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