:00:25. > :00:30.Scotland. Coming up, the Justice Secretary stands accused of
:00:30. > :00:39.neglecting local justice. The thorny issue of land reform.
:00:39. > :00:45.Labour urge debate -- Labour urged changes. Ed Miliband accused the
:00:45. > :00:50.Prime Minister of being complacent and out of touch. David Cameron
:00:50. > :00:55.accused him of weak leadership. Scottish Government has welcomed a
:00:55. > :00:59.survey which says there is no sign of investors being deterred of
:00:59. > :01:03.coming to Scotland because of the possibility of independence. The
:01:03. > :01:10.report says Scotland produced a sparkling performance in attracting
:01:10. > :01:17.foreign investment last year. have chosen to invest more in
:01:17. > :01:20.Scotland. The Norwegian engineering firm are looking to expand their
:01:20. > :01:29.Aberdeen base where they make high-tech equipment for the oil and
:01:29. > :01:37.gas industry. So, why here? We have almost 3000 people in the Aberdeen
:01:37. > :01:42.area alone. It allows us to tap into the pool of talent that we see. It
:01:42. > :01:48.has all the experience of 30 years of working in this industry. Other
:01:48. > :01:53.companies are following suit. Ernst and Young have identified 76
:01:53. > :02:00.projects last year where overseas companies sought to invest in
:02:00. > :02:06.Scotland, that is up on the previous year. Scotland's share of investment
:02:06. > :02:11.rose and is now the number one place for investment outside London. We
:02:11. > :02:20.have been investment up and down the company. A Spanish company chose the
:02:20. > :02:29.Port of Leith for a new wind turbine plant. A Japanese firm bought a
:02:29. > :02:32.stake in... What impact is there for next year's referendum? There is no
:02:32. > :02:38.obvious implication from the Independence debate on the level of
:02:38. > :02:45.investment. But we are reporting the facts as they were in 2012 and who
:02:45. > :02:51.knows what will happen in 2013. Politicians have been quick to
:02:51. > :02:55.react. Ministers at Holyrood say it is proof independence would not
:02:55. > :03:01.scare off investors. Their Westminster rivals say stability
:03:01. > :03:05.within the UK makes Scotland attractive. Let's look at political
:03:05. > :03:11.reaction to the report. Joining me as Hamish MacDonell and Glenn
:03:11. > :03:17.Campbell is at Holyrood. Good afternoon to both of you. Glenn,
:03:17. > :03:21.what has been the reaction to this report at Holyrood? The record of
:03:21. > :03:27.investment in Scotland have been welcomed by the parties and
:03:27. > :03:32.Government as well. All sides see it as a good record, however they
:03:32. > :03:37.dispute the underlying reasons for it. Those who want Scotland to
:03:37. > :03:41.remain within the UK say it is evidence of the strength of
:03:41. > :03:48.Scotland's position as a devolved nation, those on the other side of
:03:48. > :03:51.the argument say this proves that Scotland could be successful as an
:03:51. > :03:56.independent country and that the warnings that investment would be
:03:56. > :04:05.deterred as a result of the independent -- independence
:04:05. > :04:11.referendum verdict, that they have proved those warnings wrong. That
:04:11. > :04:15.has been good news for campaigners for a yes vote. I suppose this
:04:15. > :04:23.report is another battle in the long war that is running until September
:04:23. > :04:30.2014. Yes, there are reports and interventions almost on a daily
:04:30. > :04:36.basis coming from the campaigns and coming from outside interests as
:04:36. > :04:41.well. Academic reports, a wide range of contributions to this debate. Of
:04:41. > :04:45.course, how each of those contributions are interpreted
:04:45. > :04:50.depends on the prospective of the politicians who are making the
:04:50. > :04:55.comments. This is a classic example that whilst all sides recognise
:04:55. > :05:01.these are a good set of figures, they cannot agree whether or not
:05:01. > :05:09.they make the case for or against independence. Hamish MacDonell, this
:05:09. > :05:17.report can cut both ways? Yes, it is important to say right from the
:05:18. > :05:20.start this is good news for the yes camp. It underlines the claims that
:05:20. > :05:26.the uncertainty over independence, the debate over the uncertainty of
:05:26. > :05:33.independence has been deterring business. This report blows that out
:05:33. > :05:36.of the water. But that is as far as you can take it. It is not concrete
:05:36. > :05:43.evidence supporting either side in the actual lead up to the
:05:43. > :05:53.referendum. As the interview from Ernst & Young, this is how things
:05:53. > :05:57.stood in 2012, they were looking at last year. When you look at it, Alex
:05:57. > :06:02.Salmond have been doing a lot of work behind-the-scenes trying to
:06:02. > :06:08.pull inward investment into Scotland. When you look at the power
:06:08. > :06:15.and clout of the Scottish Government have, as a semiautonomous region, it
:06:15. > :06:23.is doing better at that than other regions outside of London. Scotland,
:06:23. > :06:29.if you call it a region in that regard, it is interesting that
:06:29. > :06:35.English regions are not able to compete in that regard, London gets
:06:35. > :06:41.the lion's share of investment. London has that gravitational pull
:06:41. > :06:45.that pulls in a lot of investment and perhaps sucks it away from other
:06:45. > :06:49.regions in England. But the Scottish Government has the ability to get
:06:49. > :06:55.out and win things on behalf of of Scotland because that can represent
:06:55. > :07:03.the country in a way other regions cannot do. The justice secretary
:07:03. > :07:10.Kenny MacAskill and Scotland's top judge Lord Gill have been defending
:07:10. > :07:18.closing courts. MFP is at yesterday 's meeting question them about the
:07:18. > :07:25.reforms which are expected to save �4.5 million. We are not immune to
:07:25. > :07:35.the financial pressures, they affect all walks of life. I am reassured by
:07:35. > :07:37.
:07:37. > :07:42.the commitment which SBS has given of avoiding compulsory redundancies.
:07:42. > :07:49.This will assist cases where vulnerable will -- witnesses will be
:07:49. > :07:57.able to give evidence. At the moment there are no vulnerable witness the
:07:57. > :08:03.filler teas in this area. Many of Scotland's court date from Victorian
:08:03. > :08:08.times and are not fit for purpose in the 21st-century. The reality is it
:08:08. > :08:12.is a better use of a shrinking budget to concentrate funds on a
:08:12. > :08:19.smaller number of better equipped courts where better facilities are
:08:19. > :08:29.provided. Either it is about saving money or delivering better justice,
:08:29. > :08:29.
:08:29. > :08:35.which one is it? It is not either, or. It is about both. It is exactly
:08:35. > :08:41.the same as what we have done with police Scotland. We have to make
:08:41. > :08:49.changes, we cannot ignore there are huge budget cuts. This is driven by
:08:49. > :08:53.financial cuts which we cannot ignore. But the target that Scottish
:08:53. > :09:01.ministers set save the percentage of cases disposed of within a 20 week
:09:01. > :09:06.period should be 85%. Edinburgh is currently achieving 58.4%, despite
:09:06. > :09:12.of the fact you have told us sheriff clerk has assured us his court is
:09:12. > :09:18.operating under capacity. Yet it is missing your target by a very
:09:18. > :09:25.significant degree. My local court is delivering very close to your
:09:25. > :09:30.target, why are you going to close my court and move it to Edinburgh?
:09:30. > :09:35.do not think it is your court as such, you are the elected
:09:35. > :09:41.representative and it covers a wide area of East Lothian. Things move
:09:41. > :09:44.on, I know you have spoken in Parliament about how it was their
:09:44. > :09:49.pre-Reformation. Equally were a whole variety of other matters which
:09:49. > :09:58.have had to change from capital punishment to the stocks. Life moves
:09:58. > :10:04.on. The background to all of this is important, and that is that the
:10:04. > :10:13.cottage -- Scottish Court service has to receive a reduction in its
:10:13. > :10:19.budget of 20% over the four year period from 2011-2015. We have no
:10:19. > :10:26.choice in the matter, that simply have to be done. 40% of our running
:10:26. > :10:30.costs at the moment are tied up in the buildings forming the Court
:10:30. > :10:37.estate. And the very considerable cost of the upkeep and maintenance
:10:37. > :10:43.of those. Are these changes about saving money or delivering a better
:10:43. > :10:49.justice system for Scotland? My own feeling is that a good intellectual
:10:49. > :10:53.case could be made for these changes even if we were not living in these
:10:53. > :11:03.rather unusual economics -- circumstances. There is a good case
:11:03. > :11:03.
:11:03. > :11:09.to be made in modern Scotland for having centres of specialisation and
:11:09. > :11:16.excellence and for making the most efficient use of resources that you
:11:17. > :11:21.can. If you were to sit down today and plan a justice system for
:11:21. > :11:27.Scotland based upon an network of high courts and sheriff courts, it
:11:27. > :11:34.would be nothing like the present pattern. The present pattern is
:11:34. > :11:38.really based on a Victorian model. Hamish MacDonell is still with us.
:11:38. > :11:45.It is almost surprising at their reaction, the anger these closures
:11:45. > :11:49.have generated. It is not surprising in relation to local constituencies.
:11:49. > :11:54.This is a classic case of where the central Government has to make cuts
:11:54. > :12:01.because all departments are being cuts, and the impact at a local
:12:01. > :12:05.level. It puts the Government at all with constituency local MSPs,
:12:06. > :12:11.including their own who want to fight to keep those services open.
:12:11. > :12:16.You saw a lot of that coming out in the committee today, anger and
:12:16. > :12:22.resentment from local MSPs who have been lobbied hard to keep the local
:12:22. > :12:28.courts open. Scotland has been described as having most inequitable
:12:28. > :12:33.landownership system in the Western world. In today's debates at
:12:33. > :12:37.Holyrood labour or calling on Scotland to address that. The
:12:37. > :12:47.Government say they are committed to land reform and community ownership
:12:47. > :12:48.
:12:48. > :12:55.has flourished under its the greatest public benefit. We will
:12:55. > :12:59.support bold solutions which promote ownership. Recognising the economic
:12:59. > :13:04.and social benefits that can bring. When the Scottish Government
:13:05. > :13:13.launched the land review group it was to promote new relationships
:13:13. > :13:18.between land, people, economy and environment in Scotland. The L R R G
:13:18. > :13:28.was announced by the first Minister last year. At the time he said, I
:13:28. > :13:30.
:13:30. > :13:34.want this review to deliver radical change in rural and urban areas. We
:13:34. > :13:41.support the establishment of an expert group delivering on land
:13:41. > :13:44.reform, it will never be easy. Elements of the 2003 act are still
:13:44. > :13:53.being challenged and shoo it is not an easy path for politicians to
:13:53. > :13:58.tread. An expert independent group can provide knowledge to make
:13:58. > :14:06.recommendations and push the agenda forward. However the interim report
:14:06. > :14:11.has been largely met with criticism from land reformists. The lack of
:14:11. > :14:17.expertise, the decision to narrow the re-met, and the dearth for
:14:17. > :14:27.radical proposals. Community land Scotland have welcomed aspects of
:14:27. > :14:45.
:14:45. > :14:51.statement from Professor Jim Hunter, an original member of the LR RG who
:14:51. > :14:54.said if the Scottish Government are serious about land reform, ministers
:14:54. > :15:00.and the Government machine more generally must be directly involved
:15:00. > :15:05.in the work that we do. We are six years into MSN -- SNP Government who
:15:05. > :15:10.has done nothing about the fact that Government continues to be stuck
:15:10. > :15:20.with the most inequitable, on reformed, undemocratic landownership
:15:20. > :15:23.system in the democratic world. Notwithstanding my hope that our
:15:23. > :15:30.respective parties can stay united in the need for further land
:15:30. > :15:36.reform, can the member remind the chamber of why her party was unable
:15:36. > :15:41.to build into the 2003 act the measures she is now calling for the
:15:41. > :15:46.SNP Government to enact? I am disappointed by that approach, I
:15:46. > :15:52.thought we agreed on the need for radical land reform? The member will
:15:52. > :15:55.know how difficult it is to make progress on this. We are prepared to
:15:55. > :16:01.look at radical solutions and there is time in this Parliament to
:16:02. > :16:05.deliver. Perhaps the strongest criticism this week has come from
:16:06. > :16:10.the Scottish tenant farmers Association whose chairman said, I
:16:10. > :16:14.fail to understand how this review of land reform can take place
:16:14. > :16:20.without considering land tenure. An opportunity has been missed to
:16:20. > :16:25.highlight to the Government the best way to go about land tenure. There
:16:25. > :16:27.is a strong and justifiable mood of cynicism amongst tenant farmers that
:16:27. > :16:33.they have been sidelined and an opportunity has been missed to
:16:33. > :16:37.provide direction for this neglected rural community of Scotland. The
:16:38. > :16:43.minister looked to be supporting this. He said I very much look
:16:43. > :16:48.forward to the next stage as they move into the second stage of their
:16:48. > :16:53.work looking at radical options for community landownership before the
:16:53. > :16:56.final report in 2014. It is right the minister recognises the work of
:16:56. > :17:06.the group, but does the Government share the disappointment that it
:17:06. > :17:08.
:17:08. > :17:12.will no longer look at farm tenancies, land value taxation?
:17:12. > :17:16.wonder if she would accept that there is considerable work going on
:17:16. > :17:21.looking and land tenancy issues? Would she access that this is a
:17:21. > :17:25.very, very sensitive area on which progress is being made, and the
:17:25. > :17:32.deliberations of yet another outside group would not exactly be helpful
:17:32. > :17:36.given the stage of talks taking place? I wouldn't accept that. For
:17:36. > :17:41.example, up until the publication of the report last week on tenant
:17:41. > :17:44.farming was to be part of the review until the group announced they were
:17:44. > :17:54.passing the buck to the tenant farmers' Forum. Another review was
:17:54. > :17:57.
:17:57. > :18:00.proposed. The proposed review... Sorry, I really pushed for time,
:18:00. > :18:05.there are a few points I would like to make. The proposed review from
:18:05. > :18:09.the Scottish Government looks pretty narrow. It's about passing proposed
:18:09. > :18:11.legislation and then scrutinising it and not much else. Unless the
:18:11. > :18:16.government wants to give more detailed today on who will be
:18:16. > :18:22.conducting the review, what it will look at, what is the timescale, will
:18:22. > :18:26.it deliver, there is a need for additional tenancies and better,
:18:26. > :18:32.more secure and longer tenancy terms than at present. The interim report
:18:32. > :18:41.recognises that this aspect of rural Scotland is problematic and requires
:18:41. > :18:45.expert attention. The forum has its uses, but as a place where nothing
:18:45. > :18:49.is done without consensus and the balance of power is so skewed, I
:18:49. > :18:52.would argue that compromise cannot deliver the change needed. We will
:18:52. > :18:58.bring you more of the land reform debate a little later, but first
:18:58. > :19:01.let's cross to the garden lobby at Holyrood and chat with the SNP's
:19:01. > :19:05.Annabelle Ewing, Ken Macintosh of Scottish Labour and Jim Hume from
:19:05. > :19:10.the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Thank you for joining me. Looking at
:19:10. > :19:16.land reform, as it is being debated in the chamber just now, Annabelle
:19:16. > :19:21.Ewing, Professor Jim Hunter was very critical of the current system. He
:19:21. > :19:24.has resigned from the land reform review group, calling the present
:19:24. > :19:30.system inequitable. The Scottish Government has been defending that,
:19:30. > :19:36.saying it is not inequitable. issue of land reform has, of
:19:36. > :19:42.course, been an issue that has been looked at by this Parliament in the
:19:42. > :19:46.past. Ground-breaking legislation was passed in, I believe, 2003.
:19:46. > :19:50.There are many thorny issues out there which were not resolved in
:19:50. > :19:57.2003, and we are certainly determined to find a way forward
:19:57. > :20:04.with these very complex issues. I think that has been recognised by
:20:04. > :20:08.the tenor of the interim report of the land reform group. I think it is
:20:08. > :20:12.to be welcomed, but I think there is much more to be done and I will look
:20:12. > :20:18.forward to further discussions to see what we can do to tackle the
:20:18. > :20:20.outstanding issues of land reform. After six years of an SNP led
:20:20. > :20:27.government, you would think that land reform might be something the
:20:27. > :20:31.SNP would be really keen to reform, your partners in the yes campaign,
:20:31. > :20:35.the Green Party, saying that if SNP ministers aspire to be like
:20:35. > :20:42.Scandinavia where they have a much fairer system of land ownership, why
:20:42. > :20:45.can't you have that kind of system in Scotland? It didn't happen in the
:20:45. > :20:50.2003 act, for reasons alluded to in the debate which we have just come
:20:50. > :20:57.from a moment ago in the chamber. There are many complex issues to be
:20:57. > :21:01.resolved. If we look at bon tenancies, Ireland that last year we
:21:01. > :21:05.looked at an amendment to the agricultural holdings legislation in
:21:05. > :21:09.Scotland. At that time it was made clear that there would be a review
:21:09. > :21:12.of agricultural holdings in general within 18 months of the legislation
:21:12. > :21:21.being passed last June, and that is what the Cabinet Secretary has
:21:21. > :21:25.confirmed. It may be that the pace of change is not as everyone would
:21:25. > :21:29.desire to see, but by the same token these are very complex issues which
:21:29. > :21:35.have been looked at. I hope that all parties can continue to work
:21:36. > :21:39.together to find solutions in the future. Ken Macintosh, the 2003
:21:39. > :21:44.legislation passed under the Labour/Lib Dem executive, Johann
:21:44. > :21:49.Lamont wants to further reform this and in the spring conference
:21:49. > :21:52.speech, the Labour Party conference beach, she said that if it is in the
:21:52. > :21:56.public interest communities will have the right to purchase land,
:21:56. > :22:01.even when the landowner is not a willing seller. The reaction on
:22:01. > :22:07.twitter was incredulous, almost calling it a land grab that she was
:22:07. > :22:12.suggesting. I think radical changes needed. I don't like to throw
:22:12. > :22:19.statistics around, but just to remind you, at the moment, 16 people
:22:19. > :22:23.own 10% Scotland 's land. Just over 430 people own half of Scotland's
:22:24. > :22:28.land. That gives you some idea of the unfairness of land ownership in
:22:28. > :22:32.Scotland at the moment. There are actually some good things in this
:22:33. > :22:39.report. I was pleased when Alison Elliott was asked to chair a review.
:22:39. > :22:43.What we have seen today, with the Scottish Government's reaction, is
:22:43. > :22:47.rather than making common cause with Labour, because there is the
:22:47. > :22:50.potential for a shared agenda, rather than making common cause, the
:22:50. > :22:56.SNP are throwing the brakes on and saying, we don't want to see radical
:22:56. > :23:01.change. This government has the whole of Scotland on hold. I don't
:23:01. > :23:05.recall that statement being made. The example you just gave,
:23:05. > :23:10.Annabelle, when you look at land tenure, farming tenancies, tenant
:23:10. > :23:14.farmers, that has been dropped from this review. But we know that tenant
:23:14. > :23:20.farmers are in a very precarious position and we should be looking at
:23:20. > :23:23.this issue. Even if you broaden its beyond landholdings in the
:23:23. > :23:29.agriculture sector, if you look at community ownership of wind power,
:23:29. > :23:39.at the moment, this could be a real revolution in Scotland. Let me
:23:39. > :23:41.
:23:41. > :23:44.interrupt. Advocating... You are about radical measures, are you
:23:44. > :23:48.advocating to take the land from the landowner if they are not a willing
:23:48. > :23:53.seller? That is what we should be looking at. There are number of
:23:53. > :23:57.vested interests in work controlling the land in Scotland, and we should
:23:57. > :24:04.not allow them to entirely block progress on the land reform agenda.
:24:04. > :24:07.We are suggesting that an expert group is the way to do this, we
:24:07. > :24:13.should get the democratic approval of the people of Scotland, but their
:24:13. > :24:23.ways to address this. This is not a land grab in some sort of Zimbabwe
:24:23. > :24:23.
:24:23. > :24:27.and style or a Communist uprising, this is about local communities
:24:27. > :24:34.taken the drug taking control of the band that they live on. I don't
:24:34. > :24:41.think it is asking much. Jim Hume, from the Liberal Democrats,
:24:41. > :24:44.listening to that, a more radical agenda on your right hand side, are
:24:44. > :24:50.the Liberal Democrats friends of landowners, would you advocate such
:24:50. > :25:00.radical action as Ken Macintosh is putting forward? Reign Ross Finnie
:25:00. > :25:07.drove forward land reform and the previous administration. --. It has
:25:07. > :25:12.been done in a benign way. It was not an absolute right to buy. At the
:25:12. > :25:16.moment, we have a major problem. In the last six years of the SNP
:25:16. > :25:21.Government there has not been any movement at all on land reform, we
:25:21. > :25:26.are seeing no tenancies for farmers in Scotland at all. No secure
:25:26. > :25:30.tenancies whatsoever. There has to be concerned security back into that
:25:30. > :25:36.market, the only way that new entrants can come into that
:25:36. > :25:46.important business industry is by giving tenancies out. I think
:25:46. > :25:47.
:25:47. > :25:50.scaring... Scaremongering that land would be taken off to be given to
:25:50. > :25:56.vested interest communities is a step too far and only adds to the
:25:56. > :26:01.insecurity that is out there at the moment. When you hear the figures
:26:02. > :26:08.that Ken Macintosh laid out, that land ownership is parted up in
:26:08. > :26:12.Scotland, do you think a radical changes needed? We need to put some
:26:12. > :26:15.security back into the tenancy letting market. We have to do that
:26:15. > :26:21.very, very quickly. Otherwise we will have no new entrant is coming
:26:21. > :26:24.into one of the most important industries in Scotland. Another
:26:24. > :26:29.story making the headlines, Annabelle Ewing, the rise in inward
:26:29. > :26:34.investment, this Ernst & Young survey. What is your reaction? It
:26:34. > :26:38.cuts both ways, the Scotland office says these companies are investing
:26:38. > :26:44.in Scotland because it is part of the United Kingdom and they will not
:26:44. > :26:47.be put off because of independence reform. Yesterday they said that the
:26:47. > :26:52.independence debate was having a damaging effect on inward
:26:52. > :26:59.investment. In terms of this Ernst & Young report, the inward investment
:26:59. > :27:04.is at highest level it has been in Scotland 15 years. I think that is a
:27:04. > :27:07.tremendous job well done on the part of the Scottish Government, Scottish
:27:07. > :27:14.development International and the many people involved
:27:14. > :27:19.behind-the-scenes to secure this terrific boost for the economy.
:27:19. > :27:23.There are two messages, one is that this is what we can do with a
:27:23. > :27:28.government determined to create jobs and growth in Scotland, this is what
:27:28. > :27:32.we can do with the limited powers of devilish and, just imagine what we
:27:32. > :27:36.could do if we had the full economic levers that every other economic --
:27:36. > :27:40.independent country takes for rancid. This is what the no campaign
:27:40. > :27:48.had been bleating on about, that there would be no inward investment
:27:49. > :27:52.in Scotland. Ken Macintosh...We can't believe a word that they say.
:27:52. > :27:57.Ken Macintosh, we heard that the referendum would cause uncertainty,
:27:57. > :28:02.looking at these figures, it clearly hasn't? Independence is the thing
:28:02. > :28:06.that will cause concern or difficulty, not knowing whatever
:28:06. > :28:11.currency will be. These are good figures. Why do these companies want
:28:11. > :28:15.to set up in Scotland? There are so many good things about Scotland,
:28:15. > :28:19.about devolution, which makes is a good country to operate in. Part of
:28:19. > :28:25.it has to be access to the whole of the UK and the whole of the European
:28:25. > :28:28.market? Annabelle pulls-macro arguments make me laugh, she says
:28:28. > :28:32.every time there is good news it is because we have the Scottish
:28:32. > :28:38.Government, every time there is bad news it is because of the
:28:38. > :28:42.Westminster Government. Jim Hume, you are part of the UK Government
:28:42. > :28:50.wanting a referendum on Europe now. That will cause uncertainty. What is
:28:50. > :28:56.your reaction? Liberal Democrats are not supporting any referendum, that
:28:56. > :29:05.is quite clear. That news!We have some very good figures. We are still
:29:05. > :29:09.part of the UK at the moment, we have UK trading and investment, 160
:29:09. > :29:15.plus offices throughout the world, the UK Government organisation who
:29:15. > :29:20.are working to get investment into Scotland. We are seeing the benefit
:29:20. > :29:30.of two governments, Scottish and UK, who have all been working very hard
:29:30. > :29:30.
:29:30. > :29:35.to get investment into Scotland. We still have 199,000 unemployed, there
:29:36. > :29:41.is a lot of work to be done. Thank you all. Let's pick up on some of
:29:41. > :29:44.those issues without political commentator, Hamish Macdonell. Land
:29:44. > :29:51.reform, quite if I read a bait. It was interesting to hear Ken
:29:51. > :29:56.Macintosh. He is backing up what Johann Lamont said, land could be
:29:56. > :29:59.compulsorily taken away from landowners. My own view is this is
:29:59. > :30:02.based on a rather naive and simplistic assumption that all
:30:02. > :30:06.public ownership is good and all private ownership is bad, therefore
:30:06. > :30:10.you must take land from private owners and give it to the
:30:10. > :30:14.community. I think that is simplest it because there have been very good
:30:14. > :30:17.cases of community land buyouts, but others haven't worked and in others
:30:17. > :30:22.the community have turned down the offer when the land has been offered
:30:22. > :30:31.to them. Private landowners invest a lot in their tenant farms. It is not
:30:31. > :30:35.a straightforward simplistic as the Labour Party are trying to make out.
:30:35. > :30:39.So few people have such control over such large portions Scottish land.
:30:39. > :30:45.The trouble is that ordinary people often have no access to that land,
:30:45. > :30:51.they can't live there and can't use it. It is sealed off. I think that
:30:51. > :30:55.is the point that is often felt. first land reform act changed all
:30:55. > :31:01.that, it changed the whole way in which people were able to access
:31:01. > :31:06.land in Scotland, they could access all that was. That part of it was
:31:06. > :31:09.fuelled by the 2003 act. I think the idea of compulsorily taking land
:31:09. > :31:14.from landowners if the community want it, there is something else
:31:14. > :31:18.underlying it. One thing Ken Macintosh touched on, wind power.
:31:18. > :31:23.What happens is the landowners often get a lot of money for making --
:31:23. > :31:27.putting words in -- wind turbines on the land, money which could go to
:31:27. > :31:36.the local community if it was able to manage that land. The renewables
:31:37. > :31:46.revolution is pushing this debate one way. Let's pick up on reaction
:31:47. > :31:48.
:31:48. > :31:53.to what the trio were faint. It has gone into party politics. The
:31:53. > :31:59.politicians were saying what we expect them to say. Annabelle Ewing
:31:59. > :32:03.said it was all because independence was around the corner and it was not
:32:03. > :32:07.frightening businesses. Jim Hume pointed out the network of
:32:07. > :32:12.organisations which the British Government has set up around the
:32:12. > :32:18.world to pool inward investment in. A network which Scotland, at the
:32:18. > :32:23.moment, have access to. For the first time in one month David
:32:23. > :32:31.Cameron was answering Prime Minister 's questions. He accused Labour of a
:32:31. > :32:34.U-turn on economic policy. In heated exchanges in the Commons, Ed
:32:34. > :32:41.Miliband chose to press the Prime Minister on the English health
:32:41. > :32:46.service. On the issue on what people said a few years ago, the very first
:32:46. > :32:51.time the leader of the opposition came to that dispatch box, he
:32:51. > :32:57.attacked me from taking child benefit away from higher earners.
:32:57. > :33:03.Yet, today we learn it is now Labour's official policy to take
:33:03. > :33:07.child benefit away from higher earners. Two years ago during the
:33:08. > :33:12.Prime Minister's listening exercise on the health service he said this,
:33:12. > :33:20.I refuse to go back to the days where people had to wait for hours
:33:20. > :33:25.on end to be seen in A&E. Let me be clear, we will not. What has gone
:33:25. > :33:30.wrong? Not a word about what he's said two years ago. The very first
:33:31. > :33:36.time he stood at that dispatch box totally condemning and attacking in
:33:36. > :33:41.the strongest possible terms, what now turns out to be Labour policy.
:33:42. > :33:48.What confusion and weakness from the Labour leader. He asked about
:33:48. > :33:52.accident and emergency and I will do with it directly. We are now meeting
:33:52. > :33:57.our targets for accident and emergency. There was a problem in
:33:57. > :34:02.the first quarter of this year, that is why Sir Bruce Keogh will be
:34:02. > :34:06.holding an investigation. But the crucial fact is this, over the last
:34:06. > :34:11.three years there are now 1 million more people walking into our A&E
:34:11. > :34:16.units every year. We must work hard to get those waiting times down and
:34:16. > :34:23.keep them down, but we will not do it by following Labour's policy and
:34:23. > :34:29.cutting the NHS. What a complacent answer from an out of touch Prime
:34:29. > :34:32.Minister. The independent King 's fund says the number of people
:34:32. > :34:39.waiting more than four hours in a knee is higher than any time in nine
:34:39. > :34:46.years. Can he explain to the countrywide A&E waiting times have
:34:46. > :34:54.gone up under his watch. More than a quarter of NHS walk-in centres have
:34:54. > :34:59.been closed. If you close NHS walk-in centres, you power up
:34:59. > :35:04.pressure on A&E departments. That is obvious to everyone else, why is it
:35:04. > :35:11.not obvious to him. In the first quarter of this year there were
:35:11. > :35:17.problems, one of the problems is the GP's contract signed by the last
:35:18. > :35:24.Labour Government. They signed a contract letting GPs get out of out
:35:24. > :35:31.of hours. Everyone will see a Prime Minister who cannot defend what is
:35:31. > :35:40.happening on his watch. Patients waiting on trolleys, operations
:35:40. > :35:44.cancelled, a crisis in A&E. Our NHS is not safe in their hands. It is
:35:44. > :35:50.under this Government the number of doctors and operations are up.
:35:50. > :35:56.Waiting lists are down, that is what is happening. And it interesting
:35:56. > :36:00.that in a week that was about to be -- that was supposed to be about
:36:00. > :36:04.their economic relaunch, they cannot talk about their policies. They told
:36:04. > :36:09.us they wanted to keep child benefit, now they want to scrap
:36:09. > :36:15.child benefit. They told us they were going to be men of iron
:36:15. > :36:23.discipline, yet they said, do I think the last Labour Government had
:36:23. > :36:31.too much national debt? No, I do not think there is any evidence of that.
:36:31. > :36:37.They are the same old Labour. when a journalist, masquerading as a
:36:37. > :36:42.lobbyist, entrapped a Tory MP, that the Prime Minister decided it was
:36:42. > :36:49.time to launch an all-out attack on the trade unions. He conveniently
:36:49. > :36:53.forgets to mention the Labour peers. We do have a problem in Parliament
:36:53. > :36:58.with the influence of third parties. Clearly the matter of all
:36:58. > :37:02.party Parliamentary groups which is a matter for the House. As they
:37:02. > :37:06.promised in the coalition agreement, we will bring forward a
:37:06. > :37:12.lobbying register and we will bring forward registers to make sure the
:37:12. > :37:19.trade unions behave properly to. Let's head to a very sunny College
:37:19. > :37:23.green at Westminster. Yes, the sun is back and Prime Minister 's
:37:23. > :37:33.questions are back. It is the first time the Prime Minister has taken
:37:33. > :37:39.questions in three weeks. Plenty of topics for MPs to quiz him about
:37:39. > :37:48.from the economy to issues of Parliamentary sleaze. Let's discuss
:37:48. > :37:53.some of these issues with three men who were there. Tom, it should have
:37:53. > :38:00.been a day where Ed Miliband could tackle the Prime Minister but
:38:00. > :38:06.actually he was asking the questions and creating some difficulties.
:38:06. > :38:10.Difficult for Ed Miliband. It is the first time for several weeks the
:38:10. > :38:14.Prime Minister has turned up, he seems to have forgotten he is there
:38:14. > :38:19.to answer questions not ask them. Relating to the issues around
:38:19. > :38:23.welfare, Ed Miliband will be speaking tomorrow setting out a
:38:23. > :38:27.vision. Everything else ahead of that is speculation and we wait to
:38:27. > :38:32.see what he says tomorrow. Speculation but from very good
:38:32. > :38:38.sources, and Labour are not going to reverse those child benefit cuts,
:38:38. > :38:42.are they? I do not know. What I do know is that Ed Miliband has said
:38:42. > :38:47.right from when he was elected, that there are disastrous policies which
:38:47. > :38:52.have been implemented by the Government. Ed balls said this week
:38:52. > :38:58.that the reality is we are in a position where we will have two plan
:38:58. > :39:02.coming into office and not able to overturn everything got cut. I knew
:39:03. > :39:07.the BBC is impatient, but wait until tomorrow and there will be more
:39:07. > :39:13.information then. What do you make of the fact Labour has made a U-turn
:39:13. > :39:17.on those policies? It is surprisingly has had a U-turn, cars
:39:17. > :39:23.they could not explain where they would be getting the money for these
:39:23. > :39:30.policies. They have opposed every single welfare reform. Their
:39:30. > :39:34.position was ridiculous, now it is uncertain. No wonder Tom cannot
:39:34. > :39:40.answer the question, I doubt anyone in the Labour Party knows what the
:39:40. > :39:48.policy is in the Labour Party. Stewart, you will be sitting on the
:39:49. > :39:52.SNP benches, what do you make of those two points of view? I thought
:39:52. > :40:00.Ed Miliband was weeks two days. For the first time in six weeks he did
:40:00. > :40:04.not go on the -- on the economy to avoid tough questions on his own
:40:04. > :40:09.economic policy. In terms of what we do know from the speculation, Labour
:40:09. > :40:17.have said the coalition cuts are the starting point which implies more
:40:17. > :40:24.council tax rises. They seem to be hinting at regional welfare
:40:24. > :40:29.payments. If we end up with a policy which is more tax increases, more
:40:29. > :40:35.cuts to fund higher welfare payments in London, you will end up with an
:40:35. > :40:40.extremely unfair economic policy and one which might be anti-Scottish and
:40:40. > :40:43.go against ordinary working class people in England. If Labour is
:40:43. > :40:52.rethinking some of their economic policies, you might have to do the
:40:52. > :40:57.same thing. Economic policy, social policy is constantly under review --
:40:57. > :41:01.under review and there's nothing wrong with that. But we have all
:41:01. > :41:06.agreed the child benefit cuts were particularly pernicious. We know
:41:06. > :41:10.that means testing is expensive and with means testing it is not just
:41:10. > :41:18.those who shouldn't get that do not get, it is those who ought to get
:41:18. > :41:23.that do not claim. That is very interesting from Stewart, because he
:41:23. > :41:28.will know that Nicola Sturgeon's group on welfare have delayed their
:41:28. > :41:34.report. It will be interesting to hear what the SNP set out as
:41:34. > :41:38.policies if they get a yes vote in the referendum next year. One other
:41:39. > :41:42.issue was the latest Parliamentary sleaze allegations. Of Europe
:41:42. > :41:46.backbenchers not happy with this idea of a recall saying it is
:41:46. > :41:52.actually a stitch up that the Prime Minister is embarking on. I recall
:41:52. > :41:57.has been discussed for some time and it was in the coalition agreement.
:41:57. > :42:03.It is important these are properly debated in Parliament. Recall is not
:42:03. > :42:08.like not liking your MP and wanting to vote him or her out. The public
:42:08. > :42:14.should have a say, and as this measure is debated in Parliament I
:42:14. > :42:17.think we will see that point of view widely discussed. Do you think
:42:17. > :42:26.constituents should be able to recall website some committee set up
:42:26. > :42:33.by the wets here which would give it censure in the first place. This
:42:33. > :42:38.cannot be about not liking your MP, that is what elections are for. It
:42:38. > :42:48.has to be something real, substantive and proven. Let's see if
:42:48. > :42:49.
:42:49. > :42:57.it would deliver the kind of service that would deliver a recall.
:42:57. > :43:00.allegations, of course, are that an MP and some peers have accepted
:43:00. > :43:08.money for offering access. This recall would not affect that, would
:43:08. > :43:13.it? There is the issue on recall and the issue for registered lobbyists.
:43:13. > :43:17.It has got to be done properly. It must be a mechanism used when there
:43:17. > :43:23.is an abuse, but just having it as a way of doing what you do in an
:43:23. > :43:27.election is not sensible. My only concern is the Government seemed
:43:27. > :43:34.completely disinterested in it until last weekend and are rushing to do
:43:34. > :43:38.something quickly. We need something appropriate in place and those of us
:43:38. > :43:46.and other parties need to make sure we test this properly and make sure
:43:46. > :43:52.we are committed and it is about what constituents are able to do
:43:52. > :43:55.when there is an abuse. David, you are promised a statutory register of
:43:55. > :44:05.lobbyists, you have waited till something has gone wrong to consider
:44:05. > :44:11.it. I think the timing is inevitably going to be linked to this issue. I
:44:11. > :44:15.am pleased it has come forward and it should be welcomed. It is
:44:15. > :44:25.important people understand who is in contact with their MPs and who is
:44:25. > :44:30.
:44:30. > :44:35.getting a pass to get in and out of the House of Commons. Thank you all
:44:35. > :44:41.very much indeed. Clearly we have much more to discuss on that
:44:41. > :44:46.register of lobbyists. The Speaker himself has instigated a review of
:44:46. > :44:56.those all-party groups. And there is much more to come on Ed Miliband's
:44:56. > :44:58.
:44:58. > :45:06.speech tomorrow where they will set asked to ensure underemployment does
:45:06. > :45:10.not become a permanent feature of the labour market. The committee is
:45:10. > :45:16.chaired said they find their economic downturn was increasing the
:45:16. > :45:26.number of those in the work poverty. How big an issue is underemployment
:45:26. > :45:31.
:45:31. > :45:35.in Scotland? There were 264 workers in Scotland in underemployment,
:45:35. > :45:41.almost 11% of Scotland's total workforce. Women workers are more
:45:41. > :45:44.likely to be underemployed than men although there have been significant
:45:44. > :45:49.increases in underemployment between both recently. While it is an issue
:45:49. > :45:55.for all age groups, a third of all underemployed men and a quarter of
:45:55. > :46:01.all underemployed women fall into the 16-24 age group. Why is it
:46:01. > :46:08.increasing? Clearly the economic downturn has resulted in a reduction
:46:08. > :46:14.in demand for labour, and in increased levels of unemployment and
:46:14. > :46:18.underemployment. That is not the whole story. During and immediately
:46:18. > :46:24.after the economic downturn, levels of unemployment were much lower than
:46:24. > :46:30.initially predicted. It is the more flexible nature of the labour market
:46:30. > :46:35.that has allowed firms to retain staff during these challenging
:46:35. > :46:39.economic times, allowing employees to reduce -- allowing employers to
:46:39. > :46:44.reduce hours rather than the headcount. We have this flexibility,
:46:44. > :46:52.but it comes at a price with an increase in insecure, temporary and
:46:52. > :46:57.part-time work. So rather than hearing that work is a route out of
:46:57. > :47:03.poverty, we heard that due to people working fewer hours, receiving less
:47:03. > :47:07.pay and having a lower level of skills, a key characteristic of the
:47:07. > :47:12.recent economic downturn has been an increase in the number of people
:47:12. > :47:16.experiencing in work poverty. We need to look beyond the headline
:47:16. > :47:21.employment and unemployment statistics to find out what is
:47:21. > :47:26.happening in Scotland's employment market. The first step needs to be
:47:26. > :47:30.the collection and analysis of data on underemployment, the groups it
:47:30. > :47:34.affects and the impact on the market. I hope the Scottish
:47:34. > :47:41.Government will lead the way in undertaking this work. The Scottish
:47:41. > :47:42.Government needs to act now to prevent skills on the utilisation
:47:42. > :47:52.and underemployment becoming permanent features of the labour
:47:52. > :47:53.
:47:53. > :47:58.market. We know that underemployment is not in it self a measure of the
:47:58. > :48:02.strength of an economy. Strong economies like the German and Swiss
:48:02. > :48:07.economies have relatively high levels of underemployment. It is
:48:07. > :48:08.difficult to establish a clear and strong correlation between
:48:08. > :48:13.underemployment and economic performance. Another issue
:48:13. > :48:20.considered on this issue is the wide acceptance that a flexible labour
:48:20. > :48:25.market is essential to delivering continued economic recovery. It is
:48:25. > :48:28.important to recognise that some groups - young people, women, older
:48:28. > :48:31.workers and the disabled - might be adversely affected by
:48:31. > :48:34.underemployment. The government agrees with the committee that we
:48:34. > :48:40.need to look further at the problem is that these groups specifically
:48:40. > :48:42.phase. We have a duty to address challenges in the labour market
:48:42. > :48:46.which may adversely and disproportionately affect the
:48:46. > :48:50.Scottish workforce. As the committee request, I will be happy to raise
:48:50. > :48:55.the matter of underemployment with the Scottish employability Forum and
:48:55. > :49:00.seek members' views on what more can be done to help us better to stand
:49:00. > :49:04.and address any negative impacts of underemployment in Scotland today.
:49:04. > :49:08.I believe the government could be more aggressive in labour market
:49:08. > :49:13.interventions. The new employment recruitment incentive and the wage
:49:13. > :49:17.subsidy provided might be a place to start. Labour hoarding has emerged
:49:17. > :49:21.as an issue. It is good that firms have worked to keep employees on in
:49:21. > :49:27.the face of the downturn, but as the recession continues and demand fails
:49:27. > :49:30.to pick up, this is proving unsustainable. In Germany, a
:49:31. > :49:34.different approach has been tried. Workers build up reserves of
:49:34. > :49:38.overtime and pay with employers through good economic times which
:49:38. > :49:42.tied them over in town times. One particular government intervention
:49:42. > :49:48.is directed at saving long-term employment in firms rather than
:49:48. > :49:52.picking up the cost of employment benefit, the government has
:49:52. > :49:57.intervened to subsidise jobs for up to six months rather than see a firm
:49:57. > :50:02.go out of business for good. I believe these policies worth further
:50:02. > :50:06.explanation. -- exploration. There is a marked difference between
:50:06. > :50:10.Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK in terms of underemployment. I
:50:10. > :50:15.wonder what the reasons are? It might be worthy of looking into to
:50:16. > :50:21.see if there is something that can be learned. Northern Ireland today,
:50:21. > :50:25.6.1%, is lower than any other part of the UK was in the boom years. The
:50:25. > :50:30.lowest in the boom years was 6.5 cent underemployment in the
:50:30. > :50:35.south-east, Northern Ireland today, in the height of an economic down
:50:35. > :50:39.turn, has a lower underemployment rate than any other part of the
:50:39. > :50:43.United Kingdom had even when the economy was motoring along. Why is
:50:43. > :50:49.that? Is there something we can learn?
:50:49. > :50:53.Gavin Brown, though. We will go live to the chamber now for more on the
:50:53. > :51:03.debate of land reform that we were covering earlier. Mark Chisholm of
:51:03. > :51:04.
:51:04. > :51:10.labour is now speaking. Dogs are not allowed. Four minutes,
:51:10. > :51:14.please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am
:51:14. > :51:19.delighted that we are debating this, I am delighted that the Labour Party
:51:19. > :51:23.have moved on from many of the positions they adopted ten years
:51:23. > :51:28.ago. For example, in the agricultural holdings bill, where
:51:28. > :51:31.the SNP brought forward the idea of a compulsory right to buy perhaps
:51:31. > :51:41.being a good idea, one of those who voted against it was, strangely
:51:41. > :51:44.
:51:44. > :51:49.enough, Rhoda Grant. That was at stage two in committee. Some SNP
:51:49. > :51:53.members voted against. There is no time, I'm sorry. But I don't mind
:51:53. > :51:58.that the Labour Party are changing their mind. On the contrary, I
:51:58. > :52:03.welcome that some of the things that I said during the passage of
:52:03. > :52:07.previous legislation have now become even more timely. I said, for
:52:07. > :52:14.example, in relation to the land reform Bill on the 23rd of January
:52:14. > :52:18.2003, that the bill was timid because it lacked much of
:52:18. > :52:21.Scotland's land, that held by companies, trusts and injuring
:52:21. > :52:26.partnerships, beyond the reach of Right to buy. It provided under what
:52:27. > :52:32.is now an actor. In reality, it is only that relatively small minority
:52:32. > :52:40.of land in private ownership that is actually available to be bought. I
:52:40. > :52:43.hope that we can explore, through the Reform group, what kind of
:52:43. > :52:49.constraints are created by that. We don't necessarily have the
:52:49. > :52:55.legislative power here to deal with that, but either through voting yes
:52:55. > :53:01.in 2014 or with the usual stick support of a Tory Prime Minister who
:53:02. > :53:06.says he is willing to help, we might see a way of an picking the trust
:53:06. > :53:11.law which is far too often in the whole of the UK, but in Scotland in
:53:11. > :53:15.particular in relation to land, used to conceal an official ownership, to
:53:15. > :53:22.prevent illegal transfers of land because it is in the interest of the
:53:22. > :53:26.trusted transfers, not the interest of the land. There is a coalition of
:53:26. > :53:31.interest, a coalition of the willing that might pick up a very
:53:31. > :53:37.significant challenge that there is from the structure of land ownership
:53:37. > :53:43.where, in this place, we have very limited powers, certainly none over
:53:43. > :53:49.company law, little over the waitress 's operate that we might
:53:49. > :53:54.look at. -- little over the way that trusts operate. I have previous on
:53:54. > :54:00.this, I moved Amendment 207 on the 23rd of January in the stage three
:54:00. > :54:06.debate, which sought to make some provisions to tackle the
:54:06. > :54:10.anti-avoidance that there was. In particular, I drew attention to the
:54:10. > :54:15.fact that landlords were scuttling all around the place, taking cover,
:54:15. > :54:20.hiding things, so it would be very difficult for us to know what was
:54:20. > :54:28.actually happening. I'm afraid I was unable on that occasion to persuade
:54:28. > :54:32.the then government that they might have said. And, indeed, apparently
:54:32. > :54:37.in a sedentary intervention, the Tories said that trusts are very
:54:37. > :54:44.good indeed. Rhoda Grant rightly talked about the Park estate, and I
:54:44. > :54:49.share her discontent that part three of the Land Reform Act has as yet
:54:49. > :54:53.not delivered a single purchase. It is a classic example, and I know the
:54:53. > :54:57.Minister will not be able to respond to what is a legal issue that is
:54:57. > :55:04.still in play, but I absolutely regret that we have had years and
:55:05. > :55:09.years of legal process deliberately used to thwart community interests.
:55:09. > :55:15.I hope we will have opportunity to fix that at some point in the
:55:15. > :55:18.future. Colin Paterson Harvey, to be followed by Roderick Campbell.
:55:18. > :55:26.Both Labour and SNP speakers have used the term consensus and talked
:55:26. > :55:29.about a consensus on land reform. I have heard, consensus is in the
:55:30. > :55:33.past, I would like to express a little empathy with Stewart
:55:33. > :55:38.Stevenson, who clearly tried valiantly to persuade the previous
:55:38. > :55:43.government to do something that I also failed to persuade Fergus Ewing
:55:43. > :55:47.to do not so long ago. Perhaps we are on the wrong page on that one.
:55:47. > :55:52.I'm afraid I don't have time any more than you did yourself. In
:55:52. > :55:56.reality, there are serious differences on some of these
:55:56. > :56:02.questions. I think there are people on the Labour and the SNP sides who
:56:02. > :56:07.are and can be part of a consensus. We will have to dip out of the
:56:07. > :56:10.debate, we are out of time. Our commentator joins us for one last
:56:10. > :56:15.comment, Hamish Macdonell. We are looking to the Conservative
:56:15. > :56:22.conference this weekend, we have full coverage on the BBC. It is
:56:22. > :56:27.happening in sterling. Ruth Davidson, what did she need to do at
:56:27. > :56:31.this conference? It is very much a case that the honeymoon is over for
:56:31. > :56:35.her. She has been the leadership for long enough to try to stamp
:56:35. > :56:39.authority on the party, and it is clear that of her backbenchers are
:56:39. > :56:44.unhappy, senior people are unhappy about the direction she is taking
:56:44. > :56:48.the party. She has to show leadership, she has to say, look, I
:56:48. > :56:52.am the leader, you are elected me, let me lead and take you in the
:56:52. > :56:57.direction I want to take you in. She has two bring the party together,
:56:57. > :57:01.she has to give it some heart. By the time the party leaves sterling,
:57:01. > :57:08.they should be united and focused and have a shared vision. If she
:57:08. > :57:16.fails to get that, the sniping will continue. What's at the MSPs
:57:16. > :57:19.complaining about? There have been criticism about her perform -- has
:57:19. > :57:29.been criticism about her performance at First Minister putts-macro
:57:29. > :57:32.
:57:32. > :57:36.questions. -- First Minister's Questions. That leads to discontent
:57:36. > :57:41.on the backbenches. Other party members are unhappy about her
:57:41. > :57:45.promises for more devolution. She is the leader, she has two stamp
:57:45. > :57:50.authority. At the Scottish Tory conference, the Prime Minister will
:57:50. > :57:56.be up speaking in Stirling, what will he tell the party faithful?
:57:56. > :58:00.message will be a very solid, prounion, pro-United Kingdom,
:58:00. > :58:05.pro-coalition government message. What people really want to know is
:58:05. > :58:08.what he would offer to Scots after the referendum if they vote no. He
:58:09. > :58:12.has held up the prospect of more powers for the Scottish Parliament,
:58:12. > :58:17.yet refuses to say what that would be. We would love to know what that
:58:17. > :58:22.is going to be, but I think they might wait in vain. I think the
:58:22. > :58:26.Prime Minister will give us a pretty solid union tub thumping speech.
:58:26. > :58:30.There will be a rather unusual figure at that conference.
:58:30. > :58:32.The former Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling will address the
:58:32. > :58:38.Scottish Conservative conference, I bet we thought we would never see
:58:38. > :58:43.that. We will have to leave it there, thank you. We have run out of