18/05/2017: First Minister's Questions Politics Scotland


18/05/2017: First Minister's Questions

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 18/05/2017: First Minister's Questions. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

A very warm welcome to the Scottish Parliament, here at Holyrood. As we

:00:20.:00:28.

go on air, the conservative UK manifesto is being launched in

:00:29.:00:33.

Halifax. Perhaps some elements of that will filter through to the

:00:34.:00:39.

exchanges here. The prime event today at Holyrood is questions to

:00:40.:00:43.

the First Minister. Let's cross to the Chamber and my colleague, Nile

:00:44.:00:49.

Gallagher. Yes, don't change the channel, stay with us for First

:00:50.:00:56.

Minister's Questions. If you want to follow what is happening with the

:00:57.:01:02.

Conservative manifesto launch, do like the MSP are doing and watch it

:01:03.:01:09.

on your phone. What are the engagements for the Brit minister

:01:10.:01:13.

today? I will be on the leaders debate, which of course Theresa May

:01:14.:01:19.

is ducking. We don't have enough teachers in Scotland and given the

:01:20.:01:22.

fact that all sides accept this, does the First Minister agree with

:01:23.:01:25.

me that when young people here do choose teaching as a career we

:01:26.:01:29.

should do everything we can to ensure that they stay? As we have

:01:30.:01:36.

discussed before, Scotland in common with many other countries faces a

:01:37.:01:40.

challenge in teacher recruitment. That is why we are increasing the

:01:41.:01:45.

intake into initial teacher education, why the General teaching

:01:46.:01:48.

Council is looking to encourage more people into teaching and look at

:01:49.:01:54.

different routes into teaching. I suspect Ruth Davidson will ask next

:01:55.:01:59.

about teach first. I am open-minded to looking at ideas about how we get

:02:00.:02:03.

more young people into teaching but we have got to make sure that these

:02:04.:02:08.

ideas work for Scottish education, so we will continue to do everything

:02:09.:02:11.

we can to address the challenges we face. She raises the issue teach

:02:12.:02:18.

first let's have a look at it. This week we learned that in the last

:02:19.:02:22.

five years nearly 400 talented graduates have left Scotland to

:02:23.:02:26.

teach elsewhere in the UK. That is because they were attracted by the

:02:27.:02:30.

programme, very successful programme, which despite versions

:02:31.:02:34.

operating in 40 countries around the world still has not been allowed to

:02:35.:02:40.

step foot in Scotland. So that is 400 enthusiastic young teachers to

:02:41.:02:43.

pupae in our schools but aren't because Nicola Sturgeon says so. We

:02:44.:02:48.

have heard in recent days about the huge quality issues surrounding

:02:49.:02:53.

teacher training here, given that, come the First Minister give me a

:02:54.:02:56.

good reason why she is stopping new schemes like teach first but running

:02:57.:03:01.

here in Scotland and seeing if they can improve matters? I have met with

:03:02.:03:07.

teach first and discussed with them previously whether it would be

:03:08.:03:12.

possible to adapt their schemes to adapt to Scottish education. When I

:03:13.:03:22.

visited not long after I became First Minister as school in London

:03:23.:03:25.

that had taken part in the London challenge, and we did look carefully

:03:26.:03:30.

at the London challenge and incorporated some of its learning

:03:31.:03:33.

into our own attainment challenge. The headteacher in that school was

:03:34.:03:37.

sceptical about temp one. One thing she said at the time was that it was

:03:38.:03:42.

in her view, and they appreciate there would be other views, but it

:03:43.:03:47.

was quite short-term and it was a difficulty often in retaining those

:03:48.:03:53.

teachers. We will continue to discuss with the teaching profession

:03:54.:03:56.

and the local authorities how we make sure we get the brightest and

:03:57.:04:01.

best teachers into our schools. The General teaching Council has been

:04:02.:04:04.

looking at different ways of bringing young people into schools.

:04:05.:04:09.

Ruth Davidson doesn't talk about the pasta graduates in Scotland who to

:04:10.:04:14.

go into teaching. I want to encourage more of them to do so. We

:04:15.:04:19.

will continue to look at all of these issues as we drive forward

:04:20.:04:23.

with our determination to drive up standards in our schools and close

:04:24.:04:27.

the attainment gap between the richest and poorest. In the

:04:28.:04:32.

Amsterdam gave me a good reason why she won't let temp one work here, it

:04:33.:04:38.

was I spoke to a woman in London but they haven't closed my mind to That

:04:39.:04:43.

is exactly the first and so the First Minister give me in January

:04:44.:04:51.

2016, almost 18 months ago. Is there it is -- is there a decision in our

:04:52.:04:59.

future here? You have to question if the First Minister really

:05:00.:05:02.

understands the problem that we face because we have 4,000 fewer teachers

:05:03.:05:07.

than when she came to power. We aren't recruiting enough trainees to

:05:08.:05:12.

fill the gaps. We have 16% of training places for English unfilled

:05:13.:05:16.

and nearly a quarter for maths. She claims that her government is on top

:05:17.:05:23.

of this. Let me ask this, if she is, what percentage of secondary schools

:05:24.:05:27.

say that the lack of teachers is constraining the number of subjects

:05:28.:05:33.

they can offer? I have been very clear about the challenges we face a

:05:34.:05:37.

run teacher recruitment that is why John Swinney has been working with

:05:38.:05:41.

the general teachers Council to look into how we get more teachers and

:05:42.:05:45.

education but it is also why we have been increasing the intake into

:05:46.:05:52.

initial teacher education. As I said in relation to temp one, we have had

:05:53.:05:57.

initial discussions about whether that programme can be adapted for

:05:58.:06:02.

the particular circumstances of our education. We will continue to look

:06:03.:06:05.

at these issues in the round and drive forward the plans we are

:06:06.:06:08.

taking forward. The national improvement framework, which is

:06:09.:06:15.

already seeing reforms around school education, the attainment challenge,

:06:16.:06:18.

the attainment fund, the people equity fund in particular which as

:06:19.:06:23.

we speak is channelling resources into the hands of head teachers so

:06:24.:06:27.

they can drive the improvements they want to see in their schools. While

:06:28.:06:59.

we two-week Ruth Davidson gets up and asks about this, this government

:07:00.:07:01.

will get on with taking the action that binds the solutions. What a lot

:07:02.:07:05.

of waffle. I am pleased the First Minister thinks it is legitimate for

:07:06.:07:11.

me to ask questions about our failing education system. I think it

:07:12.:07:12.

is my duty to ask these questions. The question I asked was what

:07:13.:07:14.

proportion of our schools our constrained in the lessons they can

:07:15.:07:16.

teach, and the answer was 70%. That was the figure reported to the

:07:17.:07:17.

education committee. 70% of schools that can't offer the pupils they

:07:18.:07:22.

want to because her government has not recruited the teachers. Instead

:07:23.:07:26.

of facing this crisis, what do we get? This week we have seen

:07:27.:07:30.

backslapping of ten years in power while education has been getting

:07:31.:07:35.

worst. This is a First Minister who has provided over a teacher

:07:36.:07:39.

recruitment crisis, who has fallen asleep at the wheel on education.

:07:40.:07:45.

His response to bad test results is to take Scotland out of the tests.

:07:46.:07:53.

And knocks back ideas like temp one that she can't explain apart from

:07:54.:07:56.

some woman in London she has stopped too. Isn't it time that we had a

:07:57.:08:01.

First Minister in charge who does something about all of the mistakes,

:08:02.:08:07.

doesn't just admit them? The International summit of teaching

:08:08.:08:11.

experts that the Deputy First Minister attended just before Easter

:08:12.:08:14.

recognised there were teacher recruitment challenges across the

:08:15.:08:19.

world. Ruth Davidson to suggest this is a problem unique to Scotland I

:08:20.:08:24.

think is unfortunate. I think it is unfortunate that we two-week she

:08:25.:08:28.

stands up here and rightly points to areas where we need to improve but

:08:29.:08:34.

repeatedly fails to talk about the improvements we are seeing in

:08:35.:08:38.

Scottish education. The fact that in our schools are young people are

:08:39.:08:43.

coming out with record high passes, record advanced higher passes. We

:08:44.:08:49.

have more young people achieving national five qualifications. We are

:08:50.:09:01.

starting to see on a number of indicators the beginning of the

:09:02.:09:05.

closing of the gap between the richest and poorest. I am the first

:09:06.:09:10.

to admit there is much more to do, but Ruth Davidson should stop doing

:09:11.:09:13.

a disservice to teachers and pupils across this country... By using

:09:14.:09:21.

terms like a failing education system. We do not have a failing

:09:22.:09:26.

education system in Scotland and Ruth Davidson should be ashamed

:09:27.:09:37.

standing up here suggesting we do. Questionable to. What engagement she

:09:38.:09:40.

has planned for the rest of the week.

:09:41.:09:44.

Engagements to take forward the Programme for Government in

:09:45.:09:47.

Scotland. Yesterday, the First Minister and I've met with Brendan

:09:48.:09:51.

Cox, the husband of Jo Cox and at that meeting the First Minister

:09:52.:09:54.

rightly agreed that there is no place for abuse of any kind in our

:09:55.:10:00.

political debate. A few weeks ago a prominent Internet bloggers said of

:10:01.:10:05.

Oliver Mundell, a member of this Parliament, that he is the sort of

:10:06.:10:12.

public speaker who made you wish that his dad had embraced his

:10:13.:10:17.

homosexuality is sooner. There is no place in society for homophobia like

:10:18.:10:22.

this, which he agree with me? Of course I do. For Kezia Dugdale to

:10:23.:10:28.

get up here and suggest in any way shape or form that I would condone

:10:29.:10:34.

homophobia I think is deeply unfortunate. It was the kind of

:10:35.:10:40.

issue we were all discussing with Brendan Cox yesterday, all of us

:10:41.:10:43.

should make very clear that that kind of language, any form of abuse

:10:44.:10:51.

of any minority or any politician of that nature is completely

:10:52.:10:57.

unacceptable. I see a abuse on a daily basis being hurled at me, at

:10:58.:11:02.

my colleagues, people on my side of the political spectrum and I don't

:11:03.:11:08.

hold Kezia Dugdale personally responsible for that, so we should

:11:09.:11:13.

all join together and save that that kind of abuse is unacceptable and at

:11:14.:11:17.

least have this as an issue on which we have consensus and not division.

:11:18.:11:26.

I very much welcome that response from the First Minister. Of course,

:11:27.:11:30.

this was a remark posted on Twitter by Stuart Campbell, who writes for

:11:31.:11:35.

the website wins over Scotland. In the Daily Record I call but Mr

:11:36.:11:39.

Campbell for his homophobic comments. People should listen to

:11:40.:11:42.

this if they are serious about tackling homophobia and abuse in all

:11:43.:11:48.

of its forms. Mr Campbell has written to me through his lawyer to

:11:49.:11:53.

demand a ?10,000 payment for, and they could, damage to reputation.

:11:54.:11:58.

Presiding Officer, I stand firmly by my comments, I have never quite tied

:11:59.:12:02.

to believe and I will not start today. There is a catalogue of

:12:03.:12:10.

evidence that demonstrates the file that Stuart Campbell thinks is

:12:11.:12:16.

acceptable. Given that we are in the general election campaign, will the

:12:17.:12:21.

First Minister today condemned wins over Scotland and anyone else who

:12:22.:12:30.

poisons political debate in our country? I just have condemned

:12:31.:12:31.

anybody he indulges in that kind of language or abuse. I am not

:12:32.:12:35.

responsible for Stuart Campbell any more than Kezia Dugdale is

:12:36.:12:38.

responsible for people who hurl abuse at me in the name of being a

:12:39.:12:45.

supporter of the Labour Party. Let's cut to the chase about what is going

:12:46.:12:50.

on here. Kezia Dugdale is asking me about this today because she hopes

:12:51.:12:54.

it means I won't be able to remind her that her colleagues in Aberdeen

:12:55.:13:00.

yesterday voted for a Tory Administration there. What we are

:13:01.:13:07.

seeing here today is a bit of a political smoke screen. Let me put

:13:08.:13:10.

it beyond any doubt, I condemn anybody who hurls abuse on social

:13:11.:13:15.

media or anywhere else and all of us should do that. The abuse I see

:13:16.:13:20.

directed at me on a daily basis would make somebody's carer Carol,

:13:21.:13:32.

and some of it does come from people professing to be supporters of Kezia

:13:33.:13:38.

Dugdale's party. I do not alter personally responsible for that and

:13:39.:13:44.

I think we should accept that there are people out there and we should

:13:45.:13:47.

all united in condemning it. APPLAUSE. When my colleagues do

:13:48.:13:50.

something I disagree with I take action. I am asking the First

:13:51.:13:52.

Minister to do the same stop the A few SNP politicians have called

:13:53.:14:25.

him out. 44% of SNP MSPs and 50% of SNP MPs have actively encouraged him

:14:26.:14:31.

along. I have the list here. It includes ten government ministers.

:14:32.:14:37.

The Finance Secretary. The Justice Secretary and the Transport

:14:38.:14:46.

Minister. As leaders we have a duty to stand up when it becomes an

:14:47.:14:50.

outlet for aggression, intolerance and hatred. I want to have the First

:14:51.:14:55.

Minister act clearly yes or no question. Will she today order her

:14:56.:15:01.

politicians and her own ministers to denounce and shun wings over

:15:02.:15:09.

Scotland once and for all? APPLAUSE. I've follow thousands of people on

:15:10.:15:15.

twitter and I am followed by hundreds of thousands of people on

:15:16.:15:20.

twitter. Is Kezia Dugdale really trying to say, if I was to go

:15:21.:15:27.

through Kezia Dugdale's tweets or members of her group or her party,

:15:28.:15:33.

and I came up with tweets that were somehow unsavoury in some way, is

:15:34.:15:36.

she really saying that she would hold herself personally responsible

:15:37.:15:41.

for that? This is absolutely ridiculous. I am unequivocally,

:15:42.:15:50.

condemn abuse of any kind. I have a list here of abuse that has been

:15:51.:15:57.

hurled by many people who are not a Tory councillors in Scotland. I have

:15:58.:16:07.

had abuse from people who have been members of the Labour Party, I have

:16:08.:16:17.

been called a fascist and a Nazi, or my party has by Ian Smart, who was a

:16:18.:16:19.

senior member of the Labour Party and they didn't hold Kezia Dugdale

:16:20.:16:20.

responsible. Let's cut to the chase here. This is a smoke screen being

:16:21.:16:24.

erected by Kezia Dugdale today. Because her party is in disarray, it

:16:25.:16:32.

is in Civil War, it is in meltdown and as leader of the party, she is

:16:33.:16:37.

directing this at me to hide one simple fact, as leader of the

:16:38.:16:41.

Scottish Labour Party, she is not in control of the room party because

:16:42.:16:46.

she can't stop councillors going into coalition with Tories up and

:16:47.:16:50.

down the country. That is why she is asking about this today as a smoke

:16:51.:16:53.

screen to protect yourself against the State of a room party.

:16:54.:17:02.

Some constituency questions. Thank you. I wonder if the First Minister

:17:03.:17:11.

would join me in welcoming the Government's victory against the

:17:12.:17:14.

judgment blocking the development of offshore wind farms, a victory that

:17:15.:17:21.

is good news for Scotland and the climate change and jobs front and

:17:22.:17:24.

would she encouraged the RSPB who instigated the original action to

:17:25.:17:28.

accept the appeal decision and resolve the concerns by working with

:17:29.:17:33.

the developers on, for example, the sympathetic sighting of wind

:17:34.:17:38.

turbines? I do very much welcome the judgment. I think the development of

:17:39.:17:44.

offshore wind is important, not just for environmental reasons, but also

:17:45.:17:48.

economic development Scotland and I hope this means these developments

:17:49.:17:54.

can continue. What happens now is a decision for the RSPB. I hope we

:17:55.:17:59.

will see an end to the court action. I would also say and I hope the RSPB

:18:00.:18:04.

will listen to this because protecting the environment is really

:18:05.:18:08.

important and I know they have legitimate concerns about this so I

:18:09.:18:12.

would want to say very clearly to them and others that we want to make

:18:13.:18:16.

sure we work in a way to allow the development of offshore wind for the

:18:17.:18:20.

benefits it brings but does so with the protection of the environment

:18:21.:18:24.

very much paramount. I hope we can move forward on that basis. Thank

:18:25.:18:29.

you, Presiding Officer. The first Mr may be aware that an estate agency

:18:30.:18:34.

based in Edinburgh is demanding a buyer's premium fee. If prospective

:18:35.:18:41.

buyers do not agree to pay it, the property is offered to the next

:18:42.:18:44.

bidder who can pay it. The constituent spent 12 years saving

:18:45.:18:48.

for his first flat and is now expected to pay a fee of over ?2000.

:18:49.:18:57.

Does she agree it is an example of unscrupulous practice and will her

:18:58.:19:03.

government look into this issue and assessed the legality of the

:19:04.:19:08.

practice? Does the First Minister agree that the subject matter of the

:19:09.:19:12.

estate agents act should be devolved so that this parliament has the full

:19:13.:19:18.

powers over matters relating to the acquisition of land and property? I

:19:19.:19:22.

am happy to look into this matter. I agree these powers should be

:19:23.:19:27.

devolved. The regulation of estate agents is currently covered by

:19:28.:19:34.

consumer protection in the Scotland Act. I absolutely agree that fees

:19:35.:19:39.

charged by estate agents should be completely transparent and I'm

:19:40.:19:44.

stunned the Scottish Government has recently received one complaint

:19:45.:19:53.

about a buyer's premium -- I understand. I will write to the

:19:54.:20:00.

member on this matter. The NHS Grampian this week announced it can

:20:01.:20:03.

no longer guarantees surgery within 12 weeks of diagnosis. It is not in

:20:04.:20:09.

a position to meet the targets she has set. Will her government step up

:20:10.:20:14.

and provide them with the funding it should receive under the

:20:15.:20:19.

Government's own formula, a formula which is now nearly ten years old

:20:20.:20:25.

and has still not been delivered? We have moved health boards closer to

:20:26.:20:29.

parity, as it is called, than was the case when we took office and

:20:30.:20:35.

under the formula we continue to do that. On the specific issue raised,

:20:36.:20:40.

we are clear with all health boards that patiently waiting for treatment

:20:41.:20:44.

such as elective surgery must be seen as seen as quickly as possible

:20:45.:20:49.

and it is important patients with the highest clinical priorities such

:20:50.:20:53.

as cancer patients are seen extremely quickly. We are investing

:20:54.:20:57.

additional resources and we have been working with NHS prank in --

:20:58.:21:06.

NHS prank which we will announce soon to help build up capacity to

:21:07.:21:12.

make sure all patients are treated in a timely fashion. We see waiting

:21:13.:21:16.

times now lower than they were when this government took office but we

:21:17.:21:20.

also see demand on the health service continuing to rise, mainly

:21:21.:21:24.

due to the ageing population. We must continue to work with health

:21:25.:21:28.

boards and make sure they have the required resources to continue to

:21:29.:21:30.

deliver the standard of service patients deserve. My constituent

:21:31.:21:42.

Doctor who lives with his wife and two children is going to be deported

:21:43.:21:48.

on the 11th of June. The Glasgow University lecturer has recently

:21:49.:21:52.

been awarded ?1.32 million research grant from the UK Government which

:21:53.:21:58.

employs a further three people. The Home Office has repeatedly given him

:21:59.:22:02.

the wrong information which has led to this personal crisis. A Canadian

:22:03.:22:10.

national, his wife qualifies for UK citizenship and one of his children

:22:11.:22:14.

was born in the UK. Would the First Minister intervene in this case to

:22:15.:22:20.

assist allowing the doctor to remain here in Scotland and continue his

:22:21.:22:31.

valuable work? Obviously, I do not know the details of the case, but I

:22:32.:22:37.

would be very happy to look into the detail and see if there is anything

:22:38.:22:40.

the Scottish Government can do to appeal to the Home Office to see

:22:41.:22:45.

sense, if indeed that is what is required. I think the case he has

:22:46.:22:48.

outlined in terms of the details is shared with the Chamber today do

:22:49.:22:56.

seem to illustrate the complete wrong-headedness of the UK

:22:57.:22:57.

Government's approach to immigration. We see today as the

:22:58.:23:04.

Tories publish the manifesto a recommitment to an immigration

:23:05.:23:09.

target that they know is not deliverable but they know that in

:23:10.:23:12.

the process of trying to deliver the target they will do and hull damage

:23:13.:23:16.

to not just the Scottish economy but the UK economy as a whole -- untold

:23:17.:23:22.

damage. Today they are publishing proposals to increase the amount of

:23:23.:23:25.

money employers have to pay if they wanted employee skilled migrants

:23:26.:23:32.

from outside of the EU. As the BMA have pointed out, it includes

:23:33.:23:36.

doctors and nurses and other people working in our health service. Not

:23:37.:23:39.

only will we make it harder to recruit people into the health

:23:40.:23:44.

service, harder perhaps to recruit people into the teaching profession

:23:45.:23:49.

from outside this country, but we will also charge our public services

:23:50.:23:52.

when they are trying to do so. This really sums up the fact that the UK

:23:53.:23:59.

are pursuing an immigration policy damaging to the economy of the

:24:00.:24:03.

country and of course they are trying... They are doing it as they

:24:04.:24:07.

are increasingly morphing into Ukip and that I think makes it all the

:24:08.:24:12.

more important that after this general election there are strong

:24:13.:24:15.

voices standing up to the Tories and making sure Scotland's interests in

:24:16.:24:19.

this and so many other areas are properly protected. Patrick Harvie.

:24:20.:24:30.

When will the Cabinet next meet? Tuesday. A few days ago, the Prime

:24:31.:24:38.

Minister showed how hugely in touch she is with the priorities of the

:24:39.:24:43.

country by declaring that she has always supported fox hunting and

:24:44.:24:47.

maintains a commitment to its reintroduction. Today the

:24:48.:24:49.

Conservative manifesto promises a step backwards in the introducing

:24:50.:24:56.

this cruel and barbaric act to parts of these islands. It was also

:24:57.:24:59.

revealed one of Ruth Davidson's former colleagues who resigned is a

:25:00.:25:18.

member of a fox hunting club in Scotland claiming it was part of her

:25:19.:25:19.

way of life. An estimated 800 foxes are killed by hunts each year in

:25:20.:25:20.

Scotland. Many are killed by hounds rather than being shot, in clear

:25:21.:25:21.

breach of the act. The First Minister will be aware of the huge

:25:22.:25:24.

amount of anger and concern there is among members of the public about

:25:25.:25:28.

this issue. Does she agree with those members of the public who are

:25:29.:25:33.

contacting all parties to demand a ban on this brutal act? The sheer

:25:34.:25:39.

agree with her own party leader at Westminster who says he totally

:25:40.:25:41.

opposes fox hunting and if she does, will the law in Scotland totally

:25:42.:25:48.

oppose fox hunting? Before I come onto the position of the Scottish

:25:49.:25:51.

Government, I think it says a lot about the priorities of Theresa May

:25:52.:25:55.

and the Tories when they go out of their way to deny parliament any say

:25:56.:25:59.

over the hugely important issues associated with exit and yet they

:26:00.:26:04.

are committed to giving Parliament a free vote on Read reviews in fox

:26:05.:26:10.

hunting -- associated with Brexit. They have got completely the wrong

:26:11.:26:17.

priorities. Obviously, when David Cameron was talking about this

:26:18.:26:20.

previously, it raised an issue about the differences between the law in

:26:21.:26:24.

England and in Scotland and at that point, we committed to looking at

:26:25.:26:28.

loopholes in the Scottish law, Patrick Harvie will be aware, we

:26:29.:26:34.

have had people look at this in detail and we are considering the

:26:35.:26:38.

recommendations and considering whether changes in the law required.

:26:39.:26:42.

I do understand the concerns of the people who are writing to us, as I

:26:43.:26:47.

have always been an opponent of fox hunting and I remain an opponent of

:26:48.:26:51.

fox hunting and we need to make sure the operation of the law in Scotland

:26:52.:26:54.

is appropriate and that is what the process is intended to ensure. I

:26:55.:27:02.

think the very many people contacting politicians at the moment

:27:03.:27:05.

on this issue will want to clear up the answer about what is proposed in

:27:06.:27:10.

Scotland. The review was welcome but it followed a very narrow remit,

:27:11.:27:15.

defined by the Scottish Government which specifically excluded

:27:16.:27:20.

consideration of a full ban and indeed his Lordship himself said

:27:21.:27:27.

that he always had in notion that there must be a way of preserving

:27:28.:27:32.

fox hunting and said that he was not minded to abolish fox hunting but to

:27:33.:27:36.

find a way of maintaining it. Whilst some of the proposals may go beyond

:27:37.:27:41.

the status quo, they would be tantamount to proposing the Scottish

:27:42.:27:47.

Government endorses a form of regulated fox hunting. If the

:27:48.:27:51.

Scottish Government means to consult openly on this issue, can the First

:27:52.:27:55.

Minister confirmed the consultation will include consideration of a

:27:56.:28:02.

complete ban on mounted fox hunting in Scotland customer failing that,

:28:03.:28:20.

removing the exemption in the act that allows flushing foxes to guns

:28:21.:28:20.

given the significant evidence this is used as a decoy for traditional

:28:21.:28:22.

brutal and barbaric fox hunting? While I understand the concerns

:28:23.:28:22.

people are expecting and share some of the concerns, I think Patrick

:28:23.:28:26.

Harvie Miss characterises the position of the Scottish Government.

:28:27.:28:29.

The exemptions in the current laws are exemptions that were debated and

:28:30.:28:33.

agreed by this Parliament, I appreciate before I think Patrick

:28:34.:28:38.

Harvie was a member. There was a member 's Bill brought forward and

:28:39.:28:44.

these issues were fully debated at that time. There have been concerns

:28:45.:28:51.

raised about what I am describing as loopholes and whether we need to

:28:52.:28:54.

tighten the law further. We have embarked on a process. We have had

:28:55.:29:01.

the Lord look at this in detail. We are now consulting on what the Lord

:29:02.:29:07.

has said and given it is a live consultation, we should allow it to

:29:08.:29:10.

take its course. If Patrick Harvie wants to consult to the

:29:11.:29:16.

consultation, if he has, I apologise, but if he has not he can

:29:17.:29:21.

consult and argue for it to go further. We should go forward with

:29:22.:29:25.

this process and that is the right thing to do. Be under no doubt at

:29:26.:29:31.

all, this government opposes fox hunting and that is the position we

:29:32.:29:35.

have long taken and a position we continue to take.

:29:36.:29:40.

What issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet? Matters

:29:41.:29:46.

of importance to the people of Scotland. Children in Lothian waited

:29:47.:29:52.

666 days to get important mental health treatment. For anyone, that

:29:53.:29:57.

must feel like a lifetime. For a person so young, that must feel like

:29:58.:30:02.

eternity. Why are waiting times so bad when the First Minister said it

:30:03.:30:07.

would be a priority? It is a priority and is Willie Rennie nose,

:30:08.:30:11.

and I should say that there are still some long waits for mental

:30:12.:30:13.

health treatment that are acceptable, but we are making

:30:14.:30:18.

progress in bringing waiting times down. -- that are unacceptable. We

:30:19.:30:24.

have seen the number of people working in these services increase

:30:25.:30:30.

as well. This is a priority and they know it is a priority not just for

:30:31.:30:33.

this government before parties across the chamber and we will

:30:34.:30:38.

continue to bring forward the investment and other actions

:30:39.:30:40.

required to make sure that all young people coming forward for mental

:30:41.:30:44.

health treatment get that treatment and in a timely way. This is true of

:30:45.:30:51.

many of the challenges we grapple with the health service, but it is

:30:52.:30:55.

particularly true here, that we have vastly increased demand for mental

:30:56.:30:58.

health services, which is something we should think of as a good thing

:30:59.:31:03.

because it means the stigma is reducing, but it does mean we need

:31:04.:31:06.

to equip the services to deal with that. We are seeing improvement in

:31:07.:31:11.

waiting times and investment and the numbers working in mental health

:31:12.:31:15.

services and we will make sure that improvement continues. We have heard

:31:16.:31:21.

that all before. I will cope what you said last year. And I has to

:31:22.:31:26.

First Minister she told me this. This is one of the most serious

:31:27.:31:32.

issues we face as a society. When we discussed this suit your budget

:31:33.:31:36.

process, we discovered that the government was much further behind

:31:37.:31:40.

than even we had feared. Children in Lothian are not alone. In the ten

:31:41.:31:45.

tier of her government, the weight in the Highlands the 623 days. In

:31:46.:31:52.

Fife, 611 days, in Grampian it is a year. The government published

:31:53.:32:00.

independent legislation in weeks but it took 15 months to get round to

:32:01.:32:05.

the mental health strategy. These children deserve better from this

:32:06.:32:09.

government and First Minister. Will those children still be waiting as

:32:10.:32:12.

long next year or is she going to do something different? Willie Rennie

:32:13.:32:19.

is completely mischaracterising the position of the government. The

:32:20.:32:26.

facts speak for themselves. I recognise the challenge of improving

:32:27.:32:31.

services. That is why the workforce has increased by just under 50%

:32:32.:32:38.

under this government, spending on mental health has increased by 42%.

:32:39.:32:43.

In this year alone, spending will increase to ?1 billion for the first

:32:44.:32:50.

time and we continue to take steps to ensure that mental health

:32:51.:32:53.

services get an increasing share of the overall help budget. There are,

:32:54.:33:05.

although we are seeing waiting times reduced generally, there are some

:33:06.:33:10.

long waits which we are seeking to tackle, but to put that in context

:33:11.:33:16.

there is now 82.5% seen within 18 weeks, which is a 3.5% increase from

:33:17.:33:23.

the last quarter. I don't pretend that we don't still have work to do

:33:24.:33:27.

here, it is a feature of the increasing demand we are seeing, but

:33:28.:33:32.

the investment, the workforce and the progress in reducing waiting

:33:33.:33:39.

times is also there to see. Our mental health strategy contains a

:33:40.:33:43.

range of actions that focus rightly on the prevention and early

:33:44.:33:46.

intervention to meet the mental health needs of children and young

:33:47.:33:51.

people and to step in and promptly when they develop, so for example a

:33:52.:34:01.

review of Pastoral services and referrals. Willie Rennie is right to

:34:02.:34:06.

say this is a challenge that we need to address, but he is wrong to say

:34:07.:34:10.

we are not taking the action to address it because we definitely

:34:11.:34:17.

are. A couple of supplementary is. Joan McAlpine. No? Today the Israeli

:34:18.:34:30.

ambassador is in the Scottish parliament. Will the first

:34:31.:34:35.

representative or a representative of the government meeting him? If

:34:36.:34:40.

so, could they deliver alive message that after 50 years of Palestinian

:34:41.:34:44.

oppression that the illegal occupation of the West Bank must

:34:45.:34:49.

end? That the illegal expansion of settlements must end? That the

:34:50.:34:54.

illegal seas on Gaza must end? And they must allow free access of food,

:34:55.:35:00.

medicines and supplies into the Gaza Strip. And that he understands that

:35:01.:35:05.

without justice, without the quality and without freedom, there can never

:35:06.:35:09.

be peace. APPLAUSE. Fiona Hyslop will meet the

:35:10.:35:17.

Israeli ambassador later today and she will deliver our behalf of the

:35:18.:35:22.

Scottish Government a strong message on justice for Palestine and for

:35:23.:35:26.

Palestinians covering the very issues that he raises. This

:35:27.:35:31.

government has been clear in our support for people in Gaza and the

:35:32.:35:34.

range of injustices -- injustices that they suffer. I have led to

:35:35.:35:42.

bathe in this chamber about Gaza in the past and ultimately we remain

:35:43.:35:49.

committed to the two state solution in Palestine, so that message will

:35:50.:35:53.

be delivered strongly of behalf of the Scottish Government by Fiona

:35:54.:36:01.

Hyslop today. Given the actions of the Labour council group in Aberdeen

:36:02.:36:06.

and reports of two further deals between Labour and Conservatives,

:36:07.:36:09.

does the First Minister agreed that the clear message to voters is that

:36:10.:36:12.

if you vote Labour you will get Tory? In large part of the countries

:36:13.:36:22.

it certainly seems to be the case. This is a serious point. Labour

:36:23.:36:26.

votes in Aberdeen yesterday were used to put the Tories into

:36:27.:36:32.

administration. That should say something to everybody who might be

:36:33.:36:35.

considering voting Labour in the future, that if you vote Labour at

:36:36.:36:40.

you often get Labour, you get the Tories. That is the reality. Perhaps

:36:41.:36:48.

Kezia Dugdale will want to take the opportunity of just making it clear

:36:49.:36:55.

that the suspensions of the Aberdeen councillors yesterday will

:36:56.:36:58.

miraculously be waved away after the 8th of June. So perhaps at the first

:36:59.:37:04.

opportunity Kezia Dugdale Cattell is that because I expect this and is

:37:05.:37:08.

the general election is out of the way we will see these Labour Tory

:37:09.:37:12.

coalition is taking affect all over the country and I think that says

:37:13.:37:16.

everything we need to know about Labour and the Tories and the

:37:17.:37:21.

alliance between the two of them. Sandra White. Can I has to First

:37:22.:37:29.

Minister what action the Scottish Government is taken to tackle

:37:30.:37:31.

homelessness in Glasgow and across the country? The Scottish Government

:37:32.:37:36.

has ensured that homeless people in Scotland have some of the strongest

:37:37.:37:39.

housing rights anywhere in the world. Our focus on the prevention

:37:40.:37:45.

of homelessness has led to consistent falls in homelessness

:37:46.:37:50.

applications including in Glasgow. There is more to do to address rough

:37:51.:37:54.

sleeping. Providing a home is not the only support that vulnerable

:37:55.:38:00.

people need. That is why our current priorities include strengthening the

:38:01.:38:04.

development of approaches like housing first, piloted in Glasgow,

:38:05.:38:09.

which provides permanent accommodation alongside intensive

:38:10.:38:12.

peer support to help people with complex needs sustained their

:38:13.:38:18.

accommodation. I thank the First Minister for that supply and the

:38:19.:38:21.

support of homeless people in Glasgow. I want to say to everyone,

:38:22.:38:28.

I'm sure we all think it is unacceptable that in the country as

:38:29.:38:32.

rich as Scotland should have anybody dying on the streets because of

:38:33.:38:37.

homelessness. Does she share my deep concern is that homelessness will be

:38:38.:38:40.

made worse in Glasgow and the rest of Scotland with the move to

:38:41.:38:44.

Universal Credit, delays in payments, and the UK Government's

:38:45.:38:48.

welfare changes will put more people at risk of being homeless and this

:38:49.:38:56.

is unacceptable? Yes, I do. Let me just underline how important it is

:38:57.:38:59.

to this government to continue to tackle homelessness and rough

:39:00.:39:04.

sleeping. I know that is a key priority of what they hope will be

:39:05.:39:08.

the new administration of Glasgow City Council by the end of today and

:39:09.:39:14.

we will work with them to make sure we don't have a position where

:39:15.:39:18.

people are sleeping rough and anybody is facing the prospect of

:39:19.:39:22.

dying on the streets of our country. That is an unacceptable situation

:39:23.:39:26.

and I will not let that happen in our country. On benefit changes,

:39:27.:39:32.

this is an important point. I was in Inverness last week visiting a

:39:33.:39:34.

foodbank and talking to people who work front line with benefit

:39:35.:39:39.

applicants in Inverness. The reason Inverness is important is because it

:39:40.:39:44.

is a part of Scotland would Universal Credit has already been

:39:45.:39:47.

ruled out. The experience there should send shivers up our spines at

:39:48.:39:55.

the thought of Universal Credit being rolled out more widely,

:39:56.:39:57.

because their experiences of people's benefits being hugely

:39:58.:40:03.

delayed, people not getting the money they are entitled to on time,

:40:04.:40:07.

not getting all of the money they are entitled to. People have fallen

:40:08.:40:11.

into rent arrears, into debt, all through no fault of their own. Many

:40:12.:40:22.

of the people who are finding themselves in these positions are

:40:23.:40:26.

people who are working. They are working hard to try to support their

:40:27.:40:30.

families and are being treated in this way by a Conservative

:40:31.:40:34.

government that is ruling out these benefit changes that are not fit for

:40:35.:40:38.

purpose. I think the roll-out of Universal Credit should be halted

:40:39.:40:42.

until the Tories can assure everybody that they have got it

:40:43.:40:46.

right because the price of not doing that and carrying all is to plunge

:40:47.:40:51.

many more people into misery and potential homelessness. That would

:40:52.:41:00.

be unforgivable. Anywhere else. In April, third sector organisations

:41:01.:41:03.

emphasise the need once again for the Scottish Government to develop a

:41:04.:41:07.

new national homelessness strategy. Will the First Minister listen to

:41:08.:41:11.

their concerns and commit government to developing the strategy? We will

:41:12.:41:17.

continue to work with organisations like shelter to ensure that we have

:41:18.:41:22.

the right tactical policies in place to back up those strategies. We have

:41:23.:41:28.

some of the strongest rights for homeless people in Scotland and we

:41:29.:41:32.

have seen consistent falls in homelessness applications, but we do

:41:33.:41:36.

know we have to keep making Gress and we have an issue around rough

:41:37.:41:42.

sleeping. I would repeat the point I have just made, particularly to a

:41:43.:41:45.

Conservative member of this Parliament, any strategy we have on

:41:46.:41:50.

homelessness or tackling poverty and lifting people out of poverty is

:41:51.:41:53.

going to continue to be undermined as long as we have a Conservative

:41:54.:41:57.

government at Westminster that is intent on driving more and more

:41:58.:42:02.

people into poverty by cruel and callous Social Security cuts, so

:42:03.:42:06.

either to the question back to the Tories. By have detailed your bosses

:42:07.:42:10.

in London does not penalise and the poor and work with us to help them

:42:11.:42:20.

instead? Colleen McNeill. There is anecdotal evidence at least

:42:21.:42:24.

that rough sleeping is increasing in Scotland. Most people you talk to

:42:25.:42:28.

save the noise see more people sleeping in doorways. Few things are

:42:29.:42:36.

more shocking than people dying from called or hunger on the streets of

:42:37.:42:39.

Scotland. I know there are many reasons why this might be the case.

:42:40.:42:49.

I urge you to review the current strategy on housing and rough

:42:50.:42:54.

sleeping. To review the fact that Google authorities may need more

:42:55.:42:59.

resources to take this autumn, to review the fact that although the

:43:00.:43:03.

figures may not there at their side, that the evidence is strong enough

:43:04.:43:08.

to review the strategy that we currently have. I know that the

:43:09.:43:11.

First Minister has already agreed to look at some of the issues I raised

:43:12.:43:18.

last time, housing first, I know she is committed to this, but in all

:43:19.:43:21.

seriousness when you have have had deaths as we have seen on the

:43:22.:43:25.

streets of Glasgow, is it not time to have another look at the strategy

:43:26.:43:31.

that you currently have? Indeed it wouldn't be, which is why we are

:43:32.:43:35.

taking action to help councils deal with these issues. In terms of the

:43:36.:43:39.

statistics around rough sleeping, and I will cite the statistics of

:43:40.:43:43.

the degree of caution because many of us would think there has been

:43:44.:43:49.

under reporting. The statistics do not show an increase over the past

:43:50.:43:53.

three years, they show a steady state. I do not underestimate the

:43:54.:44:00.

fact that there may be an under reporting in the statistics. We are

:44:01.:44:05.

already taking action to strengthen the homelessness prevention strategy

:44:06.:44:09.

group so we have the right strategic direction, but we are also taking

:44:10.:44:14.

practical action, funding a post in Glasgow City Council's access team

:44:15.:44:19.

for example, to make sure we are improving the liaison between the

:44:20.:44:22.

council and housing associations and the other looking to see the housing

:44:23.:44:26.

options approach that has been piloted in Glasgow extended. This is

:44:27.:44:33.

something that's the moderator of the Church of Scotland came in to

:44:34.:44:37.

see me a year ago, that the housing options approach is important

:44:38.:44:40.

because it does recognise that often particularly for a vulnerable

:44:41.:44:46.

person, sorry the housing first approach, particularly for a

:44:47.:44:49.

vulnerable person, you need to provide more than accommodation, it

:44:50.:44:53.

is the support around that. We will continue to work with councils to

:44:54.:44:56.

make sure we are actively addressing these issues and will continue to do

:44:57.:45:03.

so. Question six. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish

:45:04.:45:07.

Government is taking in response to the Scottish mutual Consortium

:45:08.:45:09.

report indicating that the shop vacancy rate rose? We have taken

:45:10.:45:18.

significant steps to help the retail sector. Our town centre first

:45:19.:45:22.

principle and our town centre action plan is designed to tackle key

:45:23.:45:26.

issues such as empty shops and improve the vibrancy of our town

:45:27.:45:32.

centres. We have a highly competitive business tax

:45:33.:45:37.

environment, have lifted 100,000... We have lifted 100,000 properties in

:45:38.:45:41.

Scotland out of nondomestic rates altogether. I will add for the

:45:42.:45:48.

benefit of the record, that the Conservatives voted against 100,000

:45:49.:45:54.

businesses being taken out of business rates. We have also funded

:45:55.:45:58.

relief for two thirds of retail properties. We have given Google

:45:59.:46:03.

authorities the power to further reduce rates. It is important to

:46:04.:46:06.

note that the shop vacancy rate in Scotland is lower now than it was in

:46:07.:46:11.

2015 and remains lower than that of the UK but we continue to want to do

:46:12.:46:15.

more to support the retail sector and get shops in our town centres

:46:16.:46:18.

occupied and providing services to the public.

:46:19.:46:23.

Shop vacancies are up while productivity growth in retail is

:46:24.:46:31.

slower than the rest of the UK. This is evidence this Scottish

:46:32.:46:35.

Government's economic policies are failing. With the business rate

:46:36.:46:39.

revolution hitting Scotland hard, the Government needs to get back to

:46:40.:46:44.

the day job of focusing on the economy or it will be the Scottish

:46:45.:46:49.

retail sector paying the price. We have seen an increase from January

:46:50.:46:57.

this year to April from 9% up to 9.2% in terms of the vacancy rate.

:46:58.:47:04.

In 2015, the vacancy rate was 10.6%. It is lower now than it was then.

:47:05.:47:09.

The Scottish Retail Consortium report highlighted that footfall in

:47:10.:47:13.

Scotland's high streets and retail parks grew by 3.2%. The third

:47:14.:47:19.

fastest growth rate of all of the UK's nations and regions and the

:47:20.:47:25.

fastest growth in Scotland since July, 2014. A few facts to perhaps

:47:26.:47:31.

correct some of the mischaracterisations at the heart of

:47:32.:47:36.

the question. The member sites the wider economic performance in

:47:37.:47:40.

Scotland and we, like other parts of the UK, have work to do to get the

:47:41.:47:44.

economy growing faster, something not helped by the extreme Brexit the

:47:45.:47:51.

Tories are pursuing. Yesterday we saw unemployment again fall below

:47:52.:47:55.

the UK average up we saw employment in Scotland increase, we thought

:47:56.:48:00.

productivity growth in Scotland around 7% over the last few years,

:48:01.:48:04.

completely stagnant in the rest of the UK. We will get on with the hard

:48:05.:48:10.

work of supporting our economy and unfortunately we face a Tory

:48:11.:48:13.

government in Westminster that appears intent through extreme

:48:14.:48:17.

Brexit in undermining our economy. That is the reality. That concludes

:48:18.:48:25.

First Minister's Questions. The conclusion of questions to the First

:48:26.:48:29.

Minister including the exchanges about Brexit and the UK general

:48:30.:48:34.

election. The Tory manifesto here, section on Scotland, talking about

:48:35.:48:37.

our precious union, saying in the past, Conservative governments, UK

:48:38.:48:44.

Governments, they have forgotten the devolved nations. Saying there

:48:45.:48:51.

should be no independence referendum, no further independence

:48:52.:48:55.

referendum until Brexit is signed and settled. Time to pull together,

:48:56.:48:59.

not a part. Joined by a couple of chums, Robbie Dinwoodie, the Tory

:49:00.:49:05.

manifesto, it will be of interest...? I am guessing this is

:49:06.:49:11.

the biggest sign yet that Conservatives are very confident of

:49:12.:49:14.

a big victory next month because traditionally all parties have been

:49:15.:49:19.

very wary of any move that could offend the grey vote because...

:49:20.:49:28.

Means testing winter fuel payment, scaling down slightly the triple

:49:29.:49:32.

lock on pensions? It could be presented as quite anti-pensioner

:49:33.:49:37.

and it is rare for parties to be brave enough to do that and I think

:49:38.:49:40.

they must think they have got the election in the bag. Ruth Davidson

:49:41.:49:46.

going by there with the Conservative perspective on the union, the points

:49:47.:49:51.

I raised, no independence referendum, not forever, but not now

:49:52.:49:55.

and not now for the for Siebel future. She wants Brexit sorted

:49:56.:50:01.

first. -- the foreseeable future. At least not until after Brexit which

:50:02.:50:07.

is pretty much what we expected. No surprise. We thought it would be

:50:08.:50:11.

confirmed in a manifesto. Not putting a timetable on it, not until

:50:12.:50:19.

Brexit is done and dusted. Questions on the Scottish Government's record,

:50:20.:50:24.

Nicola Sturgeon repeatedly saying, it is legitimate to raise these, she

:50:25.:50:29.

did not seem happy they were raised, did she? It has become a regular

:50:30.:50:34.

rhythm, you get the Government's existing record on an area,

:50:35.:50:38.

education, teacher numbers in particular, Ruth Davidson went on

:50:39.:50:44.

that. The reply generally is, we are moving in the right direction,

:50:45.:50:48.

taking action, has not come through. Then the quite stinging response

:50:49.:50:53.

from Ruth Davidson that it was just a lot of waffle and she is asleep at

:50:54.:50:57.

the wheel. White vigorous exchanges. Let us talk to... Kezia Dugdale has

:50:58.:51:06.

just walked past. She was on about social media, the impact. Nicola

:51:07.:51:10.

Sturgeon felt it was a bit of a red herring. It was odd, Kezia Dugdale

:51:11.:51:18.

was upset about a particular blogger... She was upset. Cannot say

:51:19.:51:25.

too much. She was upset. It was odd because she was obviously holding

:51:26.:51:30.

Nicola Sturgeon to account for this and Nicola Sturgeon had quite an

:51:31.:51:33.

easy defence of saying, it is nothing to do with me. Nicola

:51:34.:51:41.

Sturgeon looked genuinely puzzled, there is always spin, but she looked

:51:42.:51:45.

genuinely surprised. Nicola Sturgeon had the answer, I have been insulted

:51:46.:51:50.

by lots of people including people from the Labour Party. I do not hold

:51:51.:51:55.

you personally responsible. Why are you holding me responsible for this?

:51:56.:52:02.

Robbie? This incident happened about a month ago on social media and I

:52:03.:52:05.

think Nicola Sturgeon felt bringing it up today was to distract from

:52:06.:52:09.

some other matters affecting the Labour Party which we will come to

:52:10.:52:15.

in due course. Fox hunting, Patrick Harvie. Back to the beginnings of

:52:16.:52:18.

the parliament, he seemed to feel there was a real concern. Quite odd

:52:19.:52:22.

in a way because obviously it allowed Nicola Sturgeon and into

:52:23.:52:29.

attack trees in May and say she is completely out of touch Test and in

:52:30.:52:37.

two Theresa May. -- and into the reason may. Mental health, the

:52:38.:52:45.

crisis among young people in particular, the length of time they

:52:46.:52:49.

are waiting to get treatment and help. Again, very similar answer

:52:50.:52:54.

from Nicola Sturgeon, we are throwing money at it, it will come

:52:55.:53:00.

down. Willie Rennie is not happy it is happening fast enough. Hang on, a

:53:01.:53:06.

bit more from you in a moment. In those exchanges with Kezia Dugdale,

:53:07.:53:09.

Nicola Sturgeon suggesting it was a bit of a blind to avoid the Chamber

:53:10.:53:15.

talking about Aberdeen where the local label councillors have been

:53:16.:53:19.

suspended by the party at Scottish lashed low-level -- Labour

:53:20.:53:26.

councillors have been suspended by the party at Scottish national

:53:27.:53:31.

level. Professor John Curtice put it in context for us. We have to

:53:32.:53:35.

remember that in all of the mainland councils in Scotland, we ended up

:53:36.:53:39.

with no party in overall control and therefore they need to be

:53:40.:53:43.

understandings or deals to sort out who will run the administration.

:53:44.:53:47.

There are a lot of councils in Scotland were basically either the

:53:48.:53:54.

Conservatives... They have to come to an understanding. The truth is,

:53:55.:53:57.

these parties are wanting to draw red lines, saying, no, we are not

:53:58.:54:03.

willing to do a deal with the Conservatives, or the SNP, as a

:54:04.:54:08.

result, probably on quite a lot of councils, forming administrations

:54:09.:54:11.

will be difficult and it is not made easier by the fact we are in the mix

:54:12.:54:15.

of febrile atmosphere of a general election. We expect these decisions

:54:16.:54:24.

be put off. The truth is, the Labour Party in particular often finds

:54:25.:54:28.

itself the third-largest party on a council and in effect the party that

:54:29.:54:32.

can decide whether it is the Conservatives are allowed to run the

:54:33.:54:36.

council or the SNP. They will find themselves with some pretty tough

:54:37.:54:39.

but potentially important choices in the coming weeks. The polls,

:54:40.:54:45.

anything shaping up either UK tutor Michael Scotland? What seems pretty

:54:46.:54:50.

clear in Scotland is it will be tougher fight for the SNP than two

:54:51.:54:56.

years ago -- anything shaping up in the UK or Scotland? Much brighter

:54:57.:54:59.

for the Conservatives north of the border than two years ago. Perhaps

:55:00.:55:05.

running as high as 30%. Certainly in the high 20s. Meanwhile, another

:55:06.:55:08.

difficult election for the Labour Party with its support falling below

:55:09.:55:12.

the record low it recorded two years ago. Therefore, in effect, we are

:55:13.:55:27.

talking about, how many seats can the SNP hang onto? The Conservatives

:55:28.:55:31.

have hoped for picking up some. Maybe half a dozen, meanwhile, there

:55:32.:55:42.

are odd constituencies, like Edinburgh South, Edinburgh West,

:55:43.:55:43.

where Labour and the Lib Dems still have hope. It is a question probably

:55:44.:55:46.

of how much of the SNP dominance of Scottish representation. We are

:55:47.:55:46.

still expecting for Scotland's representation at Westminster to be

:55:47.:55:49.

predominantly SNP. Manifesto is emerging, UK and soon Scottish, does

:55:50.:55:53.

that shaped the campaign or is it done? In a sense, they are coming

:55:54.:55:58.

out in the middle of the campaign were often the parties have told us

:55:59.:56:01.

a lot of what they are for and against already. I am not sure in

:56:02.:56:05.

truth the manifestos will make that much difference. Manifestos often

:56:06.:56:10.

make more difference after an election. They become the bible by

:56:11.:56:14.

which they get judged. People like you read them and they say, hang on,

:56:15.:56:19.

you said six months ago you would do this and you are doing is an

:56:20.:56:29.

indifferent. They become a benchmark by which whoever wins gets to be

:56:30.:56:34.

judged when they are in office. That is probably a much more important

:56:35.:56:41.

role than influencing voters between now and the 8th of June. Professor

:56:42.:56:42.

John Curtice talking about manifestos and the row in Aberdeen.

:56:43.:56:45.

You can see why the Labour Party has decided to take the tough action.

:56:46.:56:47.

Since the referendum campaign when they sided with the Tories, they

:56:48.:56:52.

suffered for that. They are continuing to suffer for that. Mixed

:56:53.:56:56.

messages here. At Westminster, standing on an identical platform,

:56:57.:57:11.

it puts them squarely against the Tories. That has become... They are

:57:12.:57:13.

trying to slap down the Labour councillors in Aberdeen. Kezia

:57:14.:57:14.

Dugdale says it is not about Aberdeen, not about that, it is

:57:15.:57:18.

about Labour's values. One of the difficulties is that in advance they

:57:19.:57:21.

did not say no deal with the Tories, they said no deals that result in

:57:22.:57:27.

austerity. Yes, it was kind of understood that probably meant the

:57:28.:57:31.

Tories because they would be the party associated with austerity. In

:57:32.:57:34.

Aberdeen, they said ahead of the deal, they did not want the deal to

:57:35.:57:37.

go ahead. They also said any deals had to be approved nationally by the

:57:38.:57:42.

executive and that deal was vetoed yesterday and they were given an

:57:43.:57:46.

ultimatum to drop the deal or be suspended. How does it look for

:57:47.:57:51.

Labour? They can present this and I am sure they will as standing tough

:57:52.:57:55.

against any accommodation with the Tories, is there another side? The

:57:56.:58:00.

fact it has been allowed to happen, they should have been more forceful

:58:01.:58:06.

in advance of local government elections, saying, Labour will not

:58:07.:58:07.

go into coalition with the Tories because they are the party of the

:58:08.:58:10.

Westminster government and inflicting austerity. Instead, as

:58:11.:58:14.

you say, they kept it vague, it seemed to be the intention, they

:58:15.:58:18.

should have been explicit and distanced themselves from the Tories

:58:19.:58:21.

months ago. Perhaps they can resolve that issue or perhaps not, we will

:58:22.:58:27.

see. The main UK manifestos have come out, the Scottish ones starting

:58:28.:58:32.

to emerge. The next phase. Yes, although it is always strange

:58:33.:58:36.

because it is the UK election so the UK manifestos stand and it is really

:58:37.:58:41.

only the SNP that has the full manifesto in Scotland for the UK

:58:42.:58:47.

election. Otherwise it is what has ready come out from the Lib Dems,

:58:48.:58:51.

Labour and the Conservatives, with bits that apply to Scotland and bits

:58:52.:58:57.

which do not. Briefly, it has been so short since the last UK election?

:58:58.:59:03.

You did have this dramatic week of the Labour manifesto, a manifesto

:59:04.:59:06.

including quite a lot of things which have been said. Thank you very

:59:07.:59:13.

much indeed, the UK manifestos will be covered on the BBC. We will bring

:59:14.:59:17.

you all of the details of the Scottish manifestos as they emerge,

:59:18.:59:21.

all of the detail and far more from the election campaign. Big event

:59:22.:59:24.

tomorrow, the play-offs. I will be watching.

:59:25.:59:29.

With the general election approaching,

:59:30.:59:31.

with the leaders from six Scottish political parties going

:59:32.:59:35.

head-to-head before you, the voters, in the Scottish Leaders' Debate.

:59:36.:59:43.

A bunch of boys fae Baillieston, Bellshill and Saltcoats

:59:44.:59:44.

It would be the greatest night of their lives...

:59:45.:59:48.

the night when Celtic Football Club captured the hearts of Europe...

:59:49.:59:51.

They were like brothers. I loved them. Absolutely loved them.

:59:52.:59:56.

A bunch of boys fae Baillieston, Bellshill and Saltcoats

:59:57.:00:00.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS