:00:18. > :00:20.Hello and welcome to Politics Scotland.
:00:21. > :00:23.Holyrood's Health and Sport Committee have accused the SFA
:00:24. > :00:35.MSPs say their child protection policy is not working properly.
:00:36. > :00:37.And here at Westminster, the final Prime Minister's Questions
:00:38. > :00:40.before the election, as MPs well and truly put themselves
:00:41. > :00:52.Now, there are a mere 43 days until the election on June 8th -
:00:53. > :00:54.the Commons will wind down this week, ahead of six
:00:55. > :01:08.To chew over this and other topics of the day, Kevin McKenna is here.
:01:09. > :01:11.But first, here's a flavour of the last Prime Minister's
:01:12. > :01:13.Questions before the country goes to the polls.
:01:14. > :01:15.There were heated exchanges between the Prime Minister
:01:16. > :01:17.and the Labour leader, with Theresa May suggesting
:01:18. > :01:19.Mr Corbyn wasn't fit for leadership, and Jeremy Corbyn accusing
:01:20. > :01:21.the Conservatives of being a government for the few.
:01:22. > :01:26.I did note that the Shadow Home Secretary has been campaigning in
:01:27. > :01:36.her own personal way, directing her supporters to a website, I Like
:01:37. > :01:46.Corbyn, But... It says, how will he pay for all this? I heard he wants
:01:47. > :01:52.to increase taxes. But... I heard he's a terrorist sympathiser. But...
:01:53. > :01:59.Is attitudes about defence worry me. They are right to be worried. Unable
:02:00. > :02:03.to defend our country, determined to raise tax on ordinary workers, no
:02:04. > :02:08.plan to manage our economy. Even his own supporters know he's not fit to
:02:09. > :02:13.run this country. Mr Speaker, my question was about the National
:02:14. > :02:22.Health Service. Strong leadership is about standing up for the many, not
:02:23. > :02:24.the few. But when it comes to the Prime Minister and the
:02:25. > :02:36.Conservatives, they only look after the richest, not the rest. They are
:02:37. > :02:45.strong against the weak and weak against the strong. Far from
:02:46. > :02:50.building a strong economy, schools and our NHS are being cut, people
:02:51. > :02:57.can't afford homes, millions can't make ends meet. That doesn't add up
:02:58. > :03:03.to a stronger economy for anyone. Mr Speaker, the election is a choice
:03:04. > :03:11.between a Conservative... Between a Conservative government for the few
:03:12. > :03:18.and a Labour government that will stand up for ALL of our people. I
:03:19. > :03:22.asked the Prime Minister a pretty simple question, yes or no. And the
:03:23. > :03:28.Prime Minister failed to answer. So, pensioners right across this land
:03:29. > :03:34.are right to conclude that this Tory Prime Minister plans to ditch the
:03:35. > :03:39.triple lock on the state pension. Mr Speaker, too many women already face
:03:40. > :03:44.pensions inequality, and the Tories now won't even guarantee the
:03:45. > :03:47.pensions triple lock. And the only reason that they will not guarantee
:03:48. > :03:53.it is because they want to cut pensions. Is not the message to
:03:54. > :04:02.pensioners, you cannot trust this Prime Minister, you cannot trust the
:04:03. > :04:06.Tories on your pension? I say to everybody, as I've just said, if you
:04:07. > :04:09.want to know the party of government that has improved the lot of
:04:10. > :04:16.pensioners across this country, it is the Conservative Party. And under
:04:17. > :04:19.a Conservative element, those pensioner income is would continue
:04:20. > :04:23.to increase. And he talks about inequality for women. It's the
:04:24. > :04:25.change in the structure of the state pension introduced by this
:04:26. > :04:31.government that is going to improve the lot of female pensioners in the
:04:32. > :04:36.future, that is going to be much better for them. But one thing that
:04:37. > :04:41.pensioners in Scotland will no, as other voters in Scotland will know,
:04:42. > :04:45.is that if they believe in the union, there's only one way to vote,
:04:46. > :04:49.and that's to vote Conservative. In the nine months at the Prime
:04:50. > :04:55.Minister has held her office, she has closed the door on desperate
:04:56. > :05:04.child refugees, she has ignored the plight of those suffering under the
:05:05. > :05:09.crisis in health and social care, and she is responsible for the
:05:10. > :05:12.shameful break clause. 20 years ago, she berated the Conservative Party
:05:13. > :05:22.for being a nasty party. Her party has never been nastier. But the
:05:23. > :05:27.legacy of this Parliament... The right honourable gentleman must be
:05:28. > :05:35.heard! The legacy of this Parliament is the utter abject failure of Her
:05:36. > :05:39.Majesty's official opposition to effectively hold our government to
:05:40. > :05:44.account for any of this. Is it not time that Britain had a strong,
:05:45. > :05:51.decent, new opposition? Prime Minister! Let me pick up on the
:05:52. > :05:55.point he made about child refugees. This government has a proud record
:05:56. > :05:59.on supporting refugees from Syria. We have been the second biggest
:06:00. > :06:02.financial donor to the region, in order to support millions of
:06:03. > :06:07.refugees and educate children, as I saw when I visited Jordan recently.
:06:08. > :06:10.And of course, we have also supported some of the most
:06:11. > :06:13.vulnerable refugees, including children, in bringing them here to
:06:14. > :06:18.make a new life in the United Kingdom. Talks about a decent
:06:19. > :06:23.opposition. I find it difficult to hear those words coming from his
:06:24. > :06:31.mouth, given that his party has selected a candidate...
:06:32. > :06:36.Well, let's head across to Westminster, with David Porter.
:06:37. > :06:45.Just as you came to me, it started to shower. No comments about one
:06:46. > :06:50.shower talking in another show! We will leave that! At the final PMQs
:06:51. > :06:56.of this Parliament, and it was a marathon session, it went on for the
:06:57. > :07:00.best part of an hour. As you would expect in the last one before an
:07:01. > :07:05.election, there was perhaps not an awful lot of political policy but
:07:06. > :07:09.there was an awful lot of rhetoric. It basically turned into a political
:07:10. > :07:12.rally more than a political occasion. I think we got some
:07:13. > :07:17.indication from all of the parties of the themes that they will want to
:07:18. > :07:24.pursue. Was there anything new, David, at all? Angus Robertson, he
:07:25. > :07:29.didn't really get an answer on his triple lock bastion, did he? No, he
:07:30. > :07:33.didn't, and that's what struck me out of the whole 50 minutes or so.
:07:34. > :07:40.He put a question to Theresa May about the so-called triple lock on
:07:41. > :07:44.pensions, that's a rise of 2.5%, or the rise in inflation or earnings,
:07:45. > :07:47.whichever is greater, and quite frankly, she sidestepped that
:07:48. > :07:52.question and did not give a commit and on it. And in political terms,
:07:53. > :07:57.that was probably the most significant thing which came out of
:07:58. > :08:05.the 50 minutes or so. My apologies, we will leave you, it looks like
:08:06. > :08:10.they'll now! It is, it is hail! Jeremy Corbyn, did he get anywhere?
:08:11. > :08:15.He really wanted to focus on a number of issues. He went back to
:08:16. > :08:19.his tactic of reading out questions that people had sent to him about
:08:20. > :08:23.the Health Service, about their earnings, housing and education. But
:08:24. > :08:27.quite frankly, he was not going to get Theresa May to give her
:08:28. > :08:31.Conservative manifesto before she's ready. Cover up and we will see you
:08:32. > :08:34.before the end of the programme! Joining me in the studio
:08:35. > :08:48.today is the political Are you infused about any of this? I
:08:49. > :08:55.am kind of in the media bubble, so, of course! Airing ideas that we
:08:56. > :09:02.should all care about, what is not to like? What have you made of it so
:09:03. > :09:05.far? Let me ask you this - do you think the things of this election
:09:06. > :09:13.are really going to be what the pundits are saying? Everyone saying
:09:14. > :09:17.it's going to be about Brexit and independence, is it really going to
:09:18. > :09:22.be about either of these things? No. Clearly, Jeremy Corbyn is trying to
:09:23. > :09:27.shift the debate, we saw this in Westminster today, onto the
:09:28. > :09:32.traditional areas that he is more comfortable with and which once upon
:09:33. > :09:36.a time the Labour Party were more comfortable with - representing the
:09:37. > :09:39.many rather than the few, standing up for poor, disadvantaged
:09:40. > :09:43.communities against a hard right government rich wants to, as he
:09:44. > :09:50.said, represent if you instead of the many. And there wasn't much talk
:09:51. > :09:56.of Brexit. Do you think that he's done...? Keir Starmer yesterday
:09:57. > :09:59.outlined their policy on Brexit, and people are saying, intellectually it
:10:00. > :10:05.might be fine, but politically, it is not clear enough to answer
:10:06. > :10:12.questions like, are you in favour of staying in the single market, Labour
:10:13. > :10:16.Party? I thought Keir Starmer yesterday was pretty clear. I know
:10:17. > :10:21.there had been some criticism of Labour before it on their Brexit
:10:22. > :10:27.strategy. But it was only a few weeks ago that they said it wanted
:10:28. > :10:31.to adhere to the democratic will of the people, as expressed in June
:10:32. > :10:38.last year. They then criticised Theresa May for the sort of hard
:10:39. > :10:42.Brexit deal that she appeared to be moving towards. And now, at the
:10:43. > :10:50.start of the general election, they have their alternative strategy,
:10:51. > :10:55.which is including things like giving leave to European immigrants
:10:56. > :11:00.to stay, which was a big issue... My point is, if you then say to Labour,
:11:01. > :11:02.are you in favour of staying in the single market? I'm still not
:11:03. > :11:09.entirely clear what their answer would be? I'm not, either.
:11:10. > :11:13.Personally, I would have liked to have seen them go a little bit more
:11:14. > :11:18.gung ho. Sorry to cut you off, we will be back with you. For David
:11:19. > :11:22.Porter's own protection, he has now got a raincoat on! Let's let him
:11:23. > :11:39.speak to some MPs before Armageddon comes! Thank you very much. Let me
:11:40. > :11:43.introduce you to my guests, representing the SNP, the Liberal
:11:44. > :11:49.Democrats Labour and the Conservatives. It was a question
:11:50. > :11:54.from Angus Robertson of the SNP about guaranteeing the triple lock
:11:55. > :11:57.on pensions, and Louisa May sidestepped it. Is this the
:11:58. > :12:03.Conservatives preparing for the great British public for the lack of
:12:04. > :12:06.the triple lock on pensions? We will have to wait until the manifesto
:12:07. > :12:09.comes out. Over the last seven years, the Conservatives have done a
:12:10. > :12:14.lot for pensioners. The basic pension has gone up, increasing the
:12:15. > :12:18.standard of living for pensioners right across the country. It has to
:12:19. > :12:21.be about islands across the generations, and that's the
:12:22. > :12:27.important thing that we will be talking about in the election. --
:12:28. > :12:41.has to be about Allens across the generations. -- has to be about
:12:42. > :12:43.balance. Is it true that they have actually done pretty well,
:12:44. > :12:49.pensioners, over the last seven years? Yes, but they needed to. It
:12:50. > :12:54.was deliberate was introduced by the coalition to protect pensioners, and
:12:55. > :12:59.also to help catch up from the years when pensions did not keep pace with
:13:00. > :13:04.earnings or inflation. I don't think that bore itself out. In fact the
:13:05. > :13:09.tax threshold is now lower than it is for people below pensionable age.
:13:10. > :13:13.So actually, it's moving against pensioners now. Abandoning the
:13:14. > :13:16.triple lock would be a very ad signal, frankly, and I think it
:13:17. > :13:23.should at least stay until 2020. There is not much which could unite
:13:24. > :13:27.you and the SNP, but both of you believe the triple lock should stay
:13:28. > :13:30.- what would you say to those youngsters who say, pensioners have
:13:31. > :13:35.had it good, we are struggling to get by, the hats it is time that the
:13:36. > :13:40.younger segment of society should have a bigger share of the cake? I
:13:41. > :13:45.would have to wait, as you rightly say, for our manifesto to come out.
:13:46. > :13:49.I can guarantee you, on behalf of the Labour Party, that when a Labour
:13:50. > :13:54.government is elected, we will keep the triple lock. And since this is a
:13:55. > :13:59.fight between the Tories and ourselves, no-one else can form a
:14:00. > :14:01.government in Westminster, in fact Deirdre's leader is not even
:14:02. > :14:06.standing for Westminster, then the only way for tension is to ensure
:14:07. > :14:11.they get the triple lock is to vote Labour. As far as younger people are
:14:12. > :14:14.concerned, we are the party that introduced child tax credit and
:14:15. > :14:19.family tax credit, which have been a huge help for younger people. So,
:14:20. > :14:24.you are agreeing with Labour on this one? I think George's suggestion
:14:25. > :14:32.that we're going to be in government is pretty fanciful. Frankly, the way
:14:33. > :14:36.things are going at the moment for Labour, it's just not going to
:14:37. > :14:43.happen. We have had the work done by Ian Blackford, showing everyone, we
:14:44. > :14:45.are very concerned about pensions in Westminster and we will be fighting
:14:46. > :14:50.really hard for the triple lock to be maintained. But Mhairi Black was
:14:51. > :14:58.on the committee which recommended the triple lock should be abandoned.
:14:59. > :15:03.George Chaloner I don't understand! John, it seems pretty obvious from
:15:04. > :15:11.what your leader is saying that she wants this to be an election purely
:15:12. > :15:14.and simply about briefings, about Brexit and leadership? It's
:15:15. > :15:18.certainly about leadership, and at the end of the day, this country
:15:19. > :15:21.will have a choice between Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn as Prime
:15:22. > :15:25.Minister. It is also about economic competence, who do you think can run
:15:26. > :15:31.this country and its economy properly? We have started to see a
:15:32. > :15:35.little bit of the flavour of the coalition of chaos which would
:15:36. > :15:40.ensure, should Jeremy Corbyn have to end up in a coalition with my
:15:41. > :15:43.colleague standing beside me. So I think it is a very, very
:15:44. > :15:46.straightforward choice. Theresa May, strong, stable Prime Minister,
:15:47. > :15:52.strong majority, leading this country... This is the strongly do
:15:53. > :15:56.ship that got the country in the mess it is in, lost the Prime
:15:57. > :16:01.Minister, lost the referendum, and is now having a general election. In
:16:02. > :16:06.Scotland, the majority of people don't want independence, they want
:16:07. > :16:09.to stay in the UK. The majority of people don't want to leave the EU
:16:10. > :16:12.come of it wants to stay. The only party that offers them that is the
:16:13. > :16:19.Labatts. The Liberal Democrats are offering the best choice for those
:16:20. > :16:26.people. All the opinion polls would indicate that people may support
:16:27. > :16:30.some of Jeremy Corbyn's policies, but they don't see him as a
:16:31. > :16:33.potential Prime Minister? I would have thought even you would have
:16:34. > :16:38.understood that opinion polls are not to be relied on any more. What
:16:39. > :16:41.really worries me is, I can understand why John Stephenson is
:16:42. > :16:46.saying, this is what is going to be the outcome of the election. But I
:16:47. > :16:49.am surprised at Deirdre. We've still got nearly six weeks to go, and
:16:50. > :16:56.people have got to make up their minds. With got Theresa May frighten
:16:57. > :17:01.to go out and meet the people, and journey Corbyn, who is meeting
:17:02. > :17:05.thousands of them, and the more they see him and get to know him, the
:17:06. > :17:08.more they like him and we'll see him as a caring, compassionate Prime
:17:09. > :17:12.Minister, instead of the hardness that we're getting from the reason
:17:13. > :17:19.may. That sounds lovely, George, but think the news has just come out of
:17:20. > :17:24.that if Mrs May is not taking part in the TV debates, he won't, either.
:17:25. > :17:27.This is the politics of the kindergarten. The people have the
:17:28. > :17:32.right to hear the policies of the leaders and get the chance to vote
:17:33. > :17:40.accordingly. Neither of the leaders I a patch on Nicola Sturgeon, and
:17:41. > :17:43.Angus Robertson also showed real leadership today when he skewered
:17:44. > :17:48.the Prime Minister about the triple lock. You have taken my question
:17:49. > :17:56.about the TV debates. John Stevenson, should there be a TV
:17:57. > :18:01.debate with the four leaders who are seeking to be represented at This
:18:02. > :18:05.Place after the election? I actually think it should be down to the two,
:18:06. > :18:10.Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn, which is what this election is really
:18:11. > :18:13.about. In terms of debate, Theresa May will meet people as she goes up
:18:14. > :18:18.and down the country. There will be debates in the regular places. And
:18:19. > :18:22.I'm sure there will be interviews with people like yourself. So there
:18:23. > :18:25.will be plenty of opportunity to see what Theresa May is bring this
:18:26. > :18:28.country, and it is quite clear that she is offering stability and strong
:18:29. > :18:33.leadership, something the Labour Party... I think she wants a 1-party
:18:34. > :18:37.state. She has talked about saboteurs, anybody against her is an
:18:38. > :18:41.enemy of the state, enemy of democracy. She is dangerous for the
:18:42. > :18:45.country. That's why thousands of people are joining the Liberal
:18:46. > :18:49.Democrats every day, and that's why people are recognising that the only
:18:50. > :18:53.UK and stop a hard Brexit is to vote Liberal Democrat. And people will do
:18:54. > :18:58.it in numbers. Your leader now says he doesn't want to go into a certain
:18:59. > :19:03.type of TV debate, you in favour of them? Yes, I am strongly in favour
:19:04. > :19:07.of them. You in the media pushed David Cameron into it and I think
:19:08. > :19:11.you should do that again with Theresa May and have all the leaders
:19:12. > :19:14.there. This is an important election, people need to know what
:19:15. > :19:18.each of the parties is standing for. I think that's Theresa May is afraid
:19:19. > :19:23.because she knows that once her record is under scrutiny, she's
:19:24. > :19:29.going to go down and down and down. I agree with you there, George! If
:19:30. > :19:36.you want a TV debate, who should take part in it, should it be your
:19:37. > :19:40.leader, or should it be good? It has not been decided yet. But what is
:19:41. > :19:48.clear is that Theresa May is running scared of any kind of challenge to
:19:49. > :19:52.the policies that she is promoting. It is really quite frightening
:19:53. > :19:59.watching her hold rallies, when nobody is allowed to ask questions.
:20:00. > :20:06.She doesn't hold press conferences. She's just running away and backing
:20:07. > :20:13.away and running scared. All of you, thank you very much. Gordon, we have
:20:14. > :20:16.heard an awful lot and we will hear an awful lot more about the
:20:17. > :20:23.coalition of chaos. We this afternoon have had the coalition of
:20:24. > :20:28.the brollies. And they will all say to you that sun shines on the
:20:29. > :20:30.righteous! I will never make jibes about the weather in London again!
:20:31. > :20:36.Well, not until next week! The Scottish FA says it refutes
:20:37. > :20:38.allegations that it has been complacent in regard
:20:39. > :20:40.to its child protection procedures. A report by Holyrood's Health
:20:41. > :20:42.and Sport Committee says the governing body needs to do more
:20:43. > :20:45.to make sure youth coaches Our senior football reporter
:20:46. > :20:49.Chris McLaughlin joins us live. Chris, remind us of
:20:50. > :20:52.the background to this. Well, the committee,
:20:53. > :20:56.chaired by MSP Neil Findlay, has been taking evidence for months
:20:57. > :21:00.from senior figures It follows a BBC Scotland
:21:01. > :21:07.investigation that uncovered a shortfall in youth coaches
:21:08. > :21:11.who have the full background checks. The final report is fairly damning,
:21:12. > :21:14.especially in relation to football. It says the Scottish Youth Football
:21:15. > :21:17.Association misled members over just It said the Scottish FA
:21:18. > :21:21.was ultimately responsible Today, the SFA said this
:21:22. > :21:27.was an issue for the SYFA. Now, as I said earlier,
:21:28. > :21:54.this is not just a football issue. Our investigation at the start
:21:55. > :21:59.of the year highlighted issues and shortfalls
:22:00. > :22:06.with many other sports. The committee bis keen for more
:22:07. > :22:15.to be done across the board. Football authorities, sporting
:22:16. > :22:18.authorities across the board, and government, need to address the key
:22:19. > :22:22.points that have been raised in our report. We won't just hand the
:22:23. > :22:27.report over and that will be the end of attrition will be looking for
:22:28. > :22:29.reports back from the various organisations on how they are
:22:30. > :22:32.addressing the recommendations that we have put forward.
:22:33. > :22:37.They say, in their view, the current system is simply not working.
:22:38. > :22:41.The Scottish Government say a review is under way.
:22:42. > :22:52.Meaning what? As far as they are concerned, the review is under way.
:22:53. > :22:53.They're hoping to tighten things in 2019.
:22:54. > :22:55.The committee say it should be done sooner.
:22:56. > :22:58.One of the recommendations is that these checks become mandatory.
:22:59. > :23:03.At the moment, it's simply an avenue open to sports
:23:04. > :23:08.organisations, although Sport Scotland insist on it.
:23:09. > :23:22.What do you think of this whole situation? What was revealed by mark
:23:23. > :23:27.daily's report on the BBC earlier this month was something that many
:23:28. > :23:32.of us who are for all supporters and who participated in tension
:23:33. > :23:39.football, junior football, felt was inevitable. I find it frankly
:23:40. > :23:44.astonishing that there isn't any mandatory measures in place. I find
:23:45. > :23:53.it almost as astonishing as the SFA, as we saw there, completely dodging
:23:54. > :23:57.their responsibility by blaming the Scottish Youth Football Association.
:23:58. > :24:01.It is not just aiming the Scottish Youth Football Association, it's the
:24:02. > :24:05.tone of it, saying that these are simply Neil Findlay's personal
:24:06. > :24:08.opinions, by saying, you should know about devolution, you are in the
:24:09. > :24:14.Scottish Parliament. The whole tone of it, it is not just dismissive, it
:24:15. > :24:20.is almost hostile? It is completely irresponsible and it fails
:24:21. > :24:24.deliberately to acknowledge and recognise the special place that the
:24:25. > :24:28.game of football has in Scotland, and it's unique and ongoing and
:24:29. > :24:33.everlasting attraction to especially, not exclusively but
:24:34. > :24:37.especially, working-class children, the desperation of parents and
:24:38. > :24:42.families for their children, cousins, friends, schoolmates, to
:24:43. > :24:48.get again, to get on, to be signed for the big clubs in Scotland all
:24:49. > :24:52.applaud. This, to them, for generations, has been a way of being
:24:53. > :24:56.lifted out of poverty and making something of themselves. -- or
:24:57. > :25:01.abroad. Given everything that has happened in the past we've decades
:25:02. > :25:05.now, I would imagine a lot of parents might be quite surprised to
:25:06. > :25:13.know that there are no mandatory checks on football coaches at youth
:25:14. > :25:21.level? Yeah. The sport at that level, let's be frank here, attracts
:25:22. > :25:28.a certain type of individual, who may have predatory instincts towards
:25:29. > :25:35.relationships with young people. And for generations, football clubs have
:25:36. > :25:42.allowed an assortment of these characters, both high and low, to
:25:43. > :25:49.walk in, have unfettered access to, let's face it, vulnerable children
:25:50. > :25:54.at the age of ten, 11, 12, 13. As Mark, in his investigation earlier
:25:55. > :26:03.this month showed, or at the very least hinted at, there were several
:26:04. > :26:08.instances where there had been whistle-blowing, and they weren't
:26:09. > :26:13.properly at the pond. This affected the top clubs in Scotland as well as
:26:14. > :26:20.in the UK. In fact, although Mark Daly didn't actually say it, it all
:26:21. > :26:24.pointed towards a ring of adults who were exchanging contact... One final
:26:25. > :26:28.point, does the tenor of that statement give you much confidence?
:26:29. > :26:34.No. And I would expect that the Scottish Government might actually
:26:35. > :26:36.want to invite the SFA to enlarge upon those comments. Kevin, we will
:26:37. > :26:40.be back with you later on. Now, Controversial plans to shut
:26:41. > :26:42.Jobcentre Plus offices in Glasgow would not provide an adequate
:26:43. > :26:44.service, according The Scottish Affairs Committee said
:26:45. > :26:49.the proposals "showed Committee chair Pete Wishart told us
:26:50. > :27:02.the service should be We have very vulnerable users who
:27:03. > :27:04.need to access these services. In this crazy structural
:27:05. > :27:07.reorganisation, some people will have to travel for hours in order to
:27:08. > :27:11.access services, and some of these are amongst the most vulnerable
:27:12. > :27:13.members of society. We should be making services easier for people to
:27:14. > :27:17.access, not more difficult. Now, the Department for Work
:27:18. > :27:20.and Pensions announced in December that eight of the 16 offices
:27:21. > :27:23.in Glasgow were to be closed. It said 80% of job-seeker's
:27:24. > :27:24.Allowance claims Ian Pope of the Public
:27:25. > :27:28.and Commercial Services Union says that not everyone has access
:27:29. > :27:36.to the internet. The department are now encouraging
:27:37. > :27:40.benefit claimants to go online more. I think the figure was seven out of
:27:41. > :27:46.ten claimants in poor areas of Glasgow have no access to computers
:27:47. > :27:47.and digital technology. Until that happens, that argument does not add
:27:48. > :27:52.up. Well, let's have a look at how
:27:53. > :27:54.local employment services Dr Jim McCormick is the Scotland
:27:55. > :28:01.Director of the Joseph Now your organisation has
:28:02. > :28:04.been reviewing how local services can be improved,
:28:05. > :28:10.what could Jobcentres do better? Is it the fact of how many have
:28:11. > :28:14.closed, or is it the fact of what they are therefore in the first
:28:15. > :28:17.place? The job of the implement serviced should be to help people
:28:18. > :28:23.get into jobs and then progress into better paying jobs. How we go about
:28:24. > :28:27.that, here is an opportunity to rethink that. In Glasgow and other
:28:28. > :28:31.parts of Scotland, what matters is that we make it as easy as possible
:28:32. > :28:35.to access high quality guidance. Not just having a digital way of
:28:36. > :28:39.accessing benefit claims. And that might mean we need to keep open some
:28:40. > :28:44.of these Jobcentres, it might mean that we should be working work
:28:45. > :28:47.coaches alongside housing offices or local governor to offices. The last
:28:48. > :28:51.thing we should be doing probably would be centralising, and making it
:28:52. > :28:56.harder for people to access the advice and guidance that they need.
:28:57. > :29:01.But do these Jobcentres, to put it bluntly, actually find people jobs?
:29:02. > :29:07.The outcomes are variable. What is quite interesting is, the people who
:29:08. > :29:15.are required to turn up at a Jobcentre as a condition of getting
:29:16. > :29:20.benefit, that is changing. We have more people with limited English. In
:29:21. > :29:23.future, more people who are in work will be expected to increase their
:29:24. > :29:27.hours and earnings. So that changes the nature of what the employment
:29:28. > :29:33.centre is there to do. I think it means that we have to get better at
:29:34. > :29:40.co-locating at places where people naturally go to, rather than trying
:29:41. > :29:44.to... What sort of places? It would be housing offices, local governor
:29:45. > :29:52.offices... I just wonder if there is a case for, you know, there is an
:29:53. > :29:59.increasing problem of people being outside the Labour market, and lots
:30:00. > :30:02.of people in certain areas of Scotland, sometimes generations, who
:30:03. > :30:07.have not had a job. If you want to intervene in that, and it was
:30:08. > :30:13.interesting what you said about coaching, you would have to possibly
:30:14. > :30:16.spend a lot of money, but almost mentor people into getting a job,
:30:17. > :30:22.rather than turning up at an office to get one? For the bulk of people
:30:23. > :30:25.who are on GSA in Scotland, within 6-1 I'm months, the majority will be
:30:26. > :30:38.back in work. But it is the others... -- within 6-9 months.
:30:39. > :30:45.Coaching I think requires an element of face-to-face support. But not
:30:46. > :30:51.necessarily in a job office? The issue is, how do we make it as
:30:52. > :30:55.accessible as possible. And we are currently supporting some work in
:30:56. > :31:01.Parkhead in Glasgow which looks at what happens when you wrap around
:31:02. > :31:05.work coaches, GPs' surgeries, money advice, if you can stabilise
:31:06. > :31:09.people's financial situation, make it possible for them to think about
:31:10. > :31:15.realistically getting into work, or how to improve their skills, you get
:31:16. > :31:20.much better outcomes. So, we should be decentralising support, making it
:31:21. > :31:25.more face-to-face... Point you were making about it being a condition of
:31:26. > :31:30.benefit, surely in this day and age, it should be easy enough digitally,
:31:31. > :31:33.so, let's take your example, you have a GPs' surgery which is
:31:34. > :31:37.combining all of these things, or something next door to a GPs'
:31:38. > :31:43.surgery, some digital way of saying, that counts, for example?
:31:44. > :31:47.What coaches have quite a hard job to do but also quite a lot of
:31:48. > :31:51.discretion, so these things can happen already, it varies, if you
:31:52. > :31:56.look at the sanction reigns Donna Grits a couple of years in Scotland
:31:57. > :31:59.the rates in sanctions shows you how important the local culture is in
:32:00. > :32:05.job centres. What really matters here is we have a focus on the
:32:06. > :32:08.outcomes, getting more people into work, reducing barriers. We may have
:32:09. > :32:13.to help people into voluntary work as a first step where it is
:32:14. > :32:16.appropriate and with fluctuating conditions, for example. Not
:32:17. > :32:19.forgetting people in low paid jobs needing to increase their hours or
:32:20. > :32:22.improve skills. The job is getting harder for the employment service
:32:23. > :32:26.and we need to get more sophisticated as to how we deliver
:32:27. > :32:30.it locally. From what you were saying, how many job centres they
:32:31. > :32:33.are and where they are is actually secondary to perhaps a more
:32:34. > :32:37.imaginative way of doing these things, which is what you seem to be
:32:38. > :32:40.suggesting. I think there is an opportunity with the election to
:32:41. > :32:44.press pause on these ideas, to longer term and think about what's
:32:45. > :32:49.the best way to deliver a really important service in lots of
:32:50. > :32:50.different parts of the country. We will still need physical job
:32:51. > :32:56.centres, but whether those are shared with other public services is
:32:57. > :32:59.up for grabs. I think we should go further in that direction. What is
:33:00. > :33:03.important is people have face to face advice as well as the support
:33:04. > :33:07.if they can use it at the right time. Thank you very much indeed.
:33:08. > :33:10.MSPs have voted to condemn the changes to child tax credits.
:33:11. > :33:12.They're calling for the UK Government to remove
:33:13. > :33:14.the two-child cap and scrap the so-called rape clause.
:33:15. > :33:17.In a debate at Holyrood yesterday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
:33:18. > :33:22.described the exemption as "abhorrent".
:33:23. > :33:24.But the Conservatives said Nicola Sturgeon had the power
:33:25. > :33:33.I think, while I oppose many of these benefit cuts, I think this one
:33:34. > :33:37.in particular and the rape clause that flows from it is definitely
:33:38. > :33:41.going too far in the wrong direction. But it is the sort of
:33:42. > :33:45.policy we have come to expect from this government. But the
:33:46. > :33:51.implications of this policy, as the rape clause so vividly illustrates,
:33:52. > :33:55.are truly apparent. The very need to provide an exemption from the two
:33:56. > :33:59.child cap for women who have been raped shows the callousness of these
:34:00. > :34:03.cuts in the first place. No woman anywhere should have to prove that
:34:04. > :34:10.she has been raped in order to get tax credits for her child. And I
:34:11. > :34:13.can't believe that in 2017 I am having to stand up in the Scottish
:34:14. > :34:22.Parliament and make that argument. APPLAUSE
:34:23. > :34:29.But this policy isn't just immoral, although it definitely is, it's also
:34:30. > :34:33.unworkable in practice. The proposal for third-party verification puts an
:34:34. > :34:39.unacceptable burden on health workers, crisis centres and
:34:40. > :34:42.officials from the Department for Work and Pensions. Rape Crisis
:34:43. > :34:46.Scotland, Scotland's women's aid and many others have refused to collude
:34:47. > :34:51.with this clause, quite rightly. That is one of the reasons why
:34:52. > :34:55.although it has passed into law, no one in the UK Government is able to
:34:56. > :34:58.explain how it will work in practice. I'm sorry to say that on
:34:59. > :35:03.this issue to many people have not been clear with the facts. I've
:35:04. > :35:06.heard members of this chamber say on television that women must complete
:35:07. > :35:12.an eight page form in order to receive this exemption, and this is
:35:13. > :35:21.simply not correct. The third-party professionals... SPEAKER: Order
:35:22. > :35:28.force of the member is not taking interventions. Ms Davidson.
:35:29. > :35:32.It is important that we are not wilfully misrepresenting the process
:35:33. > :35:37.here causing fear and alarm. So let me outline this again. Let me
:35:38. > :35:42.outline it to the chamber once again. The woman writes her name and
:35:43. > :35:45.a third-party professional who is helping the mother is asked to set
:35:46. > :35:51.up the rest and this third-party model already exists in the benefit
:35:52. > :35:53.system to support victims of domestic violence.
:35:54. > :35:58.Powers over welfare and the taxation to pay for decisions were demanded
:35:59. > :36:04.and transferred precisely so that devolved Scottish governments could
:36:05. > :36:07.make different choices. For my own part I will continue to
:36:08. > :36:12.monitor the way in which this works on the ground.
:36:13. > :36:16.And the First Minister and her ministers use strong words like
:36:17. > :36:19.shameful and she has the power to act and if she chooses strong words
:36:20. > :36:23.but chooses not to act then that would indeed be shameful.
:36:24. > :36:28.So we will continue to monitor this and I will move the amendment that
:36:29. > :36:32.is in my name. For ten years the Tory government at Westminster has
:36:33. > :36:36.slashed our valued social security system in a deliberate act of
:36:37. > :36:40.sabotage and the question I would put it Ruth Davidson, if she had
:36:41. > :36:43.bothered to take any interventions, is a question of judgment. Tell us
:36:44. > :36:46.why rape victims have to pay the price of the deficit while you give
:36:47. > :36:54.tax cuts to the richest people in our society. Ruth Davidson in a
:36:55. > :37:02.desperate defence of the indefensible asks that we look at
:37:03. > :37:07.welfare reform in the round. Let's, of the ?26 billion of cuts that
:37:08. > :37:11.would have been implement it between 2010 and 2020, 80 6% will have been
:37:12. > :37:17.taken from women's incomes. That's the context in which we debate this
:37:18. > :37:20.today. A policy necessity whereby women must actively prove to an
:37:21. > :37:24.employee of the state or a third-party that they been raped,
:37:25. > :37:26.such policy has no place in civilised society.
:37:27. > :37:33.Well let's cross to Holyrood now where I'm joined by some MSPs.
:37:34. > :37:35.This week we have Jenny Gilruth from the SNP,
:37:36. > :37:42.Bryan Waddle for the Scottish Conservatives.
:37:43. > :37:46.it's Daniel Johnson, for the Scottish Greens we're joined
:37:47. > :37:49.by Ross Greer and Alex Cole-Hamilton is from the Scottish Lib Dems.
:37:50. > :37:57.When I talked to Jackson Carlo about this at the weekend he defended this
:37:58. > :38:01.policy on two children but said the rape clause was, as he described it,
:38:02. > :38:04.awkward. If it's that awkward why and you either say as the Scottish
:38:05. > :38:09.Conservatives that you want the policy reversed and you want the cap
:38:10. > :38:14.abolished, and start lobbying Theresa May's government to do that?
:38:15. > :38:18.There is a genuine debate to be had here and a genuine debate around
:38:19. > :38:22.Child tax credit is one that should be had in the Parliament and union
:38:23. > :38:29.yesterday's debate detracted from that. What disappoints me is the
:38:30. > :38:33.comment has been called a rape clause, it is not a rape clause,
:38:34. > :38:36.it's an exemption clause. By approaching it in this way the way
:38:37. > :38:39.the chamber did yesterday was a detraction from what should be a
:38:40. > :38:47.proper debate and a real debate that should be had. You are not answering
:38:48. > :38:50.my fundamental point. Any policy, no matter how justifiable otherwise,
:38:51. > :38:54.which ends up requiring the sort of tests for women who have been raped,
:38:55. > :38:59.is a very bad policy that no one should have come up with place.
:39:00. > :39:03.Again, I will say to you, there is a debate to be had here around and
:39:04. > :39:06.Limitation of a policy. But I still come back to the fact that there is
:39:07. > :39:13.a debate to be had around tax credit. There are two polarised
:39:14. > :39:16.views. You can go from anywhere from nothing to everyone. That debate
:39:17. > :39:19.should be had. If we are going to have a debate around how it isn't
:39:20. > :39:23.limited, if we are going to debate how we are going to implement it
:39:24. > :39:27.with women who have gone through this horrendous ordeal, that is a
:39:28. > :39:31.legitimate debate. But to me yesterday's debate just took away
:39:32. > :39:35.from where the real quality of debate should be. When you say it is
:39:36. > :39:38.a legitimate debate, are you suggesting that at least you
:39:39. > :39:43.personally, if not the Scottish Conservatives, would oppose the
:39:44. > :39:49.so-called rape clause? It is an exemption, it is not a rape clause.
:39:50. > :39:53.If we are going to cap child tax credit you need to have an
:39:54. > :39:56.exemption. That is a debate so the debate should not be around the
:39:57. > :40:03.so-called rape clause or exemption clause, the debate should be around
:40:04. > :40:06.the two-child tax credit. Is not just about what the SNP should do,
:40:07. > :40:10.if you feel strongly about it you should be opposing your own
:40:11. > :40:13.government in London. I didn't say I was strongly against it, I said we
:40:14. > :40:19.should have debate in the chamber about the two-child tax credit. We
:40:20. > :40:22.didn't have a debate about it, we had a debate about what the SNP are
:40:23. > :40:26.calling a rape clause and that's the wrong thing, a detracted from the
:40:27. > :40:32.real debate. Jenny Gilruth, can we swing around to you. I haven't asked
:40:33. > :40:37.question yet. The question is, it's within the power of the Scottish
:40:38. > :40:42.Government simply to not implement the two-child cap in Scotland, so
:40:43. > :40:45.why not do that? It is not the job of the Scottish Government to
:40:46. > :40:51.mitigate against Tory austerity. I'm sorry, it is the job, you did that
:40:52. > :40:54.on the bedroom tax so why not on this? What you saw yesterday was the
:40:55. > :40:58.Parliament coming together and the Tories are on the back foot on this,
:40:59. > :41:01.the whole parliament has come together against this barbaric
:41:02. > :41:05.clause. You talked about a debate, we didn't have a debate, none of the
:41:06. > :41:08.Tories took interventions, they were a message and toed the party line
:41:09. > :41:11.but none of them could look as in the face. They were clearly
:41:12. > :41:20.embarrassed and it was an appalling date for the Parliament and not a
:41:21. > :41:22.good day for democracy in Scotland either. There was no attempt to
:41:23. > :41:28.argue back. You still haven't answered, guided my question --
:41:29. > :41:32.answered my question. It is not the job of the SNP to mitigate Tory
:41:33. > :41:36.policies. If you are that opposed you simply won't implement it.
:41:37. > :41:40.Yesterday was an opportunity for the Conservative Party to stand up and
:41:41. > :41:44.be counted and say it was not in the name. What about you? It was not an
:41:45. > :41:48.opportunity for the Scottish Government to legislate, it was a
:41:49. > :41:51.chance to unify against Tory austerity being imposed upon us. You
:41:52. > :41:55.haven't answered my question, if you feel that strongly, and you are not
:41:56. > :41:58.trying to score political points, don't implement the policy, you have
:41:59. > :42:03.the powerful top that is not what the debate was about yesterday. Do
:42:04. > :42:06.you think the Scottish Government should refuse to implement the
:42:07. > :42:09.policy? That is up to the Scottish Government. What do you think?
:42:10. > :42:13.Yellow Medinah post to it and my party has made our position clear.
:42:14. > :42:23.You think it should not be implemented? -- I'm opposed to it.
:42:24. > :42:27.It is abhorrent. I presume labour is against not just the so-called rape
:42:28. > :42:34.clause, but against the policy per se. It is a terrible policy. The
:42:35. > :42:39.arbitrariness of the two-child rule on child credits is wrong, the rape
:42:40. > :42:43.clause amplifies what is a sorry situation and I think the Tories'
:42:44. > :42:47.position is really sorry. They tried to hide behind differences in
:42:48. > :42:53.meaning and words but the reality is that people who have been through an
:42:54. > :42:58.horrendous ordeal are having to self identify and nominate a bit of paper
:42:59. > :43:01.bureaucracy. It is horrific. The other side of this is if you are
:43:02. > :43:04.going to reform the welfare system at all, and for example, although he
:43:05. > :43:08.didn't get round to doing much about it, Tony Blair was almost always
:43:09. > :43:15.vary in favour of the last Labour government but one doing that. There
:43:16. > :43:18.will be different difficult issues to address. Have you no sympathy
:43:19. > :43:21.with the position of the Conservative government that, OK,
:43:22. > :43:26.you have criticised specific measure, but almost anything you do
:43:27. > :43:30.to reform the welfare system, issues like this arise? They don't have to
:43:31. > :43:34.rise like this. Tax credits were the creation of the Labour government,
:43:35. > :43:38.they were about making work pay. They are a real achievement and we
:43:39. > :43:41.are seeing it dismantled by this Tory government in the most
:43:42. > :43:46.heartless and cruel way. I think the rape clause just exemplifies that.
:43:47. > :43:50.Ross Greer, is that the side of your head? It is the side of your head
:43:51. > :43:53.icy. Do you think the Scottish Government should do what I
:43:54. > :43:56.suggested to Jenny Gilruth, they should do if they are being honest
:43:57. > :44:00.in their rhetoric, and not implement it? It is two different things,
:44:01. > :44:05.mitigating and not implementing, we should look at how we can mitigate
:44:06. > :44:09.it in Scotland but Jenny was correct in saying the Scottish Parliament
:44:10. > :44:12.doesn't just exist to act as a last line of defence against terrible
:44:13. > :44:16.Conservative polities in Westminster, it's about making
:44:17. > :44:23.people's lives better and not fighting a rearguard action against
:44:24. > :44:27.something like the rape clause. You keep saying it is not the Scottish
:44:28. > :44:30.Parliament's job to mitigate Tory cuts. Matzoh people in Scotland and
:44:31. > :44:35.England will agree with what the Conservative government is doing --
:44:36. > :44:40.a lot of people. You are mocking that, they genuinely do. It is
:44:41. > :44:42.horrific and if anyone agrees that the victims of rape should give
:44:43. > :44:46.anonymity for a bit of paperwork they are defending a horrific
:44:47. > :44:50.policy. The Scottish Parliament will have control over 50% of Social
:44:51. > :44:55.Security, not the whole welfare system. Any money that we spend on
:44:56. > :44:59.that comes out of another budget -- 15%. This is a perfect policy from
:45:00. > :45:05.the Tories that will give up anonymity for rape victims and if
:45:06. > :45:12.they still live with the rapist they cannot get out of this. Brian is
:45:13. > :45:15.waffling about something else. The two-child child tax credit. If you
:45:16. > :45:21.look at countries where there are Tambe policies, China, Iran and the
:45:22. > :45:27.UK, do we want to be on that list? -- two-child policies. It is
:45:28. > :45:31.disgraceful from the Conservatives. Alex Cole-Hamilton, and then we will
:45:32. > :45:35.move on. You were in government with the Conservatives. Is this one of
:45:36. > :45:38.the things you think you would have stop them doing? We did stop them
:45:39. > :45:42.doing this, that is the untold story of coalition, all of the things that
:45:43. > :45:45.didn't make it to the statute book thanks to the intervention of the
:45:46. > :45:48.Liberal Democrats blocking ideological changes to things like
:45:49. > :45:52.the child tax credit system that the Tories wanted to introduce and the
:45:53. > :45:56.two-child cap came up under our coalition regime and we stopped it
:45:57. > :45:59.because it is barbaric. You don't make social policy based on an
:46:00. > :46:03.upward limit to the child-bearing because inevitably if you did then
:46:04. > :46:07.by necessity you would have a precondition that was an exemption
:46:08. > :46:12.of rape clause. If you have a policy that leads you to then have women
:46:13. > :46:16.prove to you either to an employee of the state or a third party that
:46:17. > :46:21.they were raped such a policy has no place in our society. This is now
:46:22. > :46:26.law, right? It is coming in, yes, as it is, in April. I think Jenny
:46:27. > :46:30.Gilruth should take a stand and do what they can to mitigate it. It is
:46:31. > :46:35.interesting the Scottish Government choose to call in Westminster to
:46:36. > :46:38.stop it. But yes this is further evidence of the Scottish Government
:46:39. > :46:41.being unwilling to use the powers that it and other parties have
:46:42. > :46:45.fought hard fought for the introduction of further devolution
:46:46. > :46:48.to the Scottish Parliament. Daniel Johnson, do you think the Scottish
:46:49. > :46:52.Government should intervene to stop this happening appear? Well, look,
:46:53. > :46:58.first and foremost, we have to look at just how cruel this policy is.
:46:59. > :47:01.But absolutely, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament
:47:02. > :47:05.as the powers, we fought hard for those powers so we can make
:47:06. > :47:08.different decisions. Standing on the sidelines wringing your hands and
:47:09. > :47:12.saying isn't the Tory government awful and doing nothing about it is
:47:13. > :47:19.frankly reckless. Luck, I know this is a serious issue and feelings are
:47:20. > :47:22.running very high. This is about to go into law and it must have been in
:47:23. > :47:26.the process of going through four weeks if not months now. It does
:47:27. > :47:31.seem slightly odd it has only become a huge issue now there is a general
:47:32. > :47:41.election being called. I don't think that's fair, it has been an issue
:47:42. > :47:46.for months. Other as MPs have been taking -- MSPs have been taking it
:47:47. > :47:54.up. MSPs have been talking about this. Brian Whittle, it's my fault.
:47:55. > :47:58.All I will say is your point, it's interesting this has been in statute
:47:59. > :48:03.for over 18 months and it is only now coming to the fore. I don't know
:48:04. > :48:07.what is different now to the last 18 months but all I can think of is
:48:08. > :48:12.there happens to be an election. Jenny Gilruth, what about that
:48:13. > :48:16.point? There has been campaigning on this issue for two years and it has
:48:17. > :48:19.been a huge issue for my party nationally, while you might think it
:48:20. > :48:22.is a defining issue in the election you might be correct but we are
:48:23. > :48:26.aware we are. We were told by one of Brian's bosses this is not the time
:48:27. > :48:28.and now it is the time so it is becoming a defining issue for the
:48:29. > :48:34.Conservatives but it has been an issue for my party for years now.
:48:35. > :48:38.Why didn't we have a debate then? We are running out of time, let's have
:48:39. > :48:40.a quick whip round of how many seats you think you will win in the
:48:41. > :48:45.election. LAUGHTER
:48:46. > :48:50.Let's start with you, Brian Whittle. Well, let's put it this way, I've
:48:51. > :48:53.looked at polls over the last couple of years and none have been correct
:48:54. > :48:56.so there is a lot of water to go under the bridge but I am confident
:48:57. > :49:01.we will have a lot more MPs in Parliament that we currently have.
:49:02. > :49:06.You think you are going to win in the UK. But are you confident of
:49:07. > :49:14.having more MPs in Scotland? Yes, I am. Jenny Gilruth, are you going to
:49:15. > :49:18.have 59? Yes, let's hope so, 59, every seat. Is that a forecast or
:49:19. > :49:24.just wishful thinking? We will be fighting hard in every constituency.
:49:25. > :49:29.It is wishful thinking? That is not what I said. Daniel Johnson, one
:49:30. > :49:33.would be good for you. I'm confident we will hold all of the seats we
:49:34. > :49:38.currently hold. Are you really that confident? I am and we have to work
:49:39. > :49:42.hard but Ian Murray is a fantastic MP and I'm quite confident that if
:49:43. > :49:46.we do the work we need to do and we will hold the seat for him and we
:49:47. > :49:54.may surprise with gains. Gain or gains? I used the plural, I always
:49:55. > :49:57.an optimistic person. Ross Greer, there has been some talk, in fact,
:49:58. > :50:03.from some of your leading people about... I mean, you haven't got any
:50:04. > :50:08.seats but the idea is you might in areas for example David Mundell's
:50:09. > :50:11.seat, not stand a Green candidate. Is that something you would be in
:50:12. > :50:16.favour of Orchard the Greens make the effort? That is something for
:50:17. > :50:19.local branches to decide, I don't live in Dumfries, Clydesdale and to
:50:20. > :50:24.Easdale, so I don't have a right to tell them whether to stand in the
:50:25. > :50:29.area. Do the Greens have a policy as to how many seats you will contest?
:50:30. > :50:31.Isn't that a green policy? No, it is each individual branch making the
:50:32. > :50:36.decision whether to stand and wait to stand, for a Democratic Party
:50:37. > :50:39.that is perfectly normal. The next week will be focused on electing
:50:40. > :50:44.green councils. Pretend you live in that part of the world and give us
:50:45. > :50:49.your opinion. My branch convener in Dumfries may be watching and for me
:50:50. > :50:54.to tell her what she should be doing is not right. I don't think I've
:50:55. > :50:58.ever heard a political party say it would be disrespectful to comment on
:50:59. > :51:04.whether they should stand in the seats at a general election. It's
:51:05. > :51:08.extraordinary. Yeah... Thanks, Jenny. It is for local branches to
:51:09. > :51:11.decide, we will stand across the country, I don't know how many seats
:51:12. > :51:15.and where the seats are, again, I will repeat it is for the local
:51:16. > :51:21.branches to decide. You asked how many seats, I suspect there will be
:51:22. > :51:32.more than one green MP in Parliament by the 9th of June. More than one
:51:33. > :51:36.Scottish one? I will take that as a no. How many digits for the Liberal
:51:37. > :51:40.Democrats? We will grow in this election, look at my face, this is a
:51:41. > :51:43.momentum election for us and why? We are standing in ground occupied by
:51:44. > :51:47.the majority of Scottish people who want to see Scotland are strong at
:51:48. > :51:50.the heart of the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom strong at the
:51:51. > :51:52.heart of Europe. We are the only party going into the general
:51:53. > :51:58.election promising that mandate and we expect to grow in big numbers and
:51:59. > :52:06.Chris Turner in strength in Scotland and the rest of the UK. This is a
:52:07. > :52:10.great opportunity for us -- -- big numbers in Scotland and across the
:52:11. > :52:16.UK. What sort of number do you think is realistic for the Liberal
:52:17. > :52:19.Democrats. People think you could do well. There is talk of it in the
:52:20. > :52:25.south-west which I think was a pretty Brexit area but some of the
:52:26. > :52:29.Tories who wipe you out last time seemed to be frightened. What sort
:52:30. > :52:32.of figure are you looking at? We got an opinion poll today that borders
:52:33. > :52:40.on 14% across the United Kingdom and the last time we did that we had 57
:52:41. > :52:42.MPs. We have gained 30 by-election victories in council by-elections
:52:43. > :52:45.around the British Isles including in Scotland since May last year and
:52:46. > :52:53.our membership has gone up to over 100000 and we have drawn in ?1.6
:52:54. > :52:56.million worth of cash donations in the last four days. Will Liberal
:52:57. > :52:59.Democrat candidates refrain from making personal promises on tuition
:53:00. > :53:03.fees? LAUGHTER
:53:04. > :53:07.That is highly likely, yes. The shot our viewers have all been waiting
:53:08. > :53:08.for, there you are, all of you looking wonderful standing together.
:53:09. > :53:15.Thank you for joining us. Is there going to be an excitement
:53:16. > :53:22.in the election campaign, do you think? In Scotland, I think there is
:53:23. > :53:30.the potential for it to ignite, more so than in England, because we have
:53:31. > :53:35.the constitutional question which is still dominating and providing the
:53:36. > :53:38.framework for how politics is being conducted and we are still living
:53:39. > :53:44.through that. We're living through this period starting in 2011 when
:53:45. > :53:49.the SNP won an unexpected majority and it is still to settle down. Many
:53:50. > :53:55.of the political issues are being seen through the prism of the
:53:56. > :54:00.Constitution. Do you think Labour... Everyone has said how dismal
:54:01. > :54:05.Labour's prospects are but we haven't even started the campaign
:54:06. > :54:08.yet. Do you think either nationally that Corbyn could perhaps do a bit
:54:09. > :54:13.better than everyone is saying, or up in Scotland, that they could
:54:14. > :54:16.break through everything being seen in terms of the Constitution and
:54:17. > :54:22.make an impact? I think personally speaking Jeremy Corbyn has made
:54:23. > :54:27.quite a solid start, albeit it is early days, to the general election
:54:28. > :54:32.campaign. I suspect a lot of that is rooted in the fact that he enjoys
:54:33. > :54:37.the freedom to be outward facing and not worry about the knives going
:54:38. > :54:41.into his back from his own party. One view is this general election
:54:42. > :54:44.campaign is more his kind of thing than, say, Prime Minister's
:54:45. > :54:50.Questions. Yes and he doesn't have to worry about the people in his own
:54:51. > :54:54.party who are some of his stiffest enemies. Because they will have to
:54:55. > :54:58.gather round. Yes, and in Scotland it's different. One of the papers
:54:59. > :55:06.this morning, I think it was the Herald, predicting via various
:55:07. > :55:10.political academics there will be a complete meltdown for Labour in
:55:11. > :55:14.Glasgow with as low as 15%, the Tories and 25 and the SNP on 50 odd
:55:15. > :55:21.and the other three local authority areas that they control could go
:55:22. > :55:26.too. If that happens I really fear for Labour on June the 8th in
:55:27. > :55:32.Scotland. They have one MP at the moment and it's not fanciful to save
:55:33. > :55:36.a maybe, for the first time ever I think, have no MPs in Scotland on
:55:37. > :55:37.June the 9th. The first time since before the formation of the Labour
:55:38. > :55:39.representation. So Westminster is preparing to break
:55:40. > :55:42.up ahead of the general election - a final word from our correspondent
:55:43. > :55:51.David Porter. What is the mood there, David? The
:55:52. > :55:55.overriding mood, Gordon, is let's get on with it. We had the surprise
:55:56. > :55:58.announcement last week we were having the general election which
:55:59. > :56:02.quite frankly took the vast majority of people by surprise. We then had
:56:03. > :56:07.the procedure of actually allowing Theresa May to call a general
:56:08. > :56:12.election early. Today, if you like, has been sort of the last rites of
:56:13. > :56:16.this Parliament, the last hurrah of this parliament with Prime
:56:17. > :56:20.Minister's Question Time. But the overwhelming view of most MPs and
:56:21. > :56:24.those who are part of the various political machines down here at
:56:25. > :56:28.Westminster is let's get on with things now, let's concentrate on it.
:56:29. > :56:33.You were discussing with Kevin a moment ago the local elections next
:56:34. > :56:36.week. Normally local elections pale into insignificance. But I think
:56:37. > :56:40.because they will be coming in effect just a month or so before the
:56:41. > :56:43.general election, people will be watching them very closely.
:56:44. > :56:47.Certainly the parties will be, and certainly they will be in Scotland.
:56:48. > :56:54.They will be looking at the way votes have been cast, not opinion
:56:55. > :56:56.polls, the way votes have been cast and tailor their campaigns
:56:57. > :57:00.accordingly. Certainly the Scottish MPs I've been speaking to have all
:57:01. > :57:05.said they will be looking very carefully at what happens on May the
:57:06. > :57:09.4th. That is not an opinion poll, that is a real poll where people
:57:10. > :57:13.vote and I think inevitably, as far as the local elections go, people
:57:14. > :57:19.will probably be voting on general election issues. All right, thanks,
:57:20. > :57:25.David. It is important, you refer to it already, Kevin. I heard at the
:57:26. > :57:29.weekend that pretty much the same thing, therefore it must be true,
:57:30. > :57:33.that you are going to have a real poll rather than an opinion poll on
:57:34. > :57:38.May the 4th. If that does happen to the Labour Party, it is almost base
:57:39. > :57:45.camp for them. If the SNP were to take Glasgow,
:57:46. > :57:53.which is one of their top desires for several years now, then with
:57:54. > :57:57.just over a month still to go between May the 4th and June the
:57:58. > :58:06.8th, who knows what sort of momentum that would then give the SNP
:58:07. > :58:10.campaign? It's the momentum of the victorious, it will give them
:58:11. > :58:13.confidence, it will give some individuals confidence, and people
:58:14. > :58:17.like to be associated with winners. What about the Tories? Are they
:58:18. > :58:23.expected to do well? If they get anywhere near what Professor Curtis
:58:24. > :58:27.and his fellows have been saying, which is that they will be up to ten
:58:28. > :58:33.points ahead of Labour in Glasgow, then they will be cock-a-hoop. But
:58:34. > :58:41.remember, in Holyrood, most of the MSPs are thereby virtually of the
:58:42. > :58:42.list and most were overwhelmingly rejected by the voters. They will
:58:43. > :58:45.not have that luxury this time. We will have to leave it there,
:58:46. > :58:48.Kevin. Tune in tomorrow for First
:58:49. > :58:52.Minister's Questions at midday. I'll be back on Sunday with Sunday
:58:53. > :58:55.Politics Scotland - join us then. this super-sized hospital has been
:58:56. > :59:08.transforming lives in Scotland. There's nowhere else in Scotland
:59:09. > :59:17.that could have done