The Scotsman Bulletin from the Scottish Labour Party Conference #ScottishLabour

The Scotsman

Dale speaks to political editor Alistair Grant at the start of the Scottish Labour Party Conference in Glasgow

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to the Scotsman's Daily Video Bulletin for this Friday.

00:04My name is Dale Miller.

00:05I'm Deputy Editor of the Scotsman and I'm joined by Alastair Grant, our Political Editor,

00:11coming to us live from the SECC in Glasgow.

00:15Alastair, we're going to talk all things about the Scottish Labor Conference, but firstly

00:21the front page of today's Scotsman, which is pretty political anyway, obviously leading

00:26and splashing on council tax hikes.

00:30Now, there were five councils that on Thursday agreed hikes.

00:35They included Edinburgh, which set a rate of 8 per cent, and Glasgow that set 7.5 per

00:42cent.

00:43There were also councils in the Scottish Borders and North Manxshire as well that set 10 per

00:48cent rises.

00:49Some of these are the highest in 20 years set by the councils, and brutal S&P cuts have

00:55been blamed effectively by some of the stakeholders for needing to raise council tax by that much.

01:02Also a very compelling picture there taken by Jane Barlow from the Scottish Parliament.

01:09It was soon after John Swinney faced First Minister's questions where he was peppered

01:14with questions about single same-sex spaces, and he repeatedly pointed to the Equality

01:22Act and explained that he could not comment because it was an ongoing judicial hearing

01:27that won't resume again until July.

01:30There's plenty to play out around that issue, and you can read the latest on those stories

01:34at Scotsman.com.

01:36Also an exclusive from Callum Ross about inspectors going into Feddy's College over racial discrimination

01:43claims, another very strong story available at Scotsman.com.

01:47Alastair, I've talked enough there.

01:50We want to get in the Scottish Labour Conference.

01:53Tell us what's happening, what's on the cards for today and the next couple of days.

01:57Yes, so the Scottish Labour Conference is taking place at the SEC in Glasgow over the

02:02next three days.

02:03This is the first day of it, and today we're expecting to hear from Anna Sarwar, the Scottish

02:07Labour leader, giving a speech to delegates at about two o'clock or just after two o'clock.

02:13But there's loads of other stuff going on as well.

02:15We're also expecting to hear from Ian Murray, the Scottish Secretary.

02:18There's so-called fringe meetings that take place around the main conference hall.

02:23The ones probably of most interest today are a fringe meeting taking place involving Pat

02:28McFadden, the Labour MP, widely seen as one of the key factors in their general election

02:34success last July, obviously a Scotsman by birth, even though he represents an English

02:39constituency.

02:40So I'm sure that'll be really interesting, because the topic of that fringe meeting is

02:44about how Labour wins the Holyrood election next year.

02:47There's also a fringe meeting held by the Scottish Police Federation, which traditionally

02:52always produces good newslines at party conferences, police talking about funding cuts, the impact

02:58of spending squeezes on frontline services and how officers carry out their jobs.

03:04There's also a fringe meeting a little bit later on in the afternoon, kind of going into

03:08the early evening, involving Michael Shanks, the Energy Minister, talking about the lessons

03:12they've learned from government so far.

03:13So lots to talk about today, and I'm sure it'll be fascinating to hear what Anas Sarwar

03:18has to say this afternoon.

03:20Alistair, I was interested about the build-up, actually, because it felt like we were in

03:25prime election territory, because Anas Sarwar and the party were making numerous announcements

03:30about what they would do in government throughout this week.

03:32It's something we've not heard a lot of concrete commitments from them, but we had that they

03:37would axe peak rail fares.

03:39We had a story in today's Scotsman about hiring and bringing professional role models

03:44in the schools for children.

03:46And we had some commitments about stopping the 8am rush for GPs as well.

03:51So it felt like we were in election mode.

03:53Fair to say?

03:54Yeah, very much so.

03:55I mean, one of the criticisms that's always levelled at Scottish Labor is that they lack

03:59a vision.

04:00They lack a kind of overall compelling vision for Scotland.

04:03You know, a lot of people ask, what exactly does Anas Sarwar stand for?

04:07What does he want to do when he's in power?

04:08And this kind of conference weekend is very much the start, I think, of Labor rolling

04:12out some of their key policies.

04:13We've heard a little bit from them in the past about what they want to do in areas such

04:16as the NHS, the health service, cutting what they say is red tape, bureaucratic waste,

04:24improving efficiencies in the public sector.

04:26But there's more specific policies.

04:27So like you say, I think probably the most eye-catching one was that promise to scrap

04:31peak rail fares.

04:32But I'd also draw viewers' attention to a piece I wrote, it's on the Scotsman's website

04:37today, kind of looking at the key challenges facing Scottish Labor as they go into this

04:43conference weekend ahead of next year's election.

04:46That lack of vision, I think, is very much one of them.

04:48I think the others include Keir Starmer's unpopularity, the UK Labor government's unpopularity,

04:55Keir Starmer's really struggling in the polls at the moment.

04:57One of the polls last weekend actually showed that he was the least popular politician in

05:03Scotland.

05:04He was below Donald Trump.

05:06So he really doesn't have his troubles to seek, partly because of unpopular decisions

05:10like winter fuel payment, compensation to WASPI women, the national insurance hike.

05:15But other problems include the rise of reform, Nigel Farage's party really eating into the

05:20Scottish Labor vote.

05:21And I think it's difficult for Scottish Labor to try and figure out a way of dealing with

05:25that.

05:26But it's something they're going to have to kind of grapple with in the months to come.

05:30And some of the other things, I think, I mean, it's kind of like a whirlwind of stuff, really.

05:34I mean, that kind of lack of vision is very much up there.

05:37And I think just time, the fact that, you know, in some ways, you know, the next election

05:41isn't until we think, you know, May next year.

05:44In some ways, a year is a very long time in politics.

05:46There's lots of stuff that could happen between now and then.

05:49Then other ways, it takes a long time for political parties to get to firstly craft

05:54a message and secondly, to hammer that message home with voters.

05:57There's a reason that politicians repeat soundbites over and over again.

06:01So if Anas Sarwar wants to change the narrative in Scottish politics, Scottish Labor not doing

06:05well in the polls at the moment, if he wants to turn that around, he will be very conscious

06:10the time is of the essence.

06:11And linked to that, one of the last key challenges I think they face is the fact that John Swinney

06:15has come in as first minister and has really kind of managed to steady the SNP ship.

06:20Some of those chaotic scenes we saw under Humza Yousaf, his predecessor, really damaged

06:25the SNP, I think, not always of Humza Yousaf's fault.

06:29He was dealt a very bad hand in the aftermath of Nicola Sturgeon's resignation.

06:34We saw those kind of scenes of police raids, the arrest of high profile SNP figures.

06:39We've got that police investigation into the SNP yet to be resolved.

06:44But John Swinney has come in and it's not that he has managed to give the SNP a massive

06:48electoral boost, he's not, but he has steadied the ship.

06:52That's a problem for Scottish Labor, I think, because under Humza Yousaf, Anas Sarwar was

06:57able to present himself as almost the kind of adult in the room, the sensible figure

07:02in Scottish politics who would come in and kind of provide a bit of stability.

07:05And I think that's a much harder message to sell when John Swinney is the first minister.

07:10So it goes back to that first thing I was talking about, about that need for Scottish

07:14Labor to create a compelling vision for Scotland and to sell it to voters.

07:18Alistair, Keir Starmer, due to speak in Glasgow on Sunday, if his train or plane got

07:24cancelled up, would that actually be a good thing for Sarwar and the party?

07:29I mean, I think realistically, Keir Starmer is a problem at the moment.

07:33Yeah, the unpopularity of the UK Labour government is a problem for Scottish Labor.

07:36In fact, it's probably their main problem.

07:38And it's certainly the hardest one for Anas Sarwar to solve because it's outside of his

07:42hands. He really needs Keir Starmer to start delivering on some of the things he's been

07:46talking about, to maybe kind of turn, I mean, a year, as I say, is not a very long time

07:52to do this, but to create a kind of narrative that the economy is turning round, that

07:55people's lives are getting better.

07:57He maybe needs Keir Starmer to make a few more announcements around Scotland.

08:00Labour tend to focus a lot on GB Energy, but the problem with GB Energy is that, you

08:05know, no one really knows what kind of impact it's going to have.

08:08You know, it's very difficult.

08:10It's a difficult thing to sell to voters in the sense of describing exactly what it is

08:14as a bit of a mouthful.

08:15So they need a few more things, I think, to come out and to say this is what we're doing

08:20for Scotland. So this is what UK Labour government is delivering for Scotland.

08:24For Anas Sarwar, that's what he needs to hear for Keir Starmer.

08:27And I think it'll be interesting when Keir Starmer comes up on Sunday and he addresses

08:31conference, as we expect him to do so, and to just hear exactly what his message is,

08:36because I think he'll be conscious that, you know, as far as Scottish Labour are

08:39concerned, he's perceived as part of the problem at the moment and he will want to

08:42address that.

08:44Certainly, you mentioned GB Energy with energy bills going up again in the first couple

08:49months of this year. It becomes a tough sell if you're talking about the benefits of

08:53GB Energy to those who are going to be voting next year.

08:58Alastair, thanks for joining us.

09:00You'll be able to read everything coming from the team.

09:03We've got Alastair Grant, David Boll and Rachel Armoury at Scottish Labour Conference

09:08throughout today, and we'll be covering it across Saturday and Sunday as well.

09:12So Scotsman.com is your one stop shop for all the latest news from the conference.

09:17Alastair, thanks to you and thanks to everyone else for joining us.

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