until there is real transparency in that market.
:40:56. > :41:00.current government have only been in for three years. We should almost be
:41:00. > :41:05.reaping the fruits of a coherent energy policy just note that we are
:41:05. > :41:08.not. Energy is any real mess at the moment isn't it? In that three
:41:08. > :41:13.years, the average dual fuel Bill has gone up by more than �300. We
:41:13. > :41:16.have seen a reduction in confidence and investment and renewable
:41:16. > :41:22.technology and another technologies over that period of time. We have
:41:22. > :41:25.seen a situation where the government is making an off-the-cuff
:41:25. > :41:29.remark and have got themselves into even more of a mess. That is
:41:29. > :41:33.contributing to the delay. Ian Marchant was absolutely right when
:41:33. > :41:37.he was talking about gas power stations and that people are not
:41:37. > :41:47.investing because they are waiting to see the way the capacity market
:41:47. > :41:57.will work. That is not in any be equal he did energy policy. Looking
:41:57. > :42:01.at the burden of social tariffs on top of the actual costs of energy,
:42:01. > :42:04.perhaps you as a government are to blame as well because people have to
:42:04. > :42:08.pay for the renewable energy sector. People are really feeling
:42:08. > :42:15.that pressure at the moment and having to pay for a lot of
:42:15. > :42:18.controversial renewables projects? The UK government's figures show
:42:18. > :42:24.that if there were not the deployment of renewables, those
:42:24. > :42:31.would be much higher. They say that by 2020, if they were not pushed
:42:31. > :42:34.renewables, the average Bill would be �166 higher. Bills have been high
:42:34. > :42:41.but an analysis of this shows that the reason for that is an increase
:42:41. > :42:44.in gas prices vary substantially. There has been a lack of
:42:44. > :42:51.consideration to energy policy over decades. The great hasn't had major
:42:51. > :42:56.investment since the 60s. Many of the problems about constraint
:42:56. > :43:00.payment arrives because of that lack of investment. The good news is that
:43:00. > :43:05.because of our success in Scotland, success which independent people
:43:05. > :43:13.such as the CEO of the National Grid have said and the clarity of our
:43:13. > :43:21.purpose and incentivising union durables -- incentivising renewables
:43:21. > :43:31.not we have confidence more amongst investors in Scotland. When you look
:43:31. > :43:40.
:43:40. > :43:45.get too closely drawn into that because of legal reasons. I am the
:43:45. > :43:49.Minister that took the planning decision there but in general, the
:43:49. > :43:54.investment in renewables is strong in Scotland. As has been said by Ian
:43:54. > :43:58.Marchant and also by ScottishPower, there is an investment hiatus at the
:43:58. > :44:00.moment and therefore, we are very keen that that hiatus should come to
:44:00. > :44:07.an end by an agreement and publication of the draft straight
:44:07. > :44:12.prices in the next month or so. Scotland has these worlds leading
:44:12. > :44:15.climate change targets. You must find that a very laudable thing? The
:44:15. > :44:19.best we're trying to achieve those targets is by improving and
:44:19. > :44:22.increasing the image of renewable generation. The best and most
:44:22. > :44:25.efficient cost-effective and most sensible way of doing it is what
:44:25. > :44:35.happens now in that it is paid by consumers across the whole of
:44:35. > :44:36.
:44:36. > :44:39.Britain. The magnitude would be completely different. I think the
:44:39. > :44:45.system as it is at the moment encourages that and should be
:44:45. > :44:53.encouraging at father. The decisions and some of the hiatus in decisions
:44:53. > :44:55.as that there are whole of injuries -- incidents. That is another factor
:44:55. > :45:05.alongside the weight we still have from some of the detail of the
:45:05. > :45:07.
:45:07. > :45:13.marked presence. They are all causing a situation where people are
:45:13. > :45:16.stopping and pausing. The cost will increase if we end up in a situation
:45:16. > :45:19.where we are even more in hock to the volatile nature of gas prices.
:45:19. > :45:24.The best way of getting security of supply into the renewables part of
:45:24. > :45:28.that is by getting on with that development. Tom has also pointed
:45:28. > :45:36.out the development of wind power, we're not seeing enough generation
:45:36. > :45:43.of this? We believe there is massive potential for offshore wind. That
:45:43. > :45:46.could create over 20,000 jobs. As it is at the moment, renewable energy
:45:46. > :45:53.in Scotland sustains 11,000 jobs and onshore wind has been a stepping
:45:53. > :45:59.stone. Without it, they would be no rationale for a 7000 billion pound
:45:59. > :46:05.investment. Without that, there cannot be offshore wind. It is all
:46:05. > :46:11.part of the jigsaw and our clear support and the Scottish Government
:46:11. > :46:14.for renewables along with conventional back-up, has been well
:46:14. > :46:23.received by investors. England does need Scotland's energy and
:46:23. > :46:27.therefore, following independence, we believe the should continue to be
:46:27. > :46:33.a integrated energy market and Scotland will require demand from
:46:33. > :46:43.the consumers south of the border. England needs Scotland's energy
:46:43. > :46:44.
:46:44. > :46:48.otherwise the lights go out. In a separate Scotland, it is an
:46:48. > :46:54.assertion based on an assumption based on a hope that that is what
:46:54. > :46:57.would happen. In reality, if England and the rest of the UK required
:46:57. > :47:03.energy, they would then make a commercial decision and it is what
:47:03. > :47:10.about what is available. That isn't necessary Sara Lee going to be from
:47:10. > :47:20.Scotland. There wouldn't be a residual obligation from the rest of
:47:20. > :47:20.
:47:20. > :47:23.the UK to Scotland. Very interesting debate. Thank you.
:47:23. > :47:26.It's being described as a key litmus test in the independence debate.
:47:26. > :47:30.Voters in Aberdeen Donside will vote on the 20th of June to elect a
:47:30. > :47:33.successor to the late Brian Adam - the SNP MSP who died last month. Mr
:47:33. > :47:37.Adam managed a majority of seven thousand at the last election. If
:47:37. > :47:44.Labour did claim the seat - it would deprive the SNP of their majority at
:47:44. > :47:48.Holyrood. Niall O'Gallacher has been looking at the numbers.
:47:48. > :47:52.I am very sad to have to inform the chamber of the passing of dear
:47:52. > :47:57.friend Brian Adam this morning. Parliament paid its respects after
:47:57. > :48:01.the death of the SNP member for Aberdeen Donside. A popular figure
:48:01. > :48:05.at Holyrood, Brian Adam's passing drew tributes from across the
:48:05. > :48:09.chamber. But as he would have understood, politics must go on.
:48:09. > :48:19.This week the 20th of June was meant as the day Mr Adam successor would
:48:19. > :48:20.
:48:20. > :48:28.be chosen. At the last election SNP won 69 of their 129 seats in the
:48:28. > :48:34.chamber behind me. They lost one to the cheer and after suspensions and
:48:34. > :48:44.affections, they are now at 65. That is a majority of just one. They
:48:44. > :48:45.
:48:45. > :48:48.would have 65 seats in the, that is a minority of MSP's.
:48:49. > :48:53.Nationalists are calling the tune and Aberdeen these days. Brian Adam
:48:53. > :48:57.that more than half the day -- half the votes leading his party majority
:48:57. > :49:05.of over 7000. Councillor Willie Young has been tasked with
:49:06. > :49:11.persuading voters to back Labour. Oh well Labour do will be seen as the
:49:11. > :49:15.first barometer of how well Johann Lamont is performing and there are
:49:15. > :49:21.signs that she is chipping away at the first Minister. She is doing
:49:21. > :49:29.really rather well. Her popularity as increasing will stop all these
:49:29. > :49:39.polls narrow win? This is a chance to find out. The prospective SNP
:49:39. > :49:46.
:49:46. > :49:48.candidate didn't expect to win in 2011 and so came... Roads and
:49:48. > :49:52.infrastructure spending looks like being the big issues locally so it
:49:52. > :50:02.could come down to this. Who do voters blame or four projects
:50:02. > :50:08.
:50:08. > :50:13.professor of politics at Strathclyde University John Curtice. Brian had
:50:13. > :50:18.cemented himself in that seat in Aberdeen North in 2003. I
:50:18. > :50:23.interviewed him when he won that seat and he got double what Labour
:50:24. > :50:30.got in the last Holyrood election. It will be an interesting fight, but
:50:30. > :50:35.probably a very strong showing for the SNP. This is one of the SNP 's
:50:35. > :50:39.safest seats in Holyrood. This is not a constituency they won against
:50:39. > :50:47.everybody's expectations, they first won it in 2003 when they want doing
:50:47. > :50:52.very well. It will be a 13.5% swing to Labour if they are to pick it up.
:50:52. > :51:00.That said, there are a few notes of caution for the SNP. The first is
:51:00. > :51:04.their position in the opinion polls for the party. According to the most
:51:04. > :51:10.recent of those, it has been something like a 5% swing since
:51:10. > :51:17.2011. Secondly, the general rule of by-elections is they tend to be not
:51:17. > :51:23.that good for governments and they are used for protests. We have not
:51:23. > :51:29.had a by-election since the SNP gained power in 2007. The Labour
:51:29. > :51:32.Party, the senior partners in the coalition with the Lib Dems, lost
:51:32. > :51:39.ground, so we shouldn't be surprised if we end up with a bigger swing
:51:39. > :51:46.against the SNP than the 5% of the most recent opinion poll. That would
:51:46. > :51:51.suggest it won't be a stupendous win for the SNP, even getting the 13.5%
:51:51. > :51:55.swing that would be a considerable feather in Labour's cap. Looking at
:51:55. > :52:02.the numbers, hypothetically, if Labour did when what would happen in
:52:02. > :52:08.Parliament? In practice, it won't make a great deal of difference. Two
:52:08. > :52:11.of the defectors from the SNP are still supporting the party. It might
:52:11. > :52:17.have some implications for the composition of committees, but the
:52:17. > :52:22.truth is the SNP have a dominant position in Holyrood. It would be a
:52:22. > :52:26.symbolic loss of the majority rather than anything more substantial.
:52:26. > :52:31.looks like Mark McDonald will be the candidate for the SNP, going up
:52:31. > :52:41.against Willie Young from Labour. Both are well known local figures.
:52:41. > :52:41.
:52:41. > :52:45.They are, which means it will show that the SNP are getting voters to
:52:45. > :52:49.think about the performance of the Labour Party in Aberdeen City
:52:49. > :52:54.Council and not necessarily what is going on in Holyrood. In
:52:54. > :52:59.by-elections in Fife the Labour Party successfully persuaded people
:52:59. > :53:05.to focus on the record of the SNP on the Fife Council at that time rather
:53:05. > :53:10.than the record of the Labour Government in Westminster. There are
:53:10. > :53:14.chinks in Labour's armour on Aberdeen Council. In truth, for the
:53:14. > :53:21.most part people are going to be saying to themselves, have happy I
:53:22. > :53:31.would Alec Salmond and the SNP? Do I want him representing me? It is very
:53:32. > :53:32.
:53:32. > :53:37.much a two horse race. How might the UK coalition partners there in this
:53:37. > :53:45.election? They can't look forward to it with a great deal of confidence.
:53:45. > :53:50.The Liberal Democrats' position in the polls is still dire. The
:53:50. > :53:55.Conservatives aren't doing anything very much in Scotland. UKIP are
:53:55. > :53:58.going to fight this by-election as well. They have done tremendously
:53:58. > :54:05.well in by-elections in provincial England. Scotland is clearly a
:54:05. > :54:10.tougher nut for UKIP. The only got 5% of the vote in 2009. If you look
:54:10. > :54:13.at recent opinion polls, that currently looks to be the position
:54:13. > :54:18.we are at at the moment. It will be interesting to see how well you
:54:18. > :54:24.could manage to do, that I suspect they will be a pale shadow of their
:54:24. > :54:32.performance south of the border. Transport and infrastructure will be
:54:32. > :54:37.the main things. Bridge crossings will be a local issue and, of
:54:37. > :54:44.course, meanwhile some people are anticipating that this will be a
:54:44. > :54:49.by-election about independence. I would caution against that. Only 61%
:54:49. > :54:56.of the people who said they voted for the SNP say they would
:54:56. > :55:00.necessarily vote yes, I think in truce we may well find that the
:55:00. > :55:04.SNP's performance in this by-election will probably outperform
:55:04. > :55:11.whatever is the current support for independence in the constituency. To
:55:11. > :55:17.that extent, we shouldn't read too much into this by-election.
:55:17. > :55:23.Thank you very much for coming in. That by-election will be on the 20th
:55:23. > :55:33.of June. You are watching Sunday Politics. We are heading to the news
:55:33. > :55:37.
:55:37. > :55:47.shortly. After that we will look at the week ahead. The deputy leader of
:55:47. > :55:48.
:55:48. > :55:53.the SNP will set out her policies. Good afternoon. The Education
:55:53. > :55:57.Secretary Michael Gove has told the BBC he would vote for Britain to
:55:57. > :56:03.leave the EU if there was a referendum today. He is the most
:56:03. > :56:07.senior Conservative to contemplate backing England's exit from the EU.
:56:07. > :56:13.He told the Andrew Marr show that life outside would be perfectly poor
:56:13. > :56:18.ball -- tolerable but the best approach would be to let David
:56:18. > :56:22.Cameron leader. The most important thing to do is support the Prime
:56:22. > :56:27.Minister and then put it to a referendum. Some of my colleagues
:56:27. > :56:35.are very exuberant and want to let off steam. My position is to let
:56:35. > :56:41.David Cameron set out a platform and have the referendum.
:56:41. > :56:45.The former prime ministers of Pakistan says he is confident he
:56:45. > :56:51.will be returned to power more than 13 years after he was ousted in a
:56:51. > :56:56.military coup. Results from yesterday's election put his
:56:56. > :57:01.Pakistan Muslim League well in the lead but the party is expected to
:57:01. > :57:05.fall short of a majority, forcing it to go into coalition.
:57:05. > :57:10.He had been widely tipped to return to power, but it is still a
:57:10. > :57:18.remarkable personal comeback after being ousted as Prime Minister by
:57:18. > :57:24.the Army in 2009. -- 1999. It was cricketing legend Imran Khan
:57:24. > :57:33.who most threatened his ambitions, galvanising young voters with his
:57:33. > :57:36.call for a new Pakistan. With victory apparently insight, the
:57:36. > :57:41.leading candidate recognise that a compost and. He said that he will
:57:41. > :57:48.fulfil every promise he had made to the youth. Voters yesterday defied
:57:48. > :57:54.the violence that had played the campaign. The turnout was 60%, the
:57:54. > :57:57.highest in years. If the party fall short of the
:57:57. > :58:03.majority they need to govern on their own they will need to deal
:58:03. > :58:09.with other parties. He promises stable government, arguing that in
:58:09. > :58:14.an effective coalition would be bad news for Pakistan.
:58:14. > :58:21.He will have a honeymoon period of sorts, but from the economy to
:58:21. > :58:26.tackling extremism time will not be on his side.
:58:26. > :58:29.The Syrian government has rejected accusations that it was behind two
:58:29. > :58:35.car bombs that killed at least 49 people in Turkey yesterday and
:58:35. > :58:41.wounded dozens more. Hundreds of mourners have attended the
:58:41. > :58:46.funerals. Nine people, all Turkish, have been arrested in connection
:58:46. > :58:51.with the awnings. A group of senior nurses are warning
:58:51. > :58:56.of inadequate staffing levels on many hospital boards in England.
:58:56. > :59:01.They say healthcare is being put at risk. The government says hospitals
:59:01. > :59:08.are best placed to decide on the number of staff places.
:59:08. > :59:13.There will be more news on BBC One at six o'clock this evening.
:59:13. > :59:17.Good morning, police are still waiting to speak to the critically
:59:17. > :59:23.injured daughter of a woman who was found dead in a Greenock hotel.
:59:23. > :59:30.Margaret McDonagh was found severely injured in a room in the Premiere In
:59:30. > :59:37.on Friday. Her 23-year-old daughter is in a critical condition in
:59:37. > :59:39.hospital. The women were not stabbed. Police cannot yet establish
:59:39. > :59:44.whether there were suspicious circumstances.
:59:44. > :59:49.Firefighters have brought under control a blaze in Cumbernauld. The
:59:49. > :59:55.fire broke out in the kitchen of the hotel this morning. A number of
:59:55. > :59:58.rooms had to be evacuated, but there are no reports of injuries.
:59:58. > :00:04.David Livingstone 's great-grandchildren are to mark the
:00:04. > :00:08.anniversary of his birth. They will be special guests at the Church of
:00:08. > :00:11.Scotland's General Assembly. They will be remembering his missionary
:00:11. > :00:21.work in Malawi and Zambia where he is still regarded as a national
:00:21. > :00:24.
:00:24. > :00:31.hero. My father kept it a dark secret, but as he says it's just
:00:31. > :00:37.your luck or whatnot. We take it quite, you know, modestly, shall we
:00:37. > :00:43.say. There are two matches being played
:00:43. > :00:53.in the SPL today. Hearts are taking on Hibs while Motherwell face Ross
:00:53. > :00:56.
:00:56. > :01:01.It is an unsettled picture with outbreaks of rain affecting parts of
:01:01. > :01:09.Scotland, but as the rain moves eastwards it will break up. The rain
:01:09. > :01:15.will extend into Shetland later in the day. As far as temperatures go
:01:15. > :01:25.the winds will be increasing all the time from the West. Blustery showers
:01:25. > :01:29.
:01:29. > :01:39.will follow in its wake, but staying is making news in Holyrood, let's
:01:39. > :01:44.look back at the week in 60 seconds. The Queen set out the UK Government
:01:44. > :01:49.'s programme at the State opening of Parliament. It includes measures to
:01:50. > :01:53.curb immigration and preparation for the independence referendum.
:01:53. > :01:57.government will continue to make the case for Scotland remaining part of
:01:57. > :02:06.the United Kingdom. Alex Ferguson said he is stepping
:02:06. > :02:12.down as manager of Manchester united. David Moyes will take over.
:02:12. > :02:18.Edinburgh will be revitalised by adding cafes with outside seating on
:02:18. > :02:28.Princes Street. Joanne Lyman said Alex Salmond
:02:28. > :02:31.
:02:31. > :02:37.didn't care about healthcare. At Westminster, Nick Clegg said he
:02:37. > :02:47.blocked Tory proposals to increase the number of children staff should
:02:47. > :02:53.
:02:53. > :03:00.This week we have the recently retired political editor of the
:03:00. > :03:07.Sunday Post and the Sunday Times journalist. I think we know who will
:03:07. > :03:13.be making the news this week in politics in Scotland. Gordon Brown
:03:13. > :03:19.urges Scots not to give up on the UK. Gordon Brown returning to the
:03:19. > :03:23.front line as they launch Labour's Row union campaign. Gordon Brown is
:03:23. > :03:27.always a very interesting person to watch. We haven't seen much of him
:03:27. > :03:34.over the last few years. He is still the MP for Kirkcaldy but he has been
:03:34. > :03:38.off doing other things. Friends say that he was despondent after he
:03:38. > :03:42.stopped being Prime Minister and it has taken him sometime to get back
:03:42. > :03:47.into it and his wife has been instrumental in helping him to get
:03:47. > :03:50.over that period. I think he will come back fighting. The union
:03:50. > :03:55.campaign need someone to make a positive case. Whether Gordon will
:03:55. > :04:03.do it, I don't know. The headline suggests he will be quite divisive.
:04:03. > :04:11.Do you think he is an attractive figure two voters? -- to voters?
:04:11. > :04:14.think in England he is treated as a figure of fun almost, certainly in
:04:14. > :04:24.political circles, but in Scotland we still think he is one of our
:04:24. > :04:25.
:04:25. > :04:29.lads. By his own efforts he became a major figure and became Prime
:04:29. > :04:36.Minister. Whether he will be a major figure in the no campaign I don't
:04:36. > :04:43.know. He is making a speech tomorrow, whether he will be a
:04:43. > :04:48.continuing figure I doubt very much. This is not moving away from Better
:04:48. > :04:53.Together it is just a Labour campaign and they need those
:04:53. > :04:59.footsoldiers if they want to do well. The problem for Labour and
:04:59. > :05:09.Netted Together is they have different agendas. They want to see
:05:09. > :05:13.the union retained but Labour has very much an anti-Tory agenda at
:05:13. > :05:23.Westminster. When you have a big beast like Gordon Brown wading in,
:05:23. > :05:29.
:05:29. > :05:34.he will have his own thoughts. There is potential for ructions. Nicola
:05:34. > :05:38.Sturgeon more argue that there is a national majority in Scotland. It is
:05:38. > :05:42.interesting that the Gordon Brown speech tomorrow has really
:05:42. > :05:46.overshadowed the Nicola Sturgeon speech. Most of the papers have gone
:05:46. > :05:49.with the Browns speech. Nicola is saying that if Scots believed
:05:50. > :05:54.Scotland would be a fairer and better of country and independence,
:05:54. > :05:59.they would vote for independence. I think she has a big task on our
:05:59. > :06:07.hands to do that. To go back to Labour, I think they have been
:06:07. > :06:11.needled slightly. We see the SNP saying Labour in Coalition with the
:06:11. > :06:20.Tories. I think this is worrying them a little bit. The fact that
:06:20. > :06:23.they are being linked with the Conservatives, they are trying to
:06:23. > :06:30.say, this is labour for the union rather than just better together.
:06:30. > :06:34.What you think of the phrase a natural majority? There are still
:06:34. > :06:38.quite a lot of questions that haven't been answered that are
:06:38. > :06:45.piling up. The yes campaign has had a torrid couple of weeks. Nicola is
:06:45. > :06:50.very good. She will be trying to put a marker in the sand to try try to
:06:50. > :06:57.re-establish that campaign. When it comes to majority, it is the polls
:06:57. > :07:06.that kind. Let's look at another issue in the Sunday mail. Nigel
:07:06. > :07:10.Farage is downing a paint. He is coming to Scotland on Thursday. It
:07:10. > :07:14.will be a very interesting by-election won't it? I don't think
:07:14. > :07:19.UKIP or how much impact on the outcome of the by-election. I think
:07:19. > :07:26.it is a two horse race between the SNP and Labour. Labour have a good
:07:26. > :07:29.candidate, a well-known local councillor. Having said that, that
:07:29. > :07:36.may be one of Labour's weaknesses because the SNP can attack Labour on
:07:36. > :07:44.their council record. There is a lot of disquiet over the third Don
:07:44. > :07:50.Crossing. The Liberal Democrats have already made a lot of this. If the
:07:50. > :07:54.SNP were to lose this it would be a major blow. I think the majority
:07:54. > :07:59.will be decreased but I don't see them losing. Do you think Brian Adam
:07:59. > :08:08.built up a strong will support there? He had a majority 7000.
:08:08. > :08:12.was well liked. He has gone on very sad circumstances. There will be a
:08:12. > :08:22.lot of sympathy around that. He seemed to do a good job. For Labour
:08:22. > :08:23.
:08:23. > :08:28.to win, it is going to be a huge achievement. That is where the