10/03/2018 Scottish Labour Party Conference

Hello and welcome to live coverage

of Scottish Labour's Spring

conference from Dundee. For the

first time, the new leader Richard

Leonard will make his keynote

address. We will bring you that

shortly. The conference has been

dominated by debate about Brexit,

why Labour can't back single market

membership was laid out by UK leader

Jeremy Corbyn.

We are determined to

negotiate a deal, determined to

negotiate a deal that gives us full

tariff free access to the single

market. But divisions are laid bare.

Former Scottish leader Kezia Dugdale

has been saying why we should be in

the single market.

And I will be

here in Dundee itself to bring you

all the very latest from the

conference floor and from the

fringe.

This is the first of our

conference programmes. The beast

from East put paid to our conference

coverage of the Scottish Tories in

Aberdeen last week. I'm delighted to

say we will have all the action live

from the Labour conference in the

Caird Hall in Dundee. As ever, I'm

joined in the studio by Professor

Sir John Curtis. Thank you for

joining us. This is Richard

Leonard's first conference speech as

leader. What do you think he has to

do?

The most obvious and immediate

thing he has to do is try to move

the journalists' attention away from

the row about Brexit that you

referred to, onto himself first of

all, and secondly his plans for

Scotland. Richard Leonard's most

basic problem at the moment is very

few people in Scotland know who he

is. When YouGov recently asked

people whether or not they thought

he was doing well or badly as

Scottish leader, no less than 60%

said, I do not know. I think most of

those 60% were probably replying,

please Richard Leonard. The first

thing is to get himself across. The

second thing is to begin to try to

persuade people that the vision he

has for Scottish Labour, which is

clearly a much more left-wing

message, much closer to Jeremy

Corbyn, is one that can begin to

attract voters. Some evidence that

probably back in June of last year

under Jeremy Corbyn's UK leadership,

the Labour Party in Scotland began

to peel off the more left-wing

element of support for the SNP. He

wants to hang onto that, grow that

constituency. The thing he has to

worry about is the Labour Party lost

a lot of votes last year to the

Conservatives and winning them back

with a more left-wing agenda might

prove more difficult. Much for more

from John later in the programme.

We

can go across live to Brian Taylor

who is in the Caird Hall in Dundee

for the duration. Your assessment of

what Richard Leonard has to do at

this conference, and we always like

to speak about the mood of the

conference in initial discussions.

It secure is mood because there is a

surface unity and calm, but bubbling

beneath that is a very substantial

subject of Brexit and what the party

is going to do, what stands it will

take. I expect Richard Leonard, the

main topic I think will be on

housing. He will talk about rent

controls and ways to make it easier

for tenants so they don't face what

he would describe as extortionate

rents from landlords. It will be a

speech in the classical Labour mould

in that regard. And John is right,

he needs to reach out to all

sections of the party, and I'm sure

he will begin by thanking his

predecessor, Kezia Dugdale, despite

the fact she is now taking a

different stance on the issue of the

single market. I just came from a

fringe meeting where Kezia Dugdale

was speaking, the organisation of

Scottish Labour for the single

market, and she said it adamant that

it's not about factions in the party

or ego, but she was equally adamant

this is an extremely important

topic. At the same fringe, Ian

Murray MP was asked what was

required to get the concept of

membership of the single market into

the bill, the withdrawal bill in the

Commons, otherwise in practical

terms, what's the process. He said

it's quite simple, we have to

convince the Labour front bench.

Much more from Brian Taylor later.

John, let's pick up on this, that

row that has dominated the

conference, about the single market

membership. Just as Brian Taylor

laid out. From the very first

moment, from Thursday night before

conference even started, the

Scottish executive committee met,

that row began. Explain it to us.

The truth is, there has long been

pressure inside the Labour Party

both north and south of the border

for the party to come out in favour

of staying inside the EU single

market. A survey of Labour Party

members recently suggested around

85% of them are in favour of staying

inside the single market. That

internal debate going on for a

while. We had a classic Labour Party

row about procedure. There were some

motions down for debate tomorrow

morning, put forward not least by

Ian Murray's on constituency in

Edinburgh South, saying the Scottish

Labour Party should commit to being

in favour of staying in the single

market. Lo and behold, the Scottish

executive comes along with a motion

that now has priority that basically

doesn't say that and tries to unify

the party behind the idea of staying

inside the customs union but not

this early going to the single

market, although they are not ruling

it out. Those procedural rows

inevitably have a tendency to take

on a life of their own, especially

when we know it's a division inside

the party. It might save Richard

Leonard's face tomorrow morning, but

it's meant his conference has been

dominated by this row that frankly

didn't need a great deal of ignition

for it to take off.

Brian pointed

out that undercurrent is there, that

buzz is around conference, people

were fairly upbeat and there seems

to be a fairly upbeat mood. But that

undercurrent is there, about the

divisions when it comes to...

It's

worth reminding ourselves, compared

to 12 months ago, the Scottish

Labour Party is in a lot better

state. When you and I talked about

the Scottish Labour Party conference

12 months ago, we were talking about

a party that was around 15% in the

opinion polls and looked set for a

pasting in the local elections in

May. It survived the local

elections, with 20% of the vote, it

lost Glasgow and North Lanarkshire

but it did survive. It then gain

some ground in the election last

year, not spectacular, but it gained

ground, and we are now look at a

party at around 25% of the vote, in

competition with the Scottish

Conservatives to be second party in

Scotland. There is a lot to be

relieved that, if not necessarily

happy. But for all parties,

Conservative, Labour, SNP, even the

Liberal Democrats, Brexit is an

internally disruptive issue and all

parties are divided and all parties'

supporters are divided. We know the

majority of people who voted Labour

voted to remain, including around

70% of Scottish Labour voters. The

trouble with the way the party sees

it is that people inside the party

who above all were most likely to

vote to leave, for its most

working-class supporters, and there

is still a big affection inside the

Labour Party for that traditional

core working-class support. One

might want to argue it is taking too

much notice of that. But because its

vote is divided and because the more

Eurosceptic end of its vote among

the more traditional working-class

support, Labour is trying to say as

little as possible about its

position on Brexit, not just in

Scotland but at UK level.

Going back

to Dundee, speaking of the slight

revival in the Labour fortunes, how

much of an element of that is down

to Jeremy Corbyn, do you think? He

said in his speech yesterday that

they are no longer a party of

opposition at Westminster at least.

A fan base, but it's a fan base

within the Labour Party, whether it

extends beyond that to wider

supporters is an entirely different

question.

We have been talking here

about the row about the single

market membership. That has been

unfortunate perhaps for Labour at

their conference, when Richard

Leonard, who will be speaking

shortly, is trying to stamp his

authority on the party.

I don't

think he would see it as stamping

his authority, I think he would see

it as being in tune with the

position adopted by Jeremy Corbyn,

who has been Eurosceptical at many

points in the past. He campaigned

for remain, but some felt he didn't

campaign all that vigorously. He

made a substantial point in his

speech yesterday, saying that he

believes there could be constraints

on a socialist programme of

government, socialist intervention

in industry, nationalisation and

state aid etc, and Kezia Dugdale was

seeking to rebut that at the fringe,

saying there was no evidence to say

the EU would countermand the Labour

Party manifesto. She pointed to

state owned outfits in the railways

in France, Germany and elsewhere.

She didn't believe state aid would

be blocked in the way Jeremy Corbyn

was suggesting. She was arguing that

leaving the single market would be

catastrophic for employment. You

have a very fundamental dispute that

is taking place. It's taking place,

of course, perhaps across fault

lines that emerged during the

leadership competition, that leads

to a suggestion that it is a little

more than just an argument about an

individual issue. In that sense it

could be factional, although I

stress that Kezia Dugdale was

adamant it was not the case. And

Richard Leonard said he welcomes

debate within the party.

We should

hear from Richard Leonard fairly

soon. One final point on the Jeremy

Corbyn speech yesterday. He said

yesterday that they cannot be held

back, inside or outside the EU from

taking the steps they need to

develop. He made a controversial

point, according to some people, of

preventing employers from importing

cheap agency labour to undercut

resident employment and that caused

an argument.

Kezia Dugdale Andy

Murray picked up that at the fringe.

-- and Ian Murray picked up on that,

and they said the only person

laughing at that would-be Nigel

Farage and Ukip.

We will pick up

shortly with John Curtis in the

studio. It caused quite a row, the

comment Jeremy Corbyn made about

importing cheap agency labour.

It

takes us to the heart of the

argument about whether the UK will

remain inside the single market or

not. It's perfectly clear from the

stands taken by the European Union

that the only way we can remain in

the single market, indeed probably

the only way we can get so-called

full access to the single market,

the phrase the UK Labour Party has

been using, is by accepting the

provisions of freedom of movement,

that EU citizens would be continued

to allow to come to the UK to work

without anyone else having a say so.

That was a central issue of the

referendum. It's undoubtedly a

crucial issue that led to a narrow

majority vote in favour of leave.

Because the Labour Party knows that

quite a significant proportion of

its voters are concerned about

immigration, therefore that is one

of the reasons why Jeremy Corbyn is

taking the stance that he is,

because at the end of the day, he

realises that single market

membership means free movement. He

has other concerns as well, but I

think in truth that's the reason

that was picked up. On the other

hand, the Scottish Labour MEP

Catherine Sterner said the Labour

Party should stand up and argue in

favour of the benefits of

immigration and take a principled

position. I suspect even a less

Eurosceptic leader than Jeremy

Corbyn might just respond, that's

all well and dandy, but the truth

is, I am hoping to win a UK Labour

election sooner rather than later

and to that extent at least I need

to be aware that there is actually

quite widespread concern about the

levels of immigration in the UK has

experienced in recent years and

therefore I'm not quite sure whether

I want to take such an exposed

position on the issue as you suggest

I should.

John, Richard Leonard will

be making his first conference

speech as leader. But this is a

party that is now in third place at

Holyrood.

It is in third place at

Holyrood, still in third place in

terms of the number of MPs that the

party has at Westminster. And it's

in third place in Scottish local

government. To that extent at least,

it has been a very difficult to

years for the party. But at least in

the wake of the June election, it

began to turn things around. And by

the way, it turned around well Kezia

Dugdale was still leader, but that

bit of history seems to have been

rubbed out. But certainly Richard

Leonard has inherited a party that

at least has some chance of getting

back into second place from the

falls to third place it has recently

experienced.

We can go live to the

Caird Hall in Dundee where we are

about to hear from Richard Leonard,

at least I think he was being

introduced and we should go in very

shortly to hear from him. Just being

introduced by Maria Fyfe, a former

Labour MP, and he will give a

keynote address, the first time

Richard Leonard will speak to the

party in his position as Scottish

Labour leader after winning.

APPLAUSE

Thanks, conference. Can I begin by

saying just how humbling it is to be

introduced by Maria and Susie? Maria

represents everything great about

the Scottish Labour Party and Suzy.

Suzy represents everything great

about the future of the Scottish

Labour Party.

Labour Party. Comrades and friends,

it is wonderful to be back in

Dundee, a city which has always been

at the heart of the Labour movement

in Scotland, from Mary Brooks back

to Margaret Irwin. From Alexander

Wilkie to the Timex workers, whose

heroic struggle and bitter defeat

exactly a quarter of a century ago

we mark this year and we should

never forget. Well, it has been a

while, conference since we have seen

a map of Scotland on our television

screens covered in so much red as we

did chewing the storm forecasts of

last week. -- during the storm

forecasts.

APPLAUSE

It is little wonder that Tories took

one look and cancel their

conference.

conference. Well, let me say, at the

very start this afternoon, that's my

ambition, our aim, our task, is to

paint that map of Scotland read

again at the next election.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-- red. But the beast from the East

served to reminders that in the

teeth of adversity, Scotland is a

country which puts community first,

where people look out for their

neighbours, for their friends and

for their families. Conference that

this is my first conference as your

leader and I want to begin by

banking Kezia for her leadership and

technology during the most turbulent

political times. -- banking. Kezia,

I want to thank you will

. I said when I stood that now is

the time for real change, real

change. And and for the Scottish

Labour Party. This conference is a

springboard for that change and I

want to thank you all for the

contributions you were making here

this weekend. No one single person

on their own can bring about the

scale of transformational change

that the people of Scotland need. We

are the Labour Party and we do it

together and we will stand or fall

together as well.

APPLAUSE

So, let us unite and not simply for

the sake of unity but Unite for the

sake of renewed unity of purpose and

for the sake of all of those people

in all of those communities who

don't just need a strong Labour

opposition but who need a strong

Scottish Labour government. And we

need to be united now more than

ever, precisely because our society

is more deeply divided now more than

ever. You know, over 40% of our old

age pensioners are living in fuel

poverty this winter, forced to

choose between heating and eating.

Many of us in this hall have

relatives and neighbours making that

decision every morning this winter.

And I know, from the 20 years I've

spent as the organiser of the GMB's

type members section in Scotland,

the harsh reality of what living

from week to week in pensioner

poverty really means. Now some of

those pensioners are here at this

conference today, like Jimmy Miller,

still walked of the union and now a

North Ayrshire Labour councillor. --

aced all walked -- a stalwart. Sadly

some are not here like Betty Worden,

a Labour Party member in Springburn

who just passed away a few days ago.

We will miss her, I will miss her.

But the best way to honour Betty's

memory is to keep on fighting for

the causes that she believed in.

the causes that she believed in. So,

I pledge today that I will keep on

fighting for the eradication once

and for all of pensioner poverty,

for dignity in retirement and a new

deal for Scotland's pensioners. I

can give you this cast iron

guarantee as well that this Labour

Party will fight every inch of the

way any move by the SNP to cut our

concessionary travel scheme for the

over 60s.

APPLAUSE

But it is not just our elderly who

need Labour's support. The number of

children growing up in poverty in

Scotland is rising and the real

scandal, the real scandal is that

70% of them are brought up in

households where at least one adult

is in work. All of this comes, all

of this property comes, in the midst

of plenty. In Scotland today, the

richest 1% own more personal wealth

than the whole of the poorest 50%

put together. That should anger us

as socialists but it should offend

our sense of morality as a nation as

well. I will tell you this, the rich

are only so rich because the pool

are so poor.

are so poor. -- poor. So, it should

jolt us into action because it is a

sign of just how urgently we need to

change the imbalance of wealth but

also the imbalance of power in our

economy. So, this really is no time

to tinker around the edges. I tell

you this, we cannot simply manage

our way out of those great social

and economic ills which confront us,

any more than we, as a party, can

simply manage our way back into

power. So, this afternoon, I want to

leave you with this message, that

our party's mission under my

leadership is not simply to secure a

parent distribution of wealth from

the existing economic system, it is

to fundamentally change the existing

economic system. -- a fairer

distribution.

APPLAUSE

Because, I tell you, in Allston 70,

that is the only way to end the

stark inequality of wealth and power

that confronts us in Scotland today.

The Scottish Labour mission is to

face the future and to bring about

real change will stop real change to

that system and its decaying values.

Real change to that imbalance of

power and the real change in the

priorities of Scottish politics,

with their new-found sense of

urgency to give the people of

Scotland hope out of despair.

Conference, it is just over 100 days

since I was elected leader of the

Scottish Labour Party. I have used

that time to pursue our goal of real

and radical change in favour of the

many. My very first act was to join

the workers at the

the workers at the gates of... It

was a statement of intent about how

we would act as a party and how we

would act as a movement. If the

Scottish Labour Party cannot support

a group of workers in the fight of

their lives for their jobs, what is

our purpose?

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

In my first week, I also stood

shoulder to shoulder with

firefighters who are lobbying

Parliament to stop cuts, cuts to our

Fire And Rescue Services. I have

campaigned on the streets of town

centres with capital at unite to

oppose Royal Bank of Scotland branch

closures and I joined picket lines

to back university workers in their

struggle to defend their pensions

because, while we may challenge

injustice in the Parliament, we will

always challenge it on the streets

of Scotland and in our workplaces as

well because that is what we do and

that is what I have done throughout

my working life. There is one person

in particular whose struggle I want

to share with you. The very first

employment tribunal case I pursued

as a union organiser was an equal

pay claim. Yvonne Trotter was the

head chef at recitals dockyard. We

discovered that she was being paid

£2 an hour less than her major

predecessor. We won her case.

predecessor. We won her case. Yvonne

then had to make a sex

discrimination claim because, in

pursuing equal pay, she was

victimised and made redundant. We

won her case.

APPLAUSE

And, incredibly, conference, not

long afterwards, I had to represent

Yvonne again in another equal pay

claim because, in her very next job,

she discovered that a male chef

doing the same job was paid a higher

hourly rate. That male chef

incidentally was her husband, Dave.

And we won her case again.

But, you know a few weeks ago, I met

up with Yvonne again for the first

time in about 20 years. Thankfully

this time she had no equal pay

claims but she did tell me that she

was a Waspi women. One of hundreds

of thousands of women losing out

financially because of unfair

pension changes brought in by the

Tories. Yet, she said to me, in a

quieter moment when we met, she

said, in the end, the fight goes out

of you. But my message to Yvonne is

the same now as it was the first

time we met and it is the same

message I sent out to all of those

of you who are struggling out there.

Do not give up, I will not give up.

We, in this movement, will never

give up fighting for you.

APPLAUSE

Because this Labour movement and

this Labour Party was established to

take on those fights, to fight

injustice and win equality and that

is what, under my leadership with

renewed vitality and conviction we

will do again.

will do again. Because our job is to

give people confidence. It is to

raise hope and, sometimes, it is to

overcome fear. That is what this

movement does and that is what this

party will do. Equality should be at

the heart of everything we do and

should be at the heart of all that

we stand for. But there have been

times when we have failed to live up

to that simple and enduring value.

As a result, we have let people

down. So there are changes we need

to make to our party. Black, Asian

and minority ethnic members face a

constant battle against

discrimination and racism in their

daily lives. They should not have to

face it in our party.

APPLAUSE

So, I am delighted that conference

has passed the interim report on how

we will support our members, how we

will not only

will not only tackle -- have zero

tolerance towards any harassment

orders, nation that how we will also

promote equality and diversity in

our party because, when it comes to

eradicating inequality, Scottish

Labour will listen to all voices and

we will act on educating our members

and mobilising our movement.

Conference...

Conference, we have an old fight on

our hands. Social ills we thought

had been dealt with once and for all

our back thanks to Tory austerity.

The weather of the last few weeks

has been atrocious. But for those of

us in this hall we have, I expect,

been lucky enough to close our doors

and stay warm. Imagine not having

that option. Imagine having to sleep

rough on the streets, the streets of

this city or any other, on a hard,

frozen pavement, or in a shop

doorway. Too many people in Scotland

don't have to imagine it. Rough

sleeping is all too real. But this

party knows that it doesn't have to

be this way. It was Labour in the

Scottish Parliament that introduced

world beating homelessness

legislation. But through the years

of Tory austerity and brutal welfare

cuts, and the years of SNP

complacency, rough sleeping is on

the rise again. So tackling the

scandal of homelessness, of rough

sleeping, of soaring rents, of too

few affordable homes, lies at the

very heart of our plans to change

Scotland. I have already secured a

commitment from the Scottish

Government to review not only the

scale of rough sleeping in Scotland,

but to consider at last a total ban

on winter elections. -- winter

evictions.

And I can today announce that in

parliament we have begun work to

introduce a new rent restrictions

act, a Mary Barbour law.

act, a Mary Barbour law. To protect

tenants and to control rents exactly

as I pledged to do in my leadership

campaign. The Mary Barbour law will

regulate the private rented sector

to ensure that no one, no one, is

forced to rent a home that pushes

them into poverty, or falls below

the standards needed to protect

their physical and mental

well-being. I passionately believe

that a home is a basic, fundamental

human rights. APPLAUSE

And that's why a future Scottish

Labour government would ensure

access to a safe, secure, habitable

and affordable home. In my view,

it's a government's obligation to

the people to guarantee everyone,

making sure everyone can exercise

those rights to live in security, to

live in peace, and to live in

dignity. But in Scotland today,

almost one in ten households are

currently waiting for public

housing. In this city of Dundee

alone, over 7000 households are on

the waiting list. When Scottish

Labour was last in power we built

61,000 homes for rent in Scotland.

And when we gain power again, we

will build again. Not only by

funding local housing associations,

not only by stimulating housing

co-operatives, which we will do, but

by restoring powers to local

councils as well. APPLAUSE

So, let me be clear, under a future

Scottish Labour government, we will

start building council houses again.

APPLAUSE

Building more public homes, tackling

rip-off rents and agency fees, will

create better homes for bringing up

our children. It will reduce the

cost pressures of housing, and it

will provide a supply of sheltered

housing too, which will be in

growing demand with our ageing

populations. And of course, building

more houses means we can boost to

local economies and generate local

jobs. But we need it to be funded in

an open and transparent way. Pension

funds seek low-risk investments with

reasonable return, making them

perfect for long-term finance

projects. Scottish local government

pension funds hold £42 billion worth

of assets. So investment in public

housing is a logical next step. What

is needed then is the political will

to secure the economic

transformation that Scotland's

needs. And frankly, we are not

prepared to wait until 2021 for real

change. We are taking the fight to

the SNP now. So we propose an

anti-austerity budget, which would

halt cuts to lifeline services.

Invest in the NHS. Tackle child

poverty by raising child benefit,

and fully fund a pay rise for public

sector workers, including those in

local government. APPLAUSE

Because, I tell you, public sector

workers should stop paying the price

for a crisis they did not create.

APPLAUSE

And this anti-austerity budget would

be paid for by a social

responsibility allowance, a tourist

tax, a land value tax on vacant

land, and, yes, by raising the top

rate of income tax so those with the

broadest shoulders bare the biggest

burden. Because there is nothing

wrong of the old socialist

wrong of the old socialist visible,

-- socialist

they can also lead the way in the

fight against poverty and inequality

too. But they are starved of their

resources, stripped of their powers

and forced to shed their staff by

this SNP government. In education

alone, we have seen the cuts, cuts

in teacher numbers, cuts in support

staff members, and we have seen the

rise of parents being asked to buy

textbooks for their children. Even

to fill teacher vacancies

themselves. And we still have an

abiding educational attainment gap

that refuses to narrow, while the

curriculum does just that, closing

down our children's options. Labour

would offer real change in our

education service. Scotland needs a

year-round, all age, flexible

childcare system. It needs local

councils to be able to protect

education spending. It needs school

teachers do feel respected and

valued. It needs a college system

that offers fully funded bursaries

and financially supports students,

instead of one which cuts student

places in a move which, let me say,

is frankly anti-working class.

APPLAUSE

And it needs a university education

system which is based upon access

according to merit, where there is

no privilege gap. And where the

poorest students no longer rack up

the highest debts. Our three

emergency services are also under

attack from austerity. Our Scottish

Fire and Rescue Service must have

the resources it needs to keep

people safe. And protecting people

and keeping them safe should also be

the priority for our police service.

And Scottish Labour is clear, the

role of the Scottish Ambulance

Service as the appropriate to all

medical emergency calls, must be

maintained. APPLAUSE

We have seen in just these last few

weeks how much we depend on our

emergency services. And once again,

how much we depend on our national

health service. Yet, in the last

year, we have seen GP shortages

rise. Nursing vacancies rocket, and

Ward closures forced on local

communities. That is why the

Scottish budget we propose this year

would have meant an extra £100

million for our NHS, and we know

that represents money well invested.

Invested in the doctors, nurses,

expert health staff, porters,

cleaners and catering staff as well.

All of whom battled their way

through snow and storms to make sure

they were there to care for us when

we needed them, and who would do the

same day in, day out, night in,

night out, so Scottish Labour says

thanks to all of you. APPLAUSE

But, you know, words of appreciation

are not enough. And that is why we

will fight to make sure that the pay

rise our NHS workers deserve is paid

up in full, and we will fight it

sure it is not paid for by more cuts

to NHS services. And that is why a

Scottish Labour government will also

move to cap the profits that private

agencies make in our health service.

Investing instead to attract and

retain the staff that we need to

benefit the patients as well as the

workforce. And that is why we have

set up a workforce commission led by

my friend Anas Sarwar to find a

long-term solution to the workforce

crisis in our NHS. And behalf of

this whole conference, I want to

thank Anas for all his hard work on

the National Health Service.

APPLAUSE

Conference, it is not just public

sector wages which have stagnated

and stalled. It is Scotland's whole

economy. Which is growing three

times slower than the rest of the

UK. It is a low-wage and a low

output economy. Built on the

quicksand of precarious work,

zero-hours contracts, agency work

and umbrella companies. The SNP is

complacent. They tell us the

foundations of Scotland's economy

remains strong. And short time fixed

term contract work is what people

want. But let me tell you about

someone I know. Over the last 12

months, he has worked in Grangemouth

and was then made redundant. He then

worked for an umbrella company

laying pipes for Scottish water. He

was paid off when the contract ended

last spring. He finished last year

working for but he was paid from

their last month. During the last

year, when he was out of work

between contracts, he would

sometimes drive a taxi. Scrimping

and saving to make ends meet. His

wife works, but they have a mortgage

to pay, two kids, one still at

school. So right now, he's back on

the taxis. He is a hard worker, he

wants to work, and he wants to find

secure work. I know him because he's

my brother-in-law. And his life is

all too typical. Of what work is

like for too many people in Tory

Britain and SNP Scotland in 2018.

APPLAUSE

And that is why I am absolutely

determined to bring about real

change, to end this insecurity in

the labour market. And it's also why

I am angry. Angry about the

callousness of the Tories, but angry

as well about the complacency of the

SNP.

Our economy needs less market and

more planning. Less short termism

and more long-term, sustainable

development. These issues have been

with us for too long already. But

they now assume a new urgency with

Brexit. The Scottish parliament's

primary purpose should always have

been economic transformation.

Tackling the underlying weaknesses

of the Scottish economy. Not least,

the massive growth in overseas

ownership of our industry, which is

now a third of our economy. But

given Brexit, there must be

redoubled and renewed sense of

urgency. A new determination that we

begin economic transformation now.

There are still too many countries

where there is no freedom of speech

and no democracy, where trade unions

are banned, where a conference like

this would be illegal. These

freedoms had to be fought for, so we

should not treat them likely and so,

by the same token, if there is a

referendum, which we have agreed to,

on terms and on a franchise which we

have agreed to, then we have to

accept the result of that

referendum.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Because, in the end, we're not just

socialists, we aren't democratic

socialists. And I have to say this,

but if it comes down to a choice

between the sovereignty of the

market and the sovereignty of the

people, I choose the sovereignty of

the people every time.

APPLAUSE

But, right now, we have on the one

hand the Tory government which wants

to turn its back on the single

market of the European Union and an

SNP government on the other, which

wants to turn its back on the single

market of the UK, which is worth

four times as much to Scotland as

the EU. So it is only the Labour

Party which is proposing barrier

free access to both and that is the

position which Keir Starmer and

Jeremy Corbyn have set out. Labour's

six key tests must be at the heart

of any deal put to the UK Parliament

and Jeremy Corbyn is right on this

as well, we must have a new customs

union with our European neighbours,

so wherever you stand that don't

look back in anger, let's keep our

options open, to get the best deal

that we can for the future. And

letters not forget either that it is

with the shambolic Tory Party that

the blame for Brexit lies. Their

approach to negotiations is putting

not only our economy but our country

and even the devolution settlement

itself in jeopardy because, here in

Scotland, the SNP cynically uses

that Tory shambles as a way to sow

more division in its never ending

quest for independence. It is only

the Labour Party which stands as a

ball walk against Scottish and

British nationalism.

APPLAUSE

And, conference, let me be

absolutely clear about this. If the

Brexit deal is not right then Labour

will vote down the deal. And let's

get rid of this rotten Tory

government. So, that is why, above

all else, we must stay united

because the United Kingdom needs a

Labour government, it needs Jeremy

Corbyn as Prime Minister and

Scotland needs...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And Scotland needs a Labour

government and it needs a Labour

First Minister. And let me tell you,

conference, I am up for the job.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

But we will not wait for the next

election, or indeed a referendum, to

make the changes that Scotland's

needs. Parliament gives us the

democratic power to bring about

change now. By bringing forward our

own bills, we are already using that

power. Just look at the work of

Claudia Beamish, Herb Bill to ban

onshore fracking in Scotland forced

the Scottish Government to do just

that, protecting the air we breathe,

keep safe the water we drink and

ensuring that we leave our planet

better for future generations. Look

at the work as well... Look at the

work as well of James Kelly full

stop his bill to repeal the

unworkable and divisive football act

will be passed by the Scottish

Parliament next week.

Parliament next week. Look at the

work of Daniel Johnson, whose bill

will protect shop workers and bar

staff from violence and abuse when

they are simply doing their jobs.

And to look at the work of Monica

Lennon, who just two days ago

launched her bill to end period

poverty in Scotland.

poverty in Scotland. Just four

members bills which will radically

improve people's lives will stop and

there is more. In the aftermath of

the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower

fire, David Stewart has launched a

bill to ensure all new social

housing is fitted with sprinklers.

Mark Griffin has already secured

government money to help parents who

face stressful costs when visiting

their premature babies in hospital

gets some recompense. Jenny Marra

has already announced her intention

to bring forward a bill to end the

fees in this city's hospital car

parks. Neil Bibby's makes life are

for tenants and protects jobs in

Scotland's and be a reason and gives

greater protection for consumers,

also known as the nation's beer

drinkers. Neil Findlay... Neil

Findlay...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Neil Findlay aims to prevent MSPs

from holding second jobs were now

supposed to be serving the people of

Scotland. -- when they are supposed.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So, to those who say the Labour

Party cannot make real change while

in opposition, I say you are wrong.

Think how much more we could do if

we were in government. Conference,

Scottish Labour is also the only

party which has developed an

industrial strategy for Scotland.

So, we don't just say we would spend

a bit more on infrastructure or

offer a few more subsidies to

business, or simply that we would be

a better management team that the

SNP are running the economy,

although I am sure that we would. We

have a radical strategy which puts

full employment at its heart, ending

a decade of SNP complacency about

real unemployment and ending in

secure work. It recommends giving

workers a statutory preferential

right to buy an enterprise when it

is put up for sale or facing

closure. Why on earth shouldn't the

people who create the worst own

wealth they create? -- be wealth.

It supports the development of

co-operatives and would see the

creation of a national energy

company. In our industrial policy,

we want to show people that, through

a new approach to long-term

investment by unleashing innovation

and the ingenuity of working people,

we can herald a renaissance in our

manufacturing industries. We will

seek out new forms, modern ways of

Democratic planning in the economy.

Our strategy will ensure that we

stop once and for all, giving

millions of pounds of public money

in subsidies to exploitative tax

avoiding companies like Amazon down

the road in Dunfermline.

APPLAUSE

And we will ensure as well that we

stop awarding billions of pounds of

public procurement to companies

which don't pay a living wage, which

use zero-hour contracts and which

blacklist workers. So, we meet in

Dundee and we applaud the

redevelopment on the waterfront. But

we condemn the use of a blacklisted

company to do it.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

We aren't the party of Labour, the

party of work, the party of the

trade unions. We are here to change

society to its very economic

foundations. Our vision has always

been to build an economy which works

for the people rather than simply

people working for the economy. That

is why we know that automation will

be a test for us all. In the end, it

is not the new challenge but an old

one. It is the challenge of making

sure that working people benefit

from this fourth Industrial

revolution and are not casualties of

it. That is why we need to be

reactive to economic crises.

Scottish Labour is willing to

intervene and plan and not rely on

voluntary business pledges and the

invisible hand of the market. We

believe trade unions have a huge

task in not only defending members

but planning the economy.

Scottish Labour is the party of jobs

and industry. We are the party of

cooperative development and, yes, we

are the party of public ownership as

well.

APPLAUSE

We believe in an economy as well as

a political system, which is of the

people, by the people and for the

people. The mess we have seen with

the collapse of Carillion confirms

that private contractors carrying

out public contracts exposes too big

a risk to our public services. They

should never be allowed to happen

again. So, let me assure you that

our starting point in Scottish

Labour is to insure that our public

services are there to serve the

Scottish public, not to balance the

sheets -- finance the balance sheets

of wealthy absent shareholders. That

is why I am pleased to report that

we will take Scotland's trade

services back into public ownership

at the earliest opportunity.

APPLAUSE

De privatising public services and

developing public ownership is a

radical change but it will be a

Labour change and it will be a

popular change. Conference, I tell

you why it is vital we need to make

this radical change. There are

grassroots campaigns in this city

and across Tayside, trying to

improve mental health services. This

morning I spoke to fill Welsh. Phil

and his wife, Lesley, have set up a

website dedicated to their son, Lee,

who tragically took his own life on

the 8th of August last year. Phil

told me this morning that Lee and

George Poor mental health on and off

for over nine years. -- enjoyed poor

mental health. This city of Dundee

has a high level of suicides. It is

the biggest killer of young men in

the cities of that that is why today

I am backing the campaign of an

urgent review of mental health

services here in Tayside.

APPLAUSE

Mental health services need to be

put on a stable, financial footing

and front-loaded investment is

needed in prevention services. Put

simply, more funding is needed. So,

here is a suggestion. Why don't you

simply call a halt to the racking up

of extortionate PFI debts which push

local services to the brink and

invest them instead in local, mental

health services? Take Tayside

locally here. £13 million is spent

on two private finance contracts for

mental health facilities which are

simply not delivering for the people

who need them. One contract has

another nine years to run and is

estimated to cost £3 million each

year. The contract for mental health

facilities at the Murray Royal and

other hospitals is expected to pay

out over £300 million over the next

25 years. From speaking to

campaigners, they agree that there

is no time to lose. This is

literally a matter of life and

death. So, I pledge today, under my

leadership, Scottish Labour will go

into the next Holyrood election

committed to signing no new private

finance deals.

APPLAUSE

At a time when the public sector is

facing so many budget cuts, it is

unjust that private companies

through PFI, and, yes, through the

SNP's schemes are raking off

millions of pounds in profits. These

contracts do not provide value for

money. So we will go further. We

will also explore how to bring back

in-house existing contracts, and we

will develop alternative public

sector models for funding which will

save the public money, improve

services, and drive up the working

conditions of those people

delivering those public services.

APPLAUSE

And the same goes for our social

care services. While our NHS has

helped people to live longer, we

have seen a growing reliance on

private providers, caring for our

elderly. But our vision, to

transform social care, to meet the

needs of the future, means we cannot

rely on the market. Already, private

providers are withdrawing, and that

is why we now need real change in

social care. Including the

socialisation of its ownership.

Because that way lies greater

accountability and the better

planning of these services. The care

home sector in Scotland is also in

crisis. Significant reforms are now

needed. Demand is rising. But

because of SNP cuts, council budgets

are being squeezed and the system is

close to collapse. In my view, in

most cases, local councils

themselves may well be the best

provider for this care. APPLAUSE

So I want to make clear today,

Scottish Labour's policy going

forward will not just be to support

the principle of integrated health

and social care, it would be to put

that principle into practice, so we

will prioritise bringing care

contracts back into our local

authorities. APPLAUSE

And for the avoidance of doubt, that

means bringing back care staff, back

into local council employment too.

APPLAUSE

Our vision for Scotland's care

services means we will invest in

making social care profession, with

a career path, and a decent wage, to

recognise the value of this critical

work. And we will make it a public

service. We will make it a public

service with a real future.

Underpinned by our commitment to

build a caring society. So the

Labour Party's job is today, as it

has always been, to set out new

Horizons, to awaken ideas, to raise

consciences, to give people hope

again. And as we look to the future,

the fight ahead to win power demands

our maximum unity and solidarity.

But let us be sustained by the

vision of the society which we are

determined to achieve. We want to

remove the fear of poverty for good.

Tackle persistent unemployment by

building a full employment economy.

Tackle climate change, humanity's

greatest challenge. Provide decent

homes, end rough sleeping. Give

dignity in retirement to the old.

Give opportunities and new horizons

to De Jong and bring about a

renaissance in public ownership. --

to De Jong. We want to set out to

the people of Scotland the biggest

programme of social and economic

reform in the history of the

Scottish Parliament. -- to the

young. APPLAUSE

So let us rededicate ourselves to

our cause of aquatic socialism. Let

us do it with a mixture of old

idealism and new energy. Let us

gather our strength, let us

reinvigorate our own supporters, and

letters new members into our party,

by leading with conviction, putting

forward our principles and our

faith. By being distinctively

Labour, by being confident Labour,

by being principal Labour.

Reawakening hope again, and let us

be proud to say, that in our time,

in our generation, we help to build

a better future by being true to our

radical roots. Because if we do that

working together, nothing and no one

can stop us. Thank you very much.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

STUDIO: A standing ovation for

Richard Leonard, the Scottish Labour

leader, as the end of his conference

address, delivered at the Caird Hall

in Dundee. He said he wanted to

paint the map of Scotland red again

at the next election. He spoke about

a new Rent Restrctions Act, a Mary

Barbour law, to protect tenants. He

called on delegates to keep their

options open when it came to the

single market membership, not to

look back in anger. He saw Labour as

a bulwark against Scottish and

British nationalism, and called on

people to be united. He spoke about

public ownership of services and

also at the end talked about the

biggest... Wanting the biggest

reform in the history of Hollywood.

The biggest programme of social and

economic reform in the history of

the Scottish parliament. Richard

Leonard taking his applause. I'm

joined in the studio by Professor

John Curtis, and as we watch these

pictures, what's your initial

reaction to the speech?

Two crucial

like a notice to the speech, won the

more obvious one, is that this is

very much traditional Labour. -- two

leitmotifs. He said public services

matter, health and education will

stop welfare systems matter. A

reference in particular to

pensioners. And we also need to make

sure we have people properly housed.

Clearly above all saying, I believe

in trade unions, I believe in

planning the economy and the public

sector. A very traditional Labour

message. Two bits of it will

particularly stand out for people as

it this story. The first is the

suggestion that a future Scottish

Labour government might try to end

the existing PFI contracts that are

in place for the delivery of some

hospital services, and the other,

that we should move away from the

system whereby for the most part

social care in Scotland is provided

by private sector organisations,

albeit paid for in many cases by the

state, but this should also now be a

care service provided by the public

sector. Those are certainly two

fairly dramatic ideas if they were

to be introduced. The first

leitmotif is the more obvious one,

anyone who remembers Labour speeches

of 15 or 20 years ago, this is very

different. The second leitmotif is

very different, a call for unity. In

part, a call for unity, I want my

party to be behind this message,

perhaps a more radical message than

some of them membership had

previously been used it. And also

Blaine Gabbert quite openly that the

other reason he wanted unity,

particularly not least on the issue

of Brexit. -- and also laying out

quite openly... . The Labour Party

hopes that by staying united but by

remaining flexible on the prospect

of Brexit, that back in Westminster,

Labour might be able to bring the

Conservative government is down over

the Brexit issue. He was quite open

about this. It was interesting,

don't upset the apple cart now,

don't get into an internal party row

about Brexit among other things,

because actually, it may be that in

the ensuing months, if indeed Brexit

goes pear shaped for the

Conservatives, we might be able to

gain power. What he said two people,

keep your options open, when it

comes to things like single market

membership. He said clearly about

democratic socialism, and therefore

we have to respect the result of the

referendum. As the Labour Party has

been saying pretty much since the

referendum, we keep options open. So

we might be willing to join the

single market, but maybe we won't.

Perhaps the living the Labour Party

has so far done is to commit itself

to a customs union but not the

customs union. And it's a customs

union that would require the

European Union to negotiate with the

UK as an equal partner, including

two future free-trade deals with

other countries. I think many people

think that's a pretty big ask. But

it means for the most part the

Labour Party, in a sense, is

basically not nailing its colours

any more to the mast and it feels it

needs to. Partly, it needs to be

said early on because it knows

voters are divided on the subject.

Is not to look back in anger and

heal those divisions, as he said,

and as you pointed out, to accept

the result of the referendum. Former

Scottish leader Kezia Dugdale was

clearly not clapping, sitting with

her hands like this.

That was

clearly one of the camera moments

that might get replayed. It was an

indication that in truth, despite

his best efforts, Brexit is in truth

an issue that divides the Labour

Party. He might perhaps have been

wise to not refer to it. After all,

this is not his issue. At the end of

the day, it's an issue that we will

be decided by the UK level Labour

Party in London. Perhaps he should

have focus just on his domestic

agenda. But one of the intriguing

things about Richard Leonard's

speech, even on the domestic agenda,

he is not always somebody who

demonstrate a high degree of

sensitivity between reserved and

devolved issues. Some issues on

regulating labour market or

improving the position of

pensioners, at least probably

requires work done by the UK

Government at Westminster for sub

it's not entirely clear that the

Scottish Government on its own has

the power to deliver some of the

ideas that he has in mind.

John,

thank you for just now forced upon

them go back to the conference all

in Dundee where we joined once again

by political editor Brian Taylor.

You have some guests there. Your

initial reaction to the speech?

I

was struck by the nature of the

speech. The straightforward

Socialist appeal, and then linking

it as well, as John said, to the

pitch for unity over Brexit. We will

be discussing that right now with

two senior members of the party. We

are hoping a third will join us, a

little late. Anas Sarwar, you got a

name check and praise. You must be

pleased.

I wasn't the only one.

He

did go through a list. The message

is commonly talked about a real

change to the economic system that

in practice. What is meant by that?

What Richard set out today was not

just his passion and values, but the

ideas of why we need a Labour First

Minister and government. Using a

progressive tax system, take from

those who can afford it.

What does a

real change to the economic system

mean in practice?

Looking at the

model we have at the moment, it

doesn't work for working people. In

means putting more things in hands

of the public, public ownership is a

big part of that, financing and

resourcing public services, taking

money from those at the top and

using it to reduce poverty and

invest in public services. It's a

bold idea from the speech.

Claire

Baker, we had 12 pages on the

proposals. I readily concede that

there was a lot of detail that only

one paragraph on tax raising,

referring to various options. The

Scottish Government in the coming

year are raising an additional 219

million from income tax was that how

much extra indexation will be

required to fund this programme?

We

recently had the budget bill passed

in Parliament, and we've brought

forward radical proposals. I think

Richard's message today is how do we

use the Scottish parliament. That

Parliament has been in existence

since 1999 and the current

government are showing a lack of

ambition.

You're talking about extra

spending? Renationalisation of the

railways and social care being

brought into social ownership. How

much extra taxation would be

required to fund that?

I think it's

all achievable within the powers we

have in Parliament. Richard is

setting out today the ambition and

ideas we have.

I'm not hearing a

number.

If you look at our budget

proposals this year, it was fully

funded and tax proposals.

I'm not

hearing a figure.

What Richard is

not setting out today is what the

manifesto budget programme will be

in five years' time and it would be

wrong for him to do that. He is

setting out what he believes the

fundamental principles behind the

platform he would seek to stand on

to have a Labour First Minister

Scottish Government. It would be a

fully funded manifesto.

How would

you stimulate the economy if you

impose tax on tourism and increasing

tax?

On the tourism tax, I represent

a Glasgow constituency. That's a

city that would want to introduce a

tourism tax and it would impact in

terms of taking advantage of the

great tourism we have in our city

and use it to invest in public

services. Glasgow is becoming a part

of the conference agenda across the

EU. Conferences are coming to

Glasgow. We could use those

resources to have the tourism tax

and the capacity in hotels to fund

public services.

It is also a tax that has come

across Europe. I met another big

thing about hands and -- housing.

Some might argue that rent controls

would deter landlords from entering

the system for the unit have to be

entirely dependent on social

provision.

I think we are looking at

a row can housing system within

Scotland. There is also an element

of exploitation in that sector. He

Richard is proposing fairness and

transparency in that sector.

On the

subject of PFI schemes, PPP and

later became to you has had also

surprises to try and avoid the name.

Labour implemented it to some extent

let's forget that. He is talking

about trying to missile from

existing contracts?

If you look at

the amount of money that PFI

contracts are costing us every year

and how that money would be better

spent of course there is concern

about the tens of millions of pounds

if not hundreds of millions of

pounds that could be spent on public

services.

How could you get out of

the contracts?

With interest rates

being low we could buy them back and

invest that money in public

services.

The speech talked about

taking things into public ownership.

With that the market value or under

market value?

It is hilarious we

have setup an agenda and

have setup an agenda and have powers

within Parliament to discuss within

legislation to radically change

Scotland for the back is what

Richard was arguing for today.

With

the railways, when the contract

comes up, we have an opportunity to

pose a public sector bid. That would

not cost the taxpayer and expects.

When the contract comes up with

being a place to bid for the

contract.

Thank you both very much

for discussing the speech and back

to the studio.

Let's just pick up on

that point that Brian was trying to

winkle out from the guests when it

comes to funding. How do you think

Labour could fund this? Anas Sarwar

was pointing out this is not a fully

funded manifested that there are

some expensive promises. One is

about bringing back the railways

into public ownership.

The immediate

question will be how we will fund

it. Doubtless this will be an issue

pursued by the Labour Party. It is

par for the course and this is a

relatively early stage in the

Scottish Parliament. They will not

put money... Something which Mr

Lennon has in mind. The railways

have franchises. When that comes to

an end you can get a public sector

company to run the railways. The

infrastructure is already run by the

public sector. There will

undoubtedly be arguments about

whether or not, for example, putting

social care of something which is

run by the public sector as opposed

to being provided primarily by the

private sector will not be more

expensive. There will be arguments

about that and arguments about

whether or not it will be possible

to buy in the PFI contracts and

raise money. There will be questions

about this. Not all of what he has

in mind is about spending more

money, as opposed to regulating the

market. For example with regards to

workers' rights and his plans for

private sector rentals may not cost

the state of great deal of what is

interesting about the pitch, one of

the things that seems to happen

before the end of the general

election in Scotland last year, this

message, as articulated by Jeremy

Corbyn, began to enable the Labour

Party to win over the left-wing

support of the SNP. The word that

Jeremy Corbyn used a lot was hope.

There seems to be some evidence that

this kind of pitch helped the Labour

Party to win over some of the

younger supporters in the SNP who

have been inspired by the idea of

independence. What Mr Leonard will

be hoping, as opposed to the

different

different vision of the Scottish

economy that we might have to win

the voters over, they'll be less

infused about the idea of

independence. Some progress by

Labour on that front and a lot more

to be made. The potential downside

along the way is the quite

substantial body, around one in four

of the people who voted Labour in

2015 switched to the Conservatives

by 2017 primarily because of a

constitutional issue. Even though he

might be at it into SNP support with

this message, you could also lose

votes with the Conservatives.

Back

to Brian in the conference hall. A

bit more about Brexit now, I think.

Quite a bit more. You heard from

Richard Leonard on the subject of

Brexit, appealing for unity and an

open mind. The European debate, the

conference here, will actually take

place tomorrow. Jeremy Corbyn said

he would not be happy to signing up

to opposed Brexit arrangement with

the European Union if it involves

constraint on his socialist

programme of state ownership and

state eight. That is a aid. It was

believed membership of the single

market was the way to maintain jobs

and working rights. The honest

debate that Richard Leonard called

for is under way and I am joined by

two very senior participants in that

debate. Thank you both very much.

Iain Murray spoke at the fringe

meeting at Kezia Dugdale talking

about what was needed to pursue the

case for a single market being to

convince the Labour front bench.

Jeremy Corbyn does not sound

convinced was he seems to think it

was a block thwarting his ambitions

for a socialist agenda.

What I want

to do is for the front bench of the

Labour Party to have a position of

the least worst option. Also I have

said regularly in Parliament, and to

the public in public forums, whether

you agreed to the single market in

the customs union, in a very good

speech great Richard said that we

should keep all options open. The

least worst option, if and when

really the European Union is to

remain members of the single market

and the customs union. The Labour

Party wrote its manifested in June

of 2017 whilst we were still members

of the European Union and it is

still deliverable.

What is the

anxiety in the minds of Jeremy

Corbyn and presumably yours about

the constraints they could be upon

your programme?

It is good to speak

to you, especially after such a

fantastic speech from Richard

Leonard. Full of content and great

delivery. That is the focus for me

today, on that. We move on to the

debate about Brexit tomorrow, which

I am looking forward to. The party

has a very good position in relation

to where we are in the Brexit

debate. Keir Starmer has performed

fantastically well. He has clearly

put us into a place where a bad deal

will not be supported by the Labour

Party when the vote comes through

Parliament.

To take the argument of

people like Kezia Dugdale that

membership of the single market is

required to protect jobs and

workers' rights?

That is a problem.

We had a referendum and the decision

of the people was to leave the EU.

We cannot be in existing single

market if we are outside. I think

access to that marketers what we

want full want a tariff free area is

needed to trading. -- what we want-

we want a tariff free area. The

least worst option is the single

market and customs union.

Jeremy

Corbyn has said that is not

compatible.

Norway is in the single

market but it is not a member of the

European Union and Turkey is in the

customs union but it is not a member

of the European Union. They should

try to stay in the customs union for

jobs and trading and harmonisation

issues. We should grab this by both

hands.

The reality is that Norway

and Turkey are not for members with

voting rights and they are law

takers, in effect. It is a very

different situation. We are not

comparing the same economies. The

Norwegian economy is much smaller

than the UK. We need a deal that is

ripe for the UK and we can do that

by negotiating access to the single

market and by having a tariff free

area in the customs union.

Jeremy

Corbyn said yesterday he would not

allow the Labour programme to be

underlined by what he described as

low-cost agency workers being

imported into the UK.

You took

exception to that. We should not

scapegoat immigrants but deal with

the problem of employers bringing in

cheap Labour to the country and

undermining Labour laws. I think the

choice of language in the

immigration debate has to be very

carefully chosen.

Do you think Nigel

Farage would be laughing at that?

That is the way it is being

portrayed. Migration is great for

this country and we need it for our

public services. It must be dealt

with and kept healthy by migrants in

the NHS and they are likely to use

the NHS. In France they want to deal

with some of these issues but it

must be done within the European

Union.

The idea that Jeremy, who

represents Islington, probably a

constituency that is an absolute

melting pot of different cultures

can someone who is married to a

Mexican woman would be a scapegoat

on migrants is completely wrong.

What he was doing is showing how bad

employers have been exploiting

migrants coming into the country and

that is a very important point in a

particularly for the Labour Party

and the Labour movement because I

want workers to have the same terms

and conditions and same protections

and that is what Jeremy was

highlighting.

Are you still open to

single market membership?

That is

very difficult in relation to the

acceptance of the referendum but

that will have a good debate

tomorrow. The whole situation over

these negotiations is very fluid.

Do

you think you can win the market for

single market membership?

You cannot

satisfy the six tests set by Keir

Starmer.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you very much for that in

Dundee. There are still joined in

the studio by Sir John Curtis. Your

final thoughts as we approach the

end of the programme. Where does

this speech now leave the Scottish

Labour Party?

The truth is this

speech leaves the Scottish Labour

Party in a far more left wing

position than it has been since the

advent of devolution and you

probably have to go back to the

1960s. In similar. This party is in

favour of reducing inequality and

expanding the public sector. It is

not necessarily a stance for all

elected representatives of the

Labour Party. As you have seen in

that conversation, the risk to the

Labour Party as it cannot escape to,

and the argument about what stands

the Labour Party should adopt about

Temple macro is at risk of becoming

a thorough get for the argument

between left and right but you know

still exists inside the Labour

Party. At the moment it is being

played out by the Brexit debate.

Critics of Jeremy Corbyn are happy

to stay inside the EU single market.

Those of left-wing disposition are

more wary of it. That debate is

going on inside the Labour Party.

Thank you for your thoughts this

afternoon. That brings our live

conference coverage to a close. More

on Scottish Labour tomorrow with

Gordon Brewer on Sunday Politics

Scotland. That starts at 11am on BBC

One. Do have a very good afternoon.

Goodbye.