:00:14. > :00:23.Hello and welcome to BBC HQ in Glasgow.
:00:24. > :00:26.For the next hour or so we're going to be talking about the election.
:00:27. > :00:31.If the polls are to be believed, the votes of young people could be
:00:32. > :00:35.crucial in deciding who will be in Parliament and in Government
:00:36. > :00:44.We've got politicians from the main parties waiting here.
:00:45. > :00:48.We've also got a live studio audience, who I think
:00:49. > :00:52.But this is also about you guys on social media and throughout
:00:53. > :00:54.the debate we want to know what you think.
:00:55. > :00:56.Join in on Facebook, or tweet us if you agree,
:00:57. > :01:00.disagree or have something you want to say about what's going on here.
:01:01. > :01:02.Rachel Coburn is going to be watching social media.
:01:03. > :01:06.So I'll be keeping an eye on what you guys
:01:07. > :01:10.If you want to comment as we go, you can do.
:01:11. > :01:12.The hashtag is BBC the social debate.
:01:13. > :01:16.Has something really got on your nerves?
:01:17. > :01:19.This is all about the election issues that matter to you.
:01:20. > :01:24.So get involved and we'll put some of your comments to the politicians.
:01:25. > :01:27.I should also mention that this programme is being shown again
:01:28. > :01:33.on BBC Two, just after midnight, so if that's where you're watching,
:01:34. > :01:36.I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to use your comments.
:01:37. > :01:54.If you are watching this at midnight, please ignore my tweets
:01:55. > :01:57.because it's been a long week and I'll be in the pub.
:01:58. > :01:59.Right, to the panel - the people who're going to be
:02:00. > :02:02.answering your questions and, hopefully, getting quite a grilling
:02:03. > :02:06.Kirstene Hair from the Conservatives.
:02:07. > :02:11.Pam Duncan from the Labour Party and from the Lib Dems, Kris Chapman.
:02:12. > :02:13.Right, we've put this debate together with our friends
:02:14. > :02:16.from The Social and some of their contributors have been sending
:02:17. > :02:18.in video clips with their thoughts on the election and a question.
:02:19. > :02:23.My name is Rolain, I work with young people and this is why
:02:24. > :02:25.I care about the number of young voters dropping.
:02:26. > :02:27.If the older generation are the only people voting,
:02:28. > :02:29.this means young people's views aren't being heard.
:02:30. > :02:32.The young people are the ones who are having their future decided
:02:33. > :02:34.for them and they will be the ones who might suffer.
:02:35. > :02:37.It's important to have a voice and to be heard in these critical
:02:38. > :02:42.I think it's worrying if young people think that the answer
:02:43. > :02:44.is to disengage and give up their right to help make things
:02:45. > :02:48.change, when others fought so hard to create a democracy.
:02:49. > :02:52.Currently in the UK it should worry politicians that their future
:02:53. > :02:56.workforce and community is showing a loss of trust and faith in them,
:02:57. > :03:02.My question is, what are you going to do to engage young people
:03:03. > :03:11.What are you going to do to engage more young people in politics?
:03:12. > :03:13.Stewart McDonald, from the SNP, let's start with you.
:03:14. > :03:16.Well, I think the main thing is not to patronise young people.
:03:17. > :03:20.I know that some young people wince at the thought
:03:21. > :03:22.of being compartmentalised as a young voter.
:03:23. > :03:25.But, you know, I've been an MP for the last two years and I've been
:03:26. > :03:29.getting around lots of youth groups in my constituency, one
:03:30. > :03:40.in particular that's really active on the streets,
:03:41. > :03:43.as opposed to sitting in a youth complex, and chatting to folk
:03:44. > :03:48.I find some of the toughest questions and most interesting
:03:49. > :03:50.conversations I have are often with young voters themselves.
:03:51. > :03:55.Quite often people think it's all about student policies, relating
:03:56. > :03:58.Obviously, that does tend to dominate, but people
:03:59. > :04:01.They want to talk about issues like Trident and issues
:04:02. > :04:03.like the refugee crisis that we face.
:04:04. > :04:11.My experience is that young folk are generally quite well tapped
:04:12. > :04:13.into the issues in a way that perhaps older generations aren't.
:04:14. > :04:15.Perhaps, actually, they're a bit more compartmentalised
:04:16. > :04:23.I think young people tend to be broad and open minded on the issues
:04:24. > :04:26.and the more time we spend engaging them, the better because we know
:04:27. > :04:29.they have historically low turnouts and the people who turn up
:04:30. > :04:32.are the ones who get what they want at the end of the day.
:04:33. > :04:34.I mean that turnout issue is important, isn't it?
:04:35. > :04:38.Overall, at the last election, it was 66%, two-thirds
:04:39. > :04:42.Young people, 18-24, if my notes are right, 43%.
:04:43. > :04:45.Kirstene, if you believe the same polls, young people are more likely
:04:46. > :04:48.to vote Labour or SNP than they are Conservatives.
:04:49. > :04:52.Do you think your party is offering much to young people or is it aimed
:04:53. > :04:59.I'm 27, this is the second time that I've stood for the party and I think
:05:00. > :05:02.that it's really important that you really engage with young people.
:05:03. > :05:04.Through standing, a number of young people have got engaged,
:05:05. > :05:08.not only in campaigning, but within the party.
:05:09. > :05:12.There's a lot more young people than I've seen in the past,
:05:13. > :05:15.even in the past kind of five years, there's much more young
:05:16. > :05:18.I think that's up to us as representatives to ensure
:05:19. > :05:22.There's a number of platforms by which we can do that.
:05:23. > :05:24.The traditional methods, by going out and speaking
:05:25. > :05:28.Equally, I think, we need to engage through social media.
:05:29. > :05:31.I've had huge volumes of young people engaging with me
:05:32. > :05:35.Campaigning is not just a single platform now,
:05:36. > :05:39.I think that you need to go out to a number of different areas
:05:40. > :05:42.to ensure that you're spreading your message to the widest
:05:43. > :05:46.Kirstene, what about reducing the voting age?
:05:47. > :05:49.So in the referendum you could vote, 16-17.
:05:50. > :05:51.Scottish elections you can vote when you're 16 and 17.
:05:52. > :05:55.But your party nationally, UK-wide at least, doesn't support
:05:56. > :06:03.Well, Ruth Davidson is lobbying her colleagues down south of the border
:06:04. > :06:07.because she strongly believes that 16 and 17-year-olds should attain
:06:08. > :06:10.the vote and she will continue to fight that case.
:06:11. > :06:14.I understand that 16 and 17-year-olds are not
:06:15. > :06:17.voting in this election, but all I can say is that we stand
:06:18. > :06:20.by the decision that they should going forward and Ruth Davidson
:06:21. > :06:27.Someone in the audience had a point they wanted to make, I think.
:06:28. > :06:31.Yes, I've actually seen quite a lot of activity through social media
:06:32. > :06:33.from the Labour Party and the SNP encouraging people
:06:34. > :06:37.However, I haven't seen that same push from the Conservatives
:06:38. > :06:39.and I was wondering why that would be?
:06:40. > :06:41.Can I maybe suggest why that might be?
:06:42. > :06:45.I think it's because the Labour Party has a lot of policies that
:06:46. > :06:48.The manifesto we have put forward for this election
:06:49. > :06:51.is one that is a manifesto for young people.
:06:52. > :06:54.So I've been lucky enough, I lived under and went to school
:06:55. > :06:56.and to university under a Labour Government.
:06:57. > :06:59.I had the opportunities that meant I could go to a university.
:07:00. > :07:03.I had opportunities that meant I could get a job
:07:04. > :07:05.and that I would be able to contribute to society.
:07:06. > :07:08.It's those things that keep engaging young people in.
:07:09. > :07:10.When we've got policies, like a ?10 minimum wage.
:07:11. > :07:13.When we've got policies, like a cap on rent.
:07:14. > :07:18.When we've got policies that will help young people
:07:19. > :07:20.get into education - be that further education
:07:21. > :07:23.or higher education - and jobs that will give them money
:07:24. > :07:26.That's when we'll engage young people.
:07:27. > :07:29.I think that we've got something to be proud of,
:07:30. > :07:32.which is why I believe you've seen a lot more from the Labour Party
:07:33. > :07:36.on social media and on other forms of media around what we'll do
:07:37. > :07:39.You've made quite a big thing about wanting to get
:07:40. > :07:41.rid of tuition fees, but you guys brought them
:07:42. > :07:44.Yes, but also in Scotland we abolished them.
:07:45. > :07:46.So we don't have tuition fees in Scotland.
:07:47. > :07:49.In fact what's happening now, if you look at the amount
:07:50. > :07:51.of student debt in Scotland, it's gone up since the SNP
:07:52. > :08:05.We've also seen that widening access for education
:08:06. > :08:07.in higher education has completely gone down.
:08:08. > :08:09.So we're now seeing students from our poorest communities unable
:08:10. > :08:13.to get to university in Scotland in ways that they were in the past.
:08:14. > :08:15.That's because the bursaries have been taken away and it's
:08:16. > :08:18.because people don't have enough money in their pockets to do it.
:08:19. > :08:19.A Labour Government would change that.
:08:20. > :08:21.I should mention that education is devolved,
:08:22. > :08:23.so it's a Scottish Government thing, it's not necessarily one
:08:24. > :08:26.of the issues that - the guys you are voting
:08:27. > :08:29.for on the 8th June - will have a big say on,
:08:30. > :08:32.but they will have a big say on the UK side of it.
:08:33. > :08:35.Chris, the Lib Dems have a bit of a checkered history when it
:08:36. > :08:37.comes to talking to young people, don't they?
:08:38. > :08:41.You guys made a big pledge in 2010 that you'd get rid of tuition fees
:08:42. > :08:45.Does that not contribute to this idea that young people aren't that
:08:46. > :08:50.Sorry, yeah, I totally agree we messed up back in 2010.
:08:51. > :08:54.By trebling. That's my personal stance on that.
:08:55. > :08:59.If I had been an MP in Westminster, I would have voted against
:09:00. > :09:01.the trebling because that's what I said I would do
:09:02. > :09:06.For me, it's all about engaging young people and representing them
:09:07. > :09:09.and actually making sure that they have a voice at all levels
:09:10. > :09:13.The youth voice is so important and, you know, I feel very strongly
:09:14. > :09:16.with the Liberal Democrats that we've come up with a really
:09:17. > :09:26.Through Brexit and the problems we've already identified,
:09:27. > :09:28.coming through Brexit, we're going to be minimising
:09:29. > :09:31.the opportunity for so many young people to really kind of access
:09:32. > :09:32.opportunities that they currently have.
:09:33. > :09:36.It's one of the big things that we as the Liberal Democrats
:09:37. > :09:39.But also in Scotland, as identified already,
:09:40. > :09:41.during the Lib-Lab Coalition of the first two Scottish
:09:42. > :09:44.parliaments, we abolished tuition fees in the Scottish Parliament
:09:45. > :09:46.and Scotland which enables then, as I've already said,
:09:47. > :09:48.our young people, our next generation, our future
:09:49. > :09:49.generations to actually access education for free.
:09:50. > :09:53.Our most powerful tool in society are our next generations.
:09:54. > :09:57.That's the platform that the Liberal Democrats
:09:58. > :10:07.What do you guys think of how politicians engage with you?
:10:08. > :10:10.Is anyone with a strong opinion on what needs to change to get more
:10:11. > :10:16.Essentially, I mean I'm done - I don't know about young
:10:17. > :10:34.Essentially, I feel that the representation within both
:10:35. > :10:37.parliaments for young people, if you're talking to young people,
:10:38. > :10:40.then the best way to be able to get an interaction with them
:10:41. > :10:42.is if you're talking to somebody who can associate
:10:43. > :10:46.So when you have upwards of 40, upwards of 50 majority members
:10:47. > :10:49.of parliament then when you're being talked to about these sort
:10:50. > :10:52.of questions then it's all about, how it was in my generation,
:10:53. > :10:54.how it was in that generation, but the generation that's currently
:10:55. > :10:57.there, that's currently coming up, have such individual needs that
:10:58. > :11:00.I don't think they can be addressed properly without having the kind
:11:01. > :11:01.of representation in parliament for the age range.
:11:02. > :11:06.In two seconds then we'll come to the youngest man
:11:07. > :11:07.in the Scottish Parliament, Ross Greer.
:11:08. > :11:09.Just quickly though, Rach, what's going on on the internet?
:11:10. > :11:12.So we're getting quite a few comments trhough on Facebook,
:11:13. > :11:14.both from young voters and about young voters.
:11:15. > :11:20.Kev, thank you for your comment said...
:11:21. > :11:53.You're the youngest man in the Scottish Parliament,
:11:54. > :11:56.what about that idea - sorry, what was your name,
:11:57. > :12:00.Jack brought it up there, to really engage with young people.
:12:01. > :12:03.You need to see something that's more like the society
:12:04. > :12:08.I mean, when I was elected last year, I was the youngest member
:12:09. > :12:11.of the Scottish Parliament, I was 21 when I was elected.
:12:12. > :12:14.There were some people were saying - how can you possibly be
:12:15. > :12:15.a politician at age, you don't have enough
:12:16. > :12:17.life experience to know what you're talking about.
:12:18. > :12:20.But our parliaments are supposed to represent all of society.
:12:21. > :12:22.They're not doing that if they're full of white men,
:12:23. > :12:28.What I really can't stand about what some commentators,
:12:29. > :12:32.who also tend to be white men over the age of 50 say is that young
:12:33. > :12:33.people, they're just apathetic, they don't really care.
:12:34. > :12:38.An entire generation feels really alienated from a political system
:12:39. > :12:42.We're going to be the first generation for a long time that's
:12:43. > :12:43.worse off on average than our parents.
:12:44. > :12:47.People aren't going to be able to afford to buy their own home.
:12:48. > :12:49.There are not the jobs and opportunities there for them.
:12:50. > :12:51.The economy they're going into is one of zero-hours contracts,
:12:52. > :12:56.It's not they don't care about politics, it's the political
:12:57. > :12:59.That's why, for the Greens, we've always said it's
:13:00. > :13:03.We need a different kind of economy that actually supports people.
:13:04. > :13:06.At the moment, the goal of the economy is to support a tiny
:13:07. > :13:09.number of people at the top and the rest of us are just supposed
:13:10. > :13:15.That's not what our generation want or what we need.
:13:16. > :13:17.I think Jack's absolutely right, we need more young people
:13:18. > :13:19.in parliament, in every parliament and in our council
:13:20. > :13:24.Let's talk about some of those transformational
:13:25. > :13:27.things you want to see and what you all think of it.
:13:28. > :13:30.Now our second question comes from the audience here at PQ.
:13:31. > :13:34.Jack Miller, what's your question, you're back again.
:13:35. > :13:38.In light of the horrific attack on the Manchester Arena last week,
:13:39. > :13:41.how can any of the major parties justify the proportion
:13:42. > :13:48.of defence spending on the Trident Nuclear Programme?
:13:49. > :13:55.You are standing on a manifesto that says Labour will support
:13:56. > :13:57.the renewal of Trident, but Scottish Labour opposes it.
:13:58. > :14:01.We are standing on the manifesto that says we will support
:14:02. > :14:04.the renewal of Trident but we will also lead the world
:14:05. > :14:07.through the UN and through other countries to be rid of nuclear power
:14:08. > :14:13.We don't just want to get rid of it from Scotland, like the SNP do,
:14:14. > :14:16.we actually want to rid the whole of the world from nuclear power,
:14:17. > :14:23.Do you think that too much money of the defence budget is being spent
:14:24. > :14:25.on Trident or are you quite relaxed with that?
:14:26. > :14:28.What we have said is we will retain the defence budget
:14:29. > :14:31.to what it is just now because we need to be able
:14:32. > :14:34.to put our troops in the situation where they have got what they need
:14:35. > :14:37.in order to be able to keep our country safe.
:14:38. > :14:40.We have been quite clear about that in our manifesto and we have
:14:41. > :14:42.said we will continue to spend that amount.
:14:43. > :14:45.But Jack's point, tell me if I am wrong, Jack,
:14:46. > :14:48.but I get the impression it is also about where we are spending money,
:14:49. > :14:50.so what good is Trident when a nutcase can come
:14:51. > :14:55.into a concert and blow himself up with a nail bomb?
:14:56. > :14:58.You are absolutely right and actually politics is very much
:14:59. > :15:00.about choices and it is important that at this election
:15:01. > :15:04.What I think the Labour government, yes, hopefully, what I think
:15:05. > :15:07.the Labour manifesto has put forward is that we are willing to make
:15:08. > :15:11.the brave choices that are needed, so we have said that we will look
:15:12. > :15:14.at raising the ?48 billion worth of money that we need in order to be
:15:15. > :15:17.able to transform society so we can put more money in people's
:15:18. > :15:19.pockets so that we can invest in workers' rights,
:15:20. > :15:23.so that we can build more houses, so that we can have an NHS
:15:24. > :15:25.that is fit for purpose, so we have said we will do
:15:26. > :15:29.all of those things in a way that means we will avoid borrowing
:15:30. > :15:31.the extra money and I think the manifesto we have put forward
:15:32. > :15:37.My phone is lighting up because I think a lot
:15:38. > :15:40.of people at home are sending in tweets about that.
:15:41. > :15:43.Keep them coming, but just before we go to the rest of the panel,
:15:44. > :15:47.That is twice you have mentioned the SNP when you are talking
:15:48. > :15:50.about your own party manifesto, you are using them as a comparison.
:15:51. > :15:52.Why can you not just answer the question
:15:53. > :15:56.Yes, I think I did answer the question but the reason I am
:15:57. > :16:00.saying that is because we are living in Scotland just now and the SNP
:16:01. > :16:03.are in government and the SNP are quite happy to talk left as much
:16:04. > :16:06.as they like but when they actually have to take decisions in Scotland
:16:07. > :16:12.So actually it is quite relevant, it is important the people
:16:13. > :16:15.of Scotland understand the problems they are seeing in the NHS,
:16:16. > :16:17.the problems they are seeing in their education services,
:16:18. > :16:23.they are because of political choices being made at Holyrood.
:16:24. > :16:26.Before we go to off topic, Stewart, the SNP talk a lot
:16:27. > :16:29.A couple of weeks ago I was in Helensburgh,
:16:30. > :16:32.that is where Faslane and Coulport, the big nuclear bases, are.
:16:33. > :16:34.The economy there, most people say, is dependent on Faslane,
:16:35. > :16:37.it is dependent on the 7000 plus troops who are stationed there.
:16:38. > :16:40.They are stationed there solely at the moment because of Trident.
:16:41. > :16:45.No, we have been quite clear that what we think the priority should be
:16:46. > :16:48.and the pretext of your question was in light of events like
:16:49. > :16:51.Manchester, it was we should invest in conventional defence forces.
:16:52. > :16:54.Who on earth is it we are going to use Trident against?
:16:55. > :17:00.There was one thing I would pick up on what Pam said there.
:17:01. > :17:02.She described renewal of Trident as a brave choice.
:17:03. > :17:05.I voted against the renewal of Trident in the last parliament.
:17:06. > :17:18.Because you guys were also against, for example, giving the police
:17:19. > :17:21.and the security services more power to look at what people are posting
:17:22. > :17:24.on social media and sharing with their friends which some people
:17:25. > :17:27.argue could help target people who will go on to commit atrocities
:17:28. > :17:31.There is a balance to be struck in terms of the powers the police
:17:32. > :17:35.I am sure lots of us have got things on our phones
:17:36. > :17:38.and we would be mortified if MI5 were looking at them.
:17:39. > :17:43.However, what I think should happen is that they should
:17:44. > :17:45.have extra money spent on these services, absolutely.
:17:46. > :17:47.I think there is broad agreement on that across
:17:48. > :17:51.But what this comes to is the threats we face now
:17:52. > :17:54.are different from when we brought Trident in in the first place.
:17:55. > :17:57.Is Trident an acceptable way to spend our money
:17:58. > :18:01.I think that Trident is working for 24 hours a day,
:18:02. > :18:05.seven days a week, 365 days a year, and I think we would become very
:18:06. > :18:09.The UK Conservative manifesto outlines that we would commit
:18:10. > :18:12.to increase our spending in line with Nato to at least 2%
:18:13. > :18:17.of our GDP and we would have the defence budget.
:18:18. > :18:20.I think that is incredibly important in an increasingly uncertain world.
:18:21. > :18:24.And the other part of your question was around the Manchester attacks
:18:25. > :18:27.and I think we obviously take the counterterrorism side of things
:18:28. > :18:33.very seriously as well and that is why we have secured that
:18:34. > :18:36.budget since 2010 and in 2015 we have ensured there are 1900 more
:18:37. > :18:40.officers throughout MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.
:18:41. > :18:47.I think there are two sides to it, but I fundamentally do support
:18:48. > :18:50.the renewal of Trident and, as you mentioned earlier, I think
:18:51. > :18:53.the jobs are incredibly important, it is just over 7000 just now,
:18:54. > :18:57.and that will go up to just over 8000 in a few years' time so I do
:18:58. > :19:01.believe it is important to invest in our military as we go forward.
:19:02. > :19:03.There are lots of hands up in the audience, but just before
:19:04. > :19:06.we come to you guys, Rachel, what is being said online?
:19:07. > :19:09.There is a whole other debate going on in our Facebook comments
:19:10. > :19:45.How can the Conservatives justify opening a blank cheque book
:19:46. > :19:48.for Trident when there is an NHS in crisis, people losing their jobs,
:19:49. > :19:52.disability cuts, it just doesn't make sense?
:19:53. > :19:54.We will come back to that in two seconds.
:19:55. > :19:58.It was the same point as the gentleman in front made apart
:19:59. > :20:01.from we have got families in the whole of the UK that
:20:02. > :20:04.are using food banks and you are using it to renew
:20:05. > :20:07.Trident, Labour and the Tories, which I think
:20:08. > :20:18.I was just going to say something along a similar thread but I do just
:20:19. > :20:21.wonder how we can find the budget to use something that we can never
:20:22. > :20:23.use, to invest in something we can never use essentially,
:20:24. > :20:27.but we can't find money to pay child tax credits for a third
:20:28. > :20:30.or subsequent child unless that child was born of rape.
:20:31. > :20:37.So I would really just love to see how you justify that.
:20:38. > :20:47.But in an uncertain world where you have got people
:20:48. > :20:50.who you like to criticise like Donald Trump who have their
:20:51. > :20:53.fingers on the nuclear button, people like North Korea,
:20:54. > :20:57.is it not useful to have a device like that when they have got it?
:20:58. > :21:00.For a start the idea that you would have it
:21:01. > :21:02.means you would have to contemplate using it.
:21:03. > :21:05.Theresa May is exceptionally proud of the fact that she is prepared
:21:06. > :21:10.I don't think you are fit to lead any country anywhere in the world
:21:11. > :21:12.if you are willing to annihilate millions of innocent people
:21:13. > :21:16.That does not make you fit to rule, not at all.
:21:17. > :21:25.And this idea that Kirstene mentioned, it keeps us safe 24/7.
:21:26. > :21:28.Who are we safer from compared than Sweden or Portugal or Spain?
:21:29. > :21:30.All these other countries, there are less than a dozen
:21:31. > :21:32.countries in the world that have nuclear arsenals.
:21:33. > :21:37.I will go back on the point that I mentioned earlier.
:21:38. > :21:42.There is a real reason to have that and members of the audience
:21:43. > :21:45.are saying there are other areas we should be spending the money on.
:21:46. > :21:48.We have a finite amount of money and each party decides differently
:21:49. > :21:51.how they are going to spend that money and I strongly believe that
:21:52. > :21:54.defence and the defence budget is an area which is incredibly
:21:55. > :21:59.I think that if we were to reduce that, I think we would
:22:00. > :22:03.We live in an increasingly uncertain world and I will stand by that
:22:04. > :22:07.decision, that we do increase the budget in line with 2%
:22:08. > :22:10.of our GDP and I think that is for the best interest
:22:11. > :22:16.It would be safer to not sell weapons to Saudi Arabia,
:22:17. > :22:23.Chris, is your party's policy still to have Trident
:22:24. > :22:28.It is multilateral, so it is a progressive
:22:29. > :22:31.reduction of nuclear weapons, so I totally agree with the point,
:22:32. > :22:33.and the ultimate aim is a nuclear free UK,
:22:34. > :22:41.We need to reprioritise the funding we get from the reduction
:22:42. > :22:44.of nuclear spending on Trident into more conventional weapons.
:22:45. > :22:47.We have troops going into service right now
:22:48. > :22:50.buying their own equipment, buying their own flak jackets,
:22:51. > :22:53.buying their own boots and gear out of their own pockets.
:22:54. > :22:55.These are not being provided by the government.
:22:56. > :22:58.We have a duty on our troops to ensure that when they go
:22:59. > :23:00.into combat, if we choose, to put them in that position
:23:01. > :23:02.in the first place, that we actually provide them
:23:03. > :23:08.But a wider point to your question, Jack, that you were mentioning
:23:09. > :23:10.about the spend, and Ross has just touched on that point,
:23:11. > :23:13.right now we are selling arms to Saudi Arabia which is an atrocity
:23:14. > :23:17.The Liberal Democrat position on our defence spending
:23:18. > :23:20.is we would cut that trade deal straightaway and say no,
:23:21. > :23:24.anyone that has got a dubious human rights record we would not sell arms
:23:25. > :23:28.Lots of strong opinions on that but we have to move
:23:29. > :23:32.on because we have got a lot still to discuss.
:23:33. > :23:35.Our next question comes via a video clip from Tomiwa, another
:23:36. > :23:41.Homelessness doesn't necessarily mean sleeping on the
:23:42. > :23:43.streets, it can be a lot more complicated than that.
:23:44. > :23:46.It means not having a stable or permanent home,
:23:47. > :23:49.so if you are sofa surfing from friend to friend, then you are
:23:50. > :23:55.I am 22 and I have always been privileged enough to know that
:23:56. > :23:59.no matter what, I have a home to go to, but according to Scottish
:24:00. > :24:07.government data, 6652 young people, that 18-24 -year-old, were homeless
:24:08. > :24:09.government data, 6652 young people, that's 18-24
:24:10. > :24:19.This year changes in Universal Credit regulations meant
:24:20. > :24:21.that it became increasingly difficult for 18-21-year-olds to
:24:22. > :24:23.claim housing benefit to help them with their rent.
:24:24. > :24:26.A number of homeless charities stated that these
:24:27. > :24:28.changes would be incredibly detrimental to young people.
:24:29. > :24:31.So my question is, how are you going to
:24:32. > :24:38.help prevent young people from becoming homeless?
:24:39. > :24:41.Right, forgive me for a minute, I am going to go with some stats
:24:42. > :24:43.as well because housing is a complicated issue.
:24:44. > :24:46.A lot of housing is devolved to the Scottish Parliament, things
:24:47. > :24:50.Other elements of what Tomiwa was speaking about there,
:24:51. > :24:52.things like welfare and benefits payments, are partly
:24:53. > :24:58.Around 17,000 people were looking for help because of homelessness
:24:59. > :25:01.in six months last year here in Scotland.
:25:02. > :25:04.That is slightly down, but it is up for young people, so,
:25:05. > :25:08.Stewart, the SNP government, is it doing enough on all of this?
:25:09. > :25:11.What else does it need to do to get those numbers down?
:25:12. > :25:20.Those figures horrify me completely and I myself have done some work
:25:21. > :25:24.looking at the particular issue of homelessness amongst young
:25:25. > :25:27.LGBT people which is staggering in itself as well.
:25:28. > :25:30.You know, the complexity of this, as you say, some of the power
:25:31. > :25:34.on housing policy itself, lies with the Scottish Parliament
:25:35. > :25:38.but there is a whole chunk of it which can help keep people out
:25:39. > :25:40.of homelessness which lies with Westminster.
:25:41. > :25:44.The Scottish Parliament has the ability to prop up anything.
:25:45. > :25:49.Some of the steps we have taken, for example, there is no
:25:50. > :25:53.The issue that was mentioned in the question about housing
:25:54. > :25:56.benefit for young people, we have stepped up and paid
:25:57. > :26:03.We spend about ?100 million a year of Scottish government money
:26:04. > :26:10.I have spent the last two years at Westminster trying to get every
:26:11. > :26:12.single welfare power out of the hands of Theresa May
:26:13. > :26:15.and David Mundell and bring them back to Scotland.
:26:16. > :26:18.I will do that for the next five years if I am back in.
:26:19. > :26:21.I think the complexity of this, and this isn't me trying
:26:22. > :26:23.to get off the hook, is that there is one hand
:26:24. > :26:27.We need better working relationships between the government on a UK
:26:28. > :26:30.level, a Scottish level and local councils who are actually on the
:26:31. > :26:35.That may be the case, but the number of houses being built
:26:36. > :26:41.In part that was due to the housing crash in 2007,
:26:42. > :26:48.That is your party who have responsibility for that.
:26:49. > :26:53.We are building more houses than we have ever built at any time,
:26:54. > :26:57.but do I want to see it faster, do I want to see it better?
:26:58. > :27:01.Do you accept you are not doing enough?
:27:02. > :27:06.But the idea we are sitting here going, all these people
:27:07. > :27:08.are homeless and we are just going to ignore that,
:27:09. > :27:12.To be fair I wouldn't accuse any of my political
:27:13. > :27:17.We all have different ideas now how to combat this.
:27:18. > :27:20.I think the fact we have now got new council administrations all over
:27:21. > :27:22.Scotland, many of them forcing parties to work together,
:27:23. > :27:25.and it's councils who deal with this on the front line,
:27:26. > :27:28.my hope is we can start to see progress and get those numbers down.
:27:29. > :27:30.Ross, who do you think needs to do more?
:27:31. > :27:33.Is it the Scottish Government, the UK Government, or is it both?
:27:34. > :27:35.It is definitely both and it is local councils.
:27:36. > :27:40.The problem with house-building in the UK for decades now is that it
:27:41. > :27:43.has been the entirely wrong type of housing we have been building.
:27:44. > :27:46.What use is it to a young first-time buyer if we are building three
:27:47. > :27:52.We have got a private rental sector which is full of exploitation.
:27:53. > :27:54.We desperately need rent controls, we need landlords to be regulated
:27:55. > :27:56.because they are exploiting young people in particular.
:27:57. > :28:01.It is quite clear with a Conservative government
:28:02. > :28:04.at Westminster they are going to do everything possible
:28:05. > :28:07.to make life as hard as possible for young people.
:28:08. > :28:10.That is why they cut housing benefit.
:28:11. > :28:13.Mhairi Black, the youngest MP, put it very well saying
:28:14. > :28:17.she was the only 20-year-old in the country that George Osborne
:28:18. > :28:20.was willing to help get a house because as an MP she gets expenses
:28:21. > :28:23.The Conservatives are deeply hostile towards young
:28:24. > :28:31.Stuart mentioned LGBT young people in particular.
:28:32. > :28:34.There is a huge inequalities issue here because we still have
:28:35. > :28:36.unfortunately, particularly trans-young people, if they are not
:28:37. > :28:38.accepted by their family, they are not safe at home
:28:39. > :28:41.and they have to leave, but the Conservative government
:28:42. > :28:43.are not willing to support them to get their own house.
:28:44. > :28:46.We need to build more houses in Scotland,
:28:47. > :28:49.the Scottish Government can do that, councils in Scotland can do it.
:28:50. > :28:52.But Stewart was right, we currently spend tens of millions,
:28:53. > :28:54.over ?100 million a year of Scottish government budget just
:28:55. > :28:56.mitigating the worst of what the Tories do at Westminster.
:28:57. > :28:59.We could instead be spending that ?100 million a year buying
:29:00. > :29:03.That is what we could be doing if we had these
:29:04. > :29:06.Pam Duncan, what is the Labour Party offering?
:29:07. > :29:09.One of the things that came up when we were chatting about this
:29:10. > :29:12.earlier was the number of home owners aged 16 to 34 in Scotland
:29:13. > :29:16.The number of people in private rent has gone up.
:29:17. > :29:19.Is that OK and if not, what are you going to do to change it?
:29:20. > :29:22.No, it is absolutely not OK because we know that when people
:29:23. > :29:27.are living in private, rented accommodation they are also
:29:28. > :29:29.living under unscrupulous landlords and their rent increases are rising
:29:30. > :29:32.at a rate that they cannot afford to pay.
:29:33. > :29:39.We have said we will cap rents for those who are renting houses.
:29:40. > :29:44.Because we will not allow them to increase them by too much over
:29:45. > :29:49.What we have said is we will say actually, you are not allowed
:29:50. > :29:52.to raise it above this so people have enough money to live on.
:29:53. > :29:55.We will say you have to have enough money to live on.
:29:56. > :29:57.We will also put more money in people's pockets.
:29:58. > :30:00.As I have said previously we will give people a ?10 living wage,
:30:01. > :30:03.we will also end zero hours contracts so people will have more
:30:04. > :30:05.More importantly we will build houses.
:30:06. > :30:08.We will build more houses for social rent and have been built
:30:09. > :30:13.Our whole manifesto is costed as you know.
:30:14. > :30:16.It is easy to say we will build more houses, I am just wondering how.
:30:17. > :30:19.It is, well, we have said we will tax the richest
:30:20. > :30:22.and we will also increase corporation tax so those are just
:30:23. > :30:26.We have said we will build 45,000 homes for social rent.
:30:27. > :30:30.You were talking about inequalities, in Scotland there are so many
:30:31. > :30:32.disabled people who are homeless because we are not
:30:33. > :30:37.Numbers and numbers of disabled people's organisations have gone
:30:38. > :30:40.to the Scottish Government and said, you need to set a target.
:30:41. > :30:42.You need to say that whenever you are building
:30:43. > :30:45.new homes in Scotland, you have to be building
:30:46. > :30:46.a certain number, like 10%, of accessible standards.
:30:47. > :30:50.Actually what we need in Scotland is more homes,
:30:51. > :30:52.more affordable homes, more accessible homes and more money
:30:53. > :30:56.The Labour manifesto sets out how we will do that.
:30:57. > :30:58.Just to build onto that moving on from Westminster
:30:59. > :31:00.and the Scottish Parliament, I am a local councillor and one
:31:01. > :31:03.of the things we have identified is that actually
:31:04. > :31:06.Once you are identifying as homeless, what steps do you take?
:31:07. > :31:08.How do you actually access the homelessness services?
:31:09. > :31:10.That needs to be massively improved because there
:31:11. > :31:15.When I am not a counsellor, I am a youth worker,
:31:16. > :31:18.so I have dealt with this now on both sides of the table
:31:19. > :31:20.where communities need to come together and actually
:31:21. > :31:24.Because it is all very well saying we will put more money in pockets
:31:25. > :31:27.and we will build more houses which is absolutely something
:31:28. > :31:30.we must be doing but we also need to actually help the people
:31:31. > :31:33.on the ground at the end of the day, the ones that are being victimised
:31:34. > :31:35.by the circumstances in which they find themselves in.
:31:36. > :31:38.That is the challenge, we as local authorities working
:31:39. > :31:40.with the different parliaments along with third sector organisations need
:31:41. > :31:43.to budget effectively partnered together to ensure we do not let
:31:44. > :31:52.Kirstene, one of the things that Tomiwa brought up
:31:53. > :31:59.The amount of money you can claim has been capped by your party
:32:00. > :32:02.you get ?384 a week, if you are a single adult,
:32:03. > :32:06.We have been travelling around Scotland and that is one
:32:07. > :32:09.of the things people have been flagging up as leading to more
:32:10. > :32:11.people using food banks and more people becoming homeless.
:32:12. > :32:20.Would you if you were an MP support the benefits cap?
:32:21. > :32:26.I think it's a very fine balance and it's every political party
:32:27. > :32:31.takes a different stance on this, but I think you need to make sure
:32:32. > :32:34.that - I absolutely fundamentally agree with the welfare system and it
:32:35. > :32:38.should absolutely be there to help the most vulnerable in our society
:32:39. > :32:41.and those that are not able to work, but equally I think
:32:42. > :32:45.You know the best route out of poverty is to ensure that
:32:46. > :32:51.That's why we've increased the national living
:32:52. > :32:56.to ?7.50 and increased the personal allowance up up to ?12,500.
:32:57. > :32:59.That first ?12,500 that you earn is tax-free so you have more money
:33:00. > :33:07.I also think it's important, when we're talking earlier
:33:08. > :33:12.issues I want to mention, one is in the UK manifesto we have ensured
:33:13. > :33:15.on the standard variable energy tariffs because we think it's
:33:16. > :33:18.unjustified rises that are not fair on people who are working
:33:19. > :33:23.So, I think, yes, you need to look out for the most
:33:24. > :33:28.That's exactly what the welfare state is there to do.
:33:29. > :33:30.Equally, you need to ensure that those who are out working
:33:31. > :33:33.essentially that it pays to work because that is the best way
:33:34. > :33:36.to ensure that young people, people of any age essentially,
:33:37. > :33:44.come out of poverty and into the workplace.
:33:45. > :33:47.You make work pay by raising wages, not by cutting the benefits
:33:48. > :33:48.that disabled people and young people need.
:33:49. > :33:56.It's making vulnerable people suffer.
:33:57. > :33:58.Right, this issue of homelessness and housing is one
:33:59. > :34:02.Rachel, what are people saying online?
:34:03. > :34:06.Loads of you on social media are chipping into the housing debate.
:34:07. > :34:08.On the issue of homelessness Connor on Facebook said...
:34:09. > :34:16.Allen, on Facebook, on the issues of housing as well...
:34:17. > :34:38.Finally, Leya on Twitter has told us to...
:34:39. > :34:41.Thank you very much for your comments, keep them coming.
:34:42. > :34:44.We will come back on that in a minute because that's to do
:34:45. > :34:48.with the amount of money you paid at the end of a course rather
:34:49. > :34:53.I want to hear from some of the audience here.
:34:54. > :34:59.So you said about the Conservatives wanting to protect the most
:35:00. > :35:05.I want to go back to a point you made.
:35:06. > :35:14.People having to prove they were raped.
:35:15. > :35:17.Disabled people having to tell someone - oh, yeah,
:35:18. > :35:25.I wanted to kill myself before, or I haven't.
:35:26. > :35:28.You know, you've got deaf people, I am a deaf person myself,
:35:29. > :35:30.having to act more deaf than they are because, you know,
:35:31. > :35:37.if you can dress yourself, feed yourself, if you can do this,
:35:38. > :35:42.this and this, you're not actually qualified to get personal
:35:43. > :35:50.There's people who need to travel, you know, long distances to go
:35:51. > :35:53.to hospital to get seen for hearing aids or just
:35:54. > :35:54.for hearing tests, for speech and language therapy.
:35:55. > :35:57.Which is actually decreasing the amount of access
:35:58. > :36:00.There's so much that deaf people need to do,
:36:01. > :36:04.They're getting penalised for being born deaf,
:36:05. > :36:13.for being born and having to use a wheelchair or for having
:36:14. > :36:16.to have a seizure or anything in the first few days
:36:17. > :36:18.of their birth which means now they're being punished.
:36:19. > :36:23.Are the bars being set too high for people to prove
:36:24. > :36:29.that they qualify for benefits or for exemptions?
:36:30. > :36:31.With regards to the disability which was the focus
:36:32. > :36:35.I think that what that is referring to is probably the transition
:36:36. > :36:42.Yes, there have been areas where by people have perhaps,
:36:43. > :36:49.you know, there have been areas where people have essentially been
:36:50. > :36:52.able to appeal their cases and a number of appeals that
:36:53. > :36:55.That was the transition from one system to the other.
:36:56. > :36:58.We are absolutely looking out for the most vulnerable in society.
:36:59. > :37:09.I had disability living allowance since I was 16 years old.
:37:10. > :37:11.Last month I was reassessed for that.
:37:12. > :37:14.Are you suggesting for one minute that suddenly we're cured?
:37:15. > :37:17.You're literally create a system in society where disabled people
:37:18. > :37:21.One day you turn up at a job interview and try and prove
:37:22. > :37:26.The next day you have to turn up at your PIP assessment and say that
:37:27. > :37:28.actually you're so disabled you really need the support
:37:29. > :37:37.for the money that they're going to give you.
:37:38. > :37:39.To pretend, by any stretch of the imagination, that you're
:37:40. > :37:42.protected vulnerable people and as a result of the way
:37:43. > :37:44.in which the transition, a transition that never needed
:37:45. > :37:47.It's because of that that's causing this.
:37:48. > :37:54.Well, you know, the system is put in there.
:37:55. > :37:57.The thing is with these kind of systems is that they are -
:37:58. > :38:00.it's not that they are just put in place, but they are monitored.
:38:01. > :38:03.Going back to what you also brought up, the two Child Tax Credit policy
:38:04. > :38:10.We are not just going to say it's a new policy and leave it as it is.
:38:11. > :38:13.We will say that policy needs monitored, if there are issues
:38:14. > :38:17.The DWP will ensure that is filtered back -
:38:18. > :38:23.The idea at the moment if you have two kids you get child benefit.
:38:24. > :38:26.If you have a third, under new rules, you don't.
:38:27. > :38:28.There has been a row over what happens if the third child
:38:29. > :38:33.Some people think that it is too much to ask somebody to go
:38:34. > :38:40.Other people argue it's an exemption and therefore it's a good thing
:38:41. > :38:42.because it's giving people away out on that.
:38:43. > :38:51.It's important all of us would hope absolutely condemn the rape clause.
:38:52. > :38:57.The broader picture is the family cap. The cap on child tax credits.
:38:58. > :39:02.You didn't raise the living wage, you rebranded the minimum wage.
:39:03. > :39:07.Secondly, when it comes to this idea that we're going to make work pay.
:39:08. > :39:12.Child tax credits are claimed... They are in work benefits. They are
:39:13. > :39:19.for people who were already working. I was - I'm the fourth child when we
:39:20. > :39:23.were kids my dad walked out and at that point my mum, as a single mum
:39:24. > :39:28.shall he disappeared for seven years. As a single mum she looked
:39:29. > :39:33.after four of us. Our older siblings would have been eligible for child
:39:34. > :39:37.tax credits me and my other sister wouldn't have been. How are we not
:39:38. > :39:40.included in your idea of vulnerable people. The system you say is there
:39:41. > :39:43.to look after vulnerable people. It's not looking after vulnerable
:39:44. > :39:47.people, it's making them more vulnerable.
:39:48. > :39:51.APPLAUSE. I sense this debate could go on for a long time we are short
:39:52. > :39:52.of time we will continue it all on Twitter and Facebook and everywhere
:39:53. > :39:56.else. Time for our next question,
:39:57. > :39:58.this one comes from Claire My question is about access
:39:59. > :40:16.for young people to employment. In my opinion it is getting harder
:40:17. > :40:19.for young people to find employment, for both graduates
:40:20. > :40:21.and school leavers. Many jobs seem to ask for years
:40:22. > :40:24.of experience that it's impossible Do each of the politicians at this
:40:25. > :40:29.debate agree that this is an issue and what would each party do
:40:30. > :40:31.to tackle this growing problem? Claire, is that something you have
:40:32. > :40:34.found to be a problem? Not me personally,
:40:35. > :40:36.but people that I know, people very close to me have
:40:37. > :40:38.found this an issue. You can apply for jobs days
:40:39. > :40:41.on end and you are going You have got a good degree,
:40:42. > :40:45.you have worked hard and you are looking
:40:46. > :40:50.for a job and everyone says - you don't
:40:51. > :40:53.have access to these benefits because they are trying to
:40:54. > :40:56.incentivise people to get into work, but for people with the best will in
:40:57. > :40:59.the world who want to get into work What would you do to
:41:00. > :41:04.solve that problem? It exemplifies when you start going
:41:05. > :41:08.into rural Scotland where we have a massive brain drain of our young
:41:09. > :41:11.people right now who are leaving their rural towns that they may have
:41:12. > :41:15.grown up and lived in and it has been so much part of
:41:16. > :41:18.their life for so long because there just isn't
:41:19. > :41:21.work out there because of a whole raft of reasons,
:41:22. > :41:23.from infrastructure, transport to broadband capacity.
:41:24. > :41:25.They are now moving into the urban areas.
:41:26. > :41:27.Then you end up with this concentration of 200 people applying
:41:28. > :41:30.I certainly experienced it when I graduated in 2010.
:41:31. > :41:32.The minefield that was the job market of
:41:33. > :41:43.because I needed to pay the rent and I needed to do something
:41:44. > :41:46., so I just took anything and build from there.
:41:47. > :41:48.It is demoralising and we have to do more.
:41:49. > :41:51.It is investment in our infrastructure, so
:41:52. > :41:53.if we can tackle the rural bring the drain that
:41:54. > :41:59.I have already mentioned, increasing our transport links,
:42:00. > :42:01.increasing the internet capacity of our rural areas, we can then
:42:02. > :42:04.encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of our young people and allow
:42:05. > :42:06.businesses to move out of the urban areas and
:42:07. > :42:07.into the rural areas, but
:42:08. > :42:11.right now there is not the capacity to do that and then link into
:42:12. > :42:12.education and supporting university graduates, college graduates,
:42:13. > :42:13.modern apprenticeships and entrepreneurial
:42:14. > :42:16.spirit, to really appreciate the communities that they have got.
:42:17. > :42:19.Stats suggest that the vast majority, about 95% of
:42:20. > :42:22.people who come out of Scottish universities either get a job or go
:42:23. > :42:32.The average wage is said to be about ?22,000.
:42:33. > :42:34.Ross, do you think this is a problem?
:42:35. > :42:36.It absolutely is a problem and there are two things the Greens
:42:37. > :42:40.One is the Scottish Government can do and one the UK
:42:41. > :42:44.The first one is what we call Scotland guarantee.
:42:45. > :42:46.If you are a young person in Edinburgh
:42:47. > :42:48.leaving school, you are guaranteed either further education, a job or
:42:49. > :42:51.There is no reason we cannot extend the Edinburgh
:42:52. > :42:54.guaranteed to all of Scotland, to have the Scottish Government support
:42:55. > :42:57.It allows employers to take on things
:42:58. > :42:59.like apprentices that they might otherwise struggled to do.
:43:00. > :43:02.If you are a small employer it is a huge HR
:43:03. > :43:03.burden to get an apprenticeship arranged.
:43:04. > :43:05.Whereas if you have the government and local council
:43:06. > :43:08.supporting you that is an opportunity for a young person and
:43:09. > :43:11.We want to extend the Scotland guarantee.
:43:12. > :43:13.But you are also right about the quality of jobs.
:43:14. > :43:15.A huge number of graduates, whether or
:43:16. > :43:18.not you graduate at all, a huge number of young people are going
:43:19. > :43:21.into zero hours jobs or getting paid very poorly, they are being
:43:22. > :43:23.We need to create high-quality, long-lasting
:43:24. > :43:27.We have got an industrial strategy called Jobs In The New
:43:28. > :43:29.Economy, it would create just over 200,000
:43:30. > :43:33.Scotland, and its focus would be on transitioning as away from an
:43:34. > :43:35.economy that is largely dependent on oil and gas
:43:36. > :43:36.to the new industries of
:43:37. > :43:44.We were talking about the house building that we need
:43:45. > :43:47.A house-building programme not only would solve the
:43:48. > :43:50.housing crisis, it would also create a huge number of jobs and
:43:51. > :43:53.apprenticeships, so the Greens have got a strategy for that and it would
:43:54. > :43:57.If you combine that with a Scotland guarantee for young people, that is
:43:58. > :44:00.creating a whole generation of young people who have decent job
:44:01. > :44:02.opportunities for the rest of their life.
:44:03. > :44:09.You can help people get out of poverty by educating them. We have
:44:10. > :44:12.seen strikes and HE are cutting jobs because they can't afford to keep
:44:13. > :44:18.going as they have been. What are the parties going to do to help the
:44:19. > :44:22.students who want to get out of poverty, but can't because there are
:44:23. > :44:31.not the HE places there and there is a lack of funding from the Scottish
:44:32. > :44:35.Government to help this happen. This is an issue devolved. It doesn't
:44:36. > :44:39.directly impact in this election. It's an important one. The SNP are
:44:40. > :44:44.in development, are they doing enough for the sector?
:44:45. > :44:52.I would love us to be able to do more, but the whole crux of this
:44:53. > :44:57.question, which is a phrase that Ross used, is the industries of the
:44:58. > :45:01.future. I look at what is happening in countries like Estonia and we are
:45:02. > :45:05.so far behind in terms of having a new digital economy and if we do not
:45:06. > :45:09.scale up for that and get an industrial strategy to deal with
:45:10. > :45:12.that soon, you will not get the opportunities that the young people
:45:13. > :45:23.you are mentioning are going to want. But there is another topic I
:45:24. > :45:25.need to mention. We are sitting here in Glasgow and we have 16 job
:45:26. > :45:28.centres to help people find work. They are cutting job centres by 20%
:45:29. > :45:33.across the UK and they want to cut them by 15% in Glasgow, reducing
:45:34. > :45:38.them in some of the tourist areas from 16 down to eight. That needs to
:45:39. > :45:42.be challenged not just in Glasgow, but right across Scotland as well.
:45:43. > :45:49.There are things to do around the minimum wage. We want to see it go
:45:50. > :45:54.up to ?10.65 by the end of the next Parliament. We need to do more in
:45:55. > :46:00.tackling rogue employers. What would that minimum wage do help people who
:46:01. > :46:04.cannot find jobs in the first place? Once they get those jobs it gives
:46:05. > :46:10.them a better minimum wage. I did not go to university, I have not got
:46:11. > :46:14.a degree, so you can imagine how depressing it was for me to find a
:46:15. > :46:20.job. Politics was the only one they would have me in. I understand it is
:46:21. > :46:25.a struggle and it comes back to having a proper industrial strategy
:46:26. > :46:29.that will deliver. Kirstene, what are the Conservatives offering
:46:30. > :46:36.people like Claire and her friends when it comes to jobs? I did
:46:37. > :46:43.politics degree as well. Did I. There you go. Up in Aberdeen.
:46:44. > :46:49.Further education needs to be taken as a whole and we need to be sure it
:46:50. > :46:55.is not a one size fits all approach. If you want to go to university, you
:46:56. > :47:00.could do that, but we equally do not need to cut college places and we
:47:01. > :47:04.need to put more money into that and apprenticeships are important. If
:47:05. > :47:07.people want to leave school at 16 and go into the workplace
:47:08. > :47:13.straightaway, they can learn that trade as they go. That area has
:47:14. > :47:19.decreased over the years and we have less apprenticeships here compared
:47:20. > :47:23.to south of the border. Regarding the minimum wage, it is getting that
:47:24. > :47:28.balance between getting a minimum wage that helps people in work, but
:47:29. > :47:32.I have spoken to a number of small businesses and they would love to
:47:33. > :47:38.employ more people and get more people into their businesses at an
:47:39. > :47:42.earlier stage. But if the minimum wage is too high, they cannot afford
:47:43. > :47:47.that. It is getting the balance right. When you are talking about
:47:48. > :47:50.the minimum wage and small businesses, they have then got
:47:51. > :47:56.national insurance contributions and pensions. One of your policies is to
:47:57. > :48:03.increase the national living wage, as you call it, can you afford it?
:48:04. > :48:08.Yes. We had this argument when Labour brought in the minimum wage
:48:09. > :48:13.in the last government and people said businesses would crumble, it
:48:14. > :48:18.did not happen. What Labour would do for young people and other people to
:48:19. > :48:22.get jobs is we would create a Scottish investment bank that would
:48:23. > :48:26.bring ?20 billion of funding to Scotland to start up local
:48:27. > :48:30.enterprises. We would do that with a focus on the industries that we need
:48:31. > :48:36.in the future. Infrastructure, broadband, electronics and stem
:48:37. > :48:41.subjects as well. There is a huge reduction in the number of people
:48:42. > :48:47.taking stem subjects compare to the rest of the UK. We will look at
:48:48. > :48:51.putting more money into education, not putting unqualified teachers
:48:52. > :48:56.into schools. We will put more money into schools and we will have more
:48:57. > :49:01.teachers so children can leave school with the education they need
:49:02. > :49:07.for the jobs of the future. That is the view here. What are people
:49:08. > :49:37.saying online? The social media debate on jobs rages on.
:49:38. > :49:44.There is still a while to get your comments in, so please keep them
:49:45. > :49:50.coming to us. The hash tag is BBC the social debate. Were you
:49:51. > :49:55.persuaded by any of that? Not really to be honest. I am thinking in the
:49:56. > :49:59.short term people are completely demoralised. They have so much
:50:00. > :50:04.potential and they have so much they want to do. These are great ideas
:50:05. > :50:09.for the future, but we need something to happen now. All these
:50:10. > :50:13.young people are thinking where is my future? I am talking about school
:50:14. > :50:18.leavers and everyone else, it is the same across the board. There will be
:50:19. > :50:20.plenty more time to discuss this online. I am sure you will be
:50:21. > :50:23.I am sure you will be chipping in as well.
:50:24. > :50:25.Our next question comes via video clip from another
:50:26. > :50:34.Brexit has created a lot of uncertainty and worry among young
:50:35. > :50:37.people in the UK as the media focuses on big business and
:50:38. > :50:43.immigration aspects, but we did not hear too much about the impact it
:50:44. > :50:46.would have on our daily lives as UK citizens are home-grown
:50:47. > :50:50.internationals. Young people have a hard time with the minimum wage or a
:50:51. > :50:55.zero hour contracts. It is impossible to get on the housing
:50:56. > :50:59.ladder as a young person. After Brexit our EU rights will be
:51:00. > :51:06.replaced by a bill of rights. I am concerned this will make matters
:51:07. > :51:10.even worse, used to further provide zero hours contracts, taking away
:51:11. > :51:17.our rights to hold peaceful protests. Is there anyway we can
:51:18. > :51:20.keep the EU human rights and, or, maybe make a more friendly and
:51:21. > :51:27.workable Scottish bill of rights that can keep these human rights we
:51:28. > :51:30.hold so dear. Kirstene, your party wanted to get rid of the Human
:51:31. > :51:34.Rights Act and replace it with a bill of rights. What is the
:51:35. > :51:40.situation at the moment? That is parked for now. That was absolutely
:51:41. > :51:46.the policy before and very much it is still the case. When we leave
:51:47. > :51:49.Brexit there are complex negotiations that will go on and a
:51:50. > :51:57.number of issues were brought up in that BT and they will be on a number
:51:58. > :52:01.of people's minds as well. There are a lot of areas, trade agreements,
:52:02. > :52:04.freedom of movement, all these aspects will be at the forefront of
:52:05. > :52:10.these negotiations and they will be reciprocal. Where people have
:52:11. > :52:16.concerns like EU nationals living in this country and they might have
:52:17. > :52:20.rights taken away from them, we will work to ensure those are kept
:52:21. > :52:26.because there are Brits living abroad and it is a reciprocal
:52:27. > :52:30.agreement. There are a number of areas of Brexit that people are
:52:31. > :52:35.concerned about, but in terms of free trade and movement of people
:52:36. > :52:40.and security, there are a lot of issues whereby they need us as much
:52:41. > :52:48.as we need them. There will be a lot of negotiation, but it will be
:52:49. > :52:54.reciprocal. Kris, you were saying why leave? Exactly. I do not
:52:55. > :53:00.understand where Theresa May stands on anything she says on Brexit. Talk
:53:01. > :53:07.about a week and wobbly. Where does your party is down? Do you want to
:53:08. > :53:12.stay in the EU? Exactly. Tim Farron once a referendum on the outcome.
:53:13. > :53:17.The basis of that argument is right now we have no idea what we are
:53:18. > :53:22.heading towards. The negotiations have not taken place. We do not know
:53:23. > :53:27.what deal is on the table and work that will put us, the citizens. We
:53:28. > :53:32.need those negotiations to take place for those facts and figures
:53:33. > :53:38.and information. Remember the ?350 million on the side of the bus?
:53:39. > :53:42.Where is that? That is gone. Let's give you guys a referendum on the
:53:43. > :53:49.actual terms of leaving and if you want to, if not we will stay part of
:53:50. > :53:54.the EU. There are a lot of hands up. Back row in the middle, yourself. To
:53:55. > :53:59.come back on what you said about EU citizens. My girlfriend is from
:54:00. > :54:05.Norway and she lives over here and she is given no guarantee whatsoever
:54:06. > :54:11.that she will be able to stay here. After the referendum she was sent a
:54:12. > :54:15.letter by the local MP, an SNP MP, saying we are not sure we can
:54:16. > :54:21.guarantee your position, but we will hopefully have an answer soon. Still
:54:22. > :54:25.no answer and that is a year after the referendum. I am putting a brave
:54:26. > :54:32.face on it saying, things will work out, but I do not know that. To come
:54:33. > :54:39.back to the question. The UK Government is being held to account
:54:40. > :54:44.on things like air quality. If this bill did not exist, the government
:54:45. > :54:48.would not be held to account at all. You may disagree with laws that
:54:49. > :54:55.exist, but they are there purely for our benefit to make sure our
:54:56. > :55:01.government do what they should be doing at all times. Ross, let's come
:55:02. > :55:05.in on that. Is there a realistic possibility at the end of this that
:55:06. > :55:14.no one's rights will be guaranteed? Absolutely. What makes you think
:55:15. > :55:18.that? A deal has not been done. If it is a Conservative government
:55:19. > :55:22.after this election that will see us through Brexit, they are the last
:55:23. > :55:28.people I see as wanting to protect my rights. Theresa May has said if
:55:29. > :55:32.she is back in government one of the first things she wants to do is get
:55:33. > :55:38.a deal on the rights of EU citizens here and a reciprocal deal for Brits
:55:39. > :55:45.abroad. Dell she also said she did not want to see an election. She had
:55:46. > :55:52.an opportunity. The status of EU citizens and other EU citizens, that
:55:53. > :55:56.did not have to be an opportunity for negotiation. Theresa May could
:55:57. > :56:01.have turned around the day she took office and said, this is off the
:56:02. > :56:06.table. If you are an EU citizen living here or Brits living in
:56:07. > :56:12.Europe, you are free to stay here, but she did not do that. She put
:56:13. > :56:16.people's lives on the negotiating table and that is disgraceful. We
:56:17. > :56:21.have rights that have been hard fought for. You mention
:56:22. > :56:26.air-quality... We are running short on time. Pam, your party wanted to
:56:27. > :56:31.guarantee the rights of EU citizens here, but you are not going to wait
:56:32. > :56:37.until you get the reciprocal deal. Brits abroad could be sold out by
:56:38. > :56:41.then. We are not using them as pawns like the Conservative government. We
:56:42. > :56:47.want a deal that puts human rights right at the centre of what will
:56:48. > :56:52.happen. As someone who has been a human rights activist for most of my
:56:53. > :56:58.life, I passionately believe we have to protect human rights and jobs in
:56:59. > :57:07.the negotiations. I am proud that our party has said if you are an EU
:57:08. > :57:11.national, a you can stay here. Some of the human rights have allowed,
:57:12. > :57:19.for example, gays to stay in the military. The idea that this will
:57:20. > :57:23.give us more human rights is a nonsense. I recognise entirely the
:57:24. > :57:28.situation that you mention. I know lots of people, friends, family,
:57:29. > :57:33.boyfriends, girlfriends, and they are sick with worry over this. Ross
:57:34. > :57:40.is right, the Prime Minister could have stood up and take on this issue
:57:41. > :57:42.off the table. Instead we have the International Trade Secretary saying
:57:43. > :57:48.quite openly and freely that they are pawns in the negotiations. That
:57:49. > :57:51.is a disgrace when talking about their lives. They have done us and
:57:52. > :57:58.on about coming here to live here amongst us and to be part of our
:57:59. > :58:02.country. For the last time, what is being said on social media? I have
:58:03. > :58:12.one final thought on Facebook and it is from Chris.
:58:13. > :58:20.We are about to come off air, but the Internet is not, so keep that
:58:21. > :58:24.debate going online. Thank you very much and thank you to all of those
:58:25. > :58:32.of you who have been following us. Please carry on the debate on
:58:33. > :58:37.Facebook and Twitter. We are also on the BBC website. Many thanks to the
:58:38. > :58:43.panel and to the audience who gave them a pretty tough time. It is up
:58:44. > :58:45.to you guys now, remember to vote next Thursday. Thank you fortune in
:58:46. > :58:55.in. In two years' time, you will have
:58:56. > :58:57.all memory of it beaten out of you it makes no difference whether
:58:58. > :59:04.you watch my show or not. In two years' time, you will have
:59:05. > :59:07.all memory of it beaten out of you by a robot foreman
:59:08. > :59:10.in an ash factory.